This July, John Almeida and Lyman Brodie, UCF Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, performed throughout Austria as invited members of the European Brass Ensemble.
Under the direction of Maestro Thomas Clamor, the ensemble is comprised of virtuosic brass and percussion instrumentalists from 17 countries. Almeida and Brodie were joined by one other American, Dr. Jack Burt, Trumpet Professor at the University of Maine at Orono.
The EBE performed at the Abbey of Stift Melk as well as Innsbruck and Rheinberg, Austria. This ensemble presented the opening evening concert of the 2014 Schagerl Brass Festival in Melk, Austria. The concerts were attended by thousands from around the world. At each concert, Almeida and Brodie were introduced to the audience as special guest artists and professors from UCF.
Vice Provost Brodie and Mr. Almeida also presented a lecture at the Schagerl Brass Festival for European students interested in studying music in the United States. In their presentation “Studying Music in America: How To Prepare,” Almeida and Brodie spoke at length about the services that UCF offers to foreign students and the application process. Almeida discussed the online audition site called “Acceptd” which allows students to design an audition for the colleges and universities of their interest in America and Canada. The UCF School of Performing Arts currently uses Acceptd for auditions.
Brodie and Almeida also performed in concert with the Saxony Philharmonic Wind Symphony from Leipzig, Germany, an all-professional wind band also conducted by Clamor.