Music instructor collaborates with trumpet trio for upcoming CD release

Posted November 20, 2017 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- The Northwest Passage Trumpet Trio, featuring Thiel College Director of Bands and Instructor of Music Andrew Erb, has recorded its first CD and is set for its release in the spring of 2018.

Allegheny College Professor of Music Jennifer Dearden, D.M.A., and Westminster College Professor of Music Timothy Winfield, D.M.A., complete the trio. Northwest Passage Trumpet Trio was created two years ago to promote chamber music of three trumpets. Trumpet trios are rare, and there is little literature composed for this configuration, Erb said. The trio’s mission is to perform the small repertoire that is available and to commission composers to add to this repertoire. The group’s inaugural recording occurred in June where they completed a week-long recording process in Sharon, Pa.

“Recording a CD was definitely a new experience for me,” Erb said. “It required a lot of patience, concentration, critical listening, and the ability to honestly assess your own playing after every take of every piece.”

The CD will be available for purchase locally and regionally through any of the trio members and at several locations to be determined, and worldwide on iTunes and other digital media outlets.

“Preparing for a recording is much different than preparing for a recital,” Erb said. “In a recital, your audience hears each note once, and then it dissipates, never to be heard again. You can sometimes get away with a not-so-perfect performance in recitals. Recordings are different. Every note, every articulation, every nuance is permanently stamped onto that disc and will be heard over and over again. You have to be much more precise and polished to produce a good recording.”

Along with performing recitals and recording projects, the trio also presents clinics and workshops on chamber music, trumpet playing, arranging music for chamber ensembles, and general musicianship.