Gewandhaus Brass Quintett
Leipzig Chamber Brass (Brass Quintet)

Founded: 2005 - Leipzig, Germany

Lukas Beno - Trumpet
Peter Wettemann - Trumpet
Jan Wessely - Horn
Otmar Strobel - Trombone
David Cribb - Tuba

Ensemble

Early in 2005, five Brass Soloists from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig grounded the "Leipzig Chamber Brass" in the classical formation of 2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone and Tuba. All members of this ensemble had already acquired long and diverse experience both as soloists and in Chamber Music and they shared the desire to play brass quintet music at the highest level.

The Debut Concert in December 2005 was held in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and was received very enthusiastically by the audience. Intensive rehearsals and successful concerts in Europe followed.

In September 2008 the ensemble was honored with the title "Gewandhaus-Brass-Quintett" and is one of only three ensembles from this very traditional orchestra which has been allowed to carry the prestigious "Gewandhaus" title.

The dedicated musicians are continually expanding their diverse repertoire which expands over styles ranging from Renaissance and Baroque, through classical to contemporary and jazz.

A preview of future concerts presents fascinating and unusual programs.

Lukas Beno - Trumpet

was born in London and grew up in Moenchengladbach in Germany. After trumpet lessons with Bernd Fritz (Beethovenhalle Orchestra Bonn) he moved to Mannheim to study with Professor Günther Beetz. He is a prize holder of several national and international competitions. Since 2004 he has held the position of Principal Trumpet in the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Such famous orchestras as the Staatskapelle Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Münchner Philharmoniker, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) Stuttgart often engage him as guest Solo Trumpet. He gave Trumpet Master Classes in Caracas and at the Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. As a soloist he appeared with such orchestras as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker.

Peter Wettemann - Trumpet

was born in Ravensburg and studied from 1995-2000 in Saarbruecken with Bernhard Kratzer. He played solo trumpet in various youth orchestras including the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra and was the recipient of an internship with the Saarlandisches Radio Orchestra. In 1999 Peter Wettemann won the position of solo-trumpet with the Jenaer Philharmonie where he played for two seasons before joining the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in 2001 as associate principal trumpet. Peter has recieved numerous prizes and awards and appears regularly as a soloist and chamber musician often in the combination of trumpet and organ.

Jan Wessely - Horn

comes from Schildau in Saxony/Germany. He studied horn in Leipzig with Professor Hermann Maerker and in Cologne with Professor Erich Penzel before gaining a position in the Herbert-von-Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker where he completed his orchestra training with Norbert Hauptmann. After completing his studies in Cologne Jan Wessely was appointed as solo-hornist with the Chemnitz Opera before he in 2001 joined the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig as associate-principal horn. Jan is an extremely active chamber musician. In 1996 he was a founding member of the "Orsolino Quintet" (Wind Quintet) which won prizes in the ARD competition in Munich (1997 and 2001) and in the "Deutscher Musikwettbewerb" in Bonn in 2000. Jan is also in demand to give courses for chamber music and gave master-classes for horn in Brasil and Taiwan.

Otmar Strobel - Trombone

is from Brigachtal in the Black Forest area of Germany and studied in Trossingen with Professor Branimir Slokar from 1985-1992. During this time he was also a member of the "Slokar Trombone Quartet". In 1987 he was appointed Solo Trombonist with the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra where he played until joining the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in 1999 also as Solo Trombonist. Otmar Strobel has a keen interest in jazz and is a founding member of the German Philharmonic Big Band. He is responsible for teaching the trombone students in the Orchestra-acadamy of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and teaches trombone at the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar.

David Cribb - Tuba

was born in Murgon/Australia where he grew up on a cattle farm. After learning the tuba in the school band David studied at the Brisbane Conservatorium with Craig Cunningham (The Queensland Orchestra) and in Sydney with Steve Rosse (Sydney Symphony) before in 1998 leaving for Germany to study with David Glidden (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bayreuth Festspiel Orchestra) in Frankfurt/M. While in Frankfurt he appeared regularly with the brass ensembles HR-Brass and "bach, blech und blues" and in 2004 played as founding member in the "Australian Chamber Brass Ensemble" at the Melbourne international festival of brass. In 2000 David Cribb was appointed principal-tuba with the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin and in 2005 took up the same position in the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

Source: Rosenthal Musikmanagement Website)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (July 2009)

Gewandhaus Brass Quintett: Short History | Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Gewandhaus-Brass-Quintett (Rosenthal Musikmangement)

Gewandhaus zu Leipzig - Kammermusikensembles: Gewandhaus Brass Quintett