GREAT CHINA TOUR CHAMBER MUSIC The Geneva Brass Quintet, Switzerland, 2011 | The Geneva Brass Quintet, Switzerland, 2011 |
  Tour Dates
Tour Dates: 21 Aug - 27 Aug, 2011 The Geneva Brass Quintet (GBQ) is a brass ensemble composed of five Swiss musicians that met at the Geneva conservatory of Music...
Biography The Geneva Brass Quintet (GBQ) is a brass ensemble composed of five Swiss musicians that met at the Geneva conservatory of Music, from which they derive their name. Eager to create a closely knit musical unit and having a very particular attraction for chamber music, they formed the 'Geneva Brass Quintet' with the aim of sharing the pleasure of music and of introducing it to the public. Natives of Valais and Geneva (Switzerland), they have been invited by various institutions and festivals to perform in public, in particular by the Guilde de la musique de chambre, Festival of Mégève, Concerts of St-Germain, l'Institut National of Geneva, Music festival of Geneva, festival of music of Sion, as well as a tour in South Africa. Samuel Gaille - Trumpet Samuel Gaille was born in 1968 in Sainte-Croix (VD) in a family of music-lovers which regularly practices brass instruments. He began studying the trumpet with Michel Debonneville and entered the Geneva Conservatory in the class of Michel Cuvit where he graduated with a 1st prize of virtuosity in 1993. Multi-time winner of the «Swiss Soloists Championships», Samuel Gaille was the solois trumpeter at the «Collège des Cuivres de Suisse Romande» since 1996 and collaborates on a regular basis with various brass bands, in particular the Brass band Berner Oberland. Freelancing in numerous orchestras (OSR, OCL, Orchestre Philharmonique Suisse, etc…), he had the opportunity to perform under the baton of renowned conductors such as Nello Santi, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, and Armin Jordan. In addition to being an active performer, Samuel Gaille is also a passionate teacher in various music schools and camps, and also conducts several wind bands and music schools. He is a founder of the Geneva Brass Quintet. Eric Rey - Tuba Eric Rey was born in 1971 in Crans-Montana, in the heart of the Swiss Alps. He has been studying tuba since the beginning, and quickly the rows of different Swiss brass bands and other international bands. He later entered the Music Academy of Geneva in the class of Mr. Pilloud, and successively obtained a teaching qualification, a First Prize of Virtuosity with Distinction and finally, a musician's diploma of Orchestra with Distinction. His studies were also crowned with the Prize of the Friends of the Academy (awarded to a tuba player for the first time) in 1999. During his Master's degree studies, he had the opportunity to attend the masterclasses of Roger Bobo and Mel Culberston. His interests soon turned to orchestra and for the 2003 season, he became the principal tuba player of the Symphony Orchestra of Durban (South Africa). Back in Europe, he became a freelance musician working regularly in Swiss orchestras (OSR, OCN, Contrechamps, Sinfonietta). He is also a teacher in several music schools and collaborates with various brass ensembles. He is a founder member of the GENEVA BRASS quintet Lionel Walter - Trumpet Born in 1981, Lionel studied trumpet with Gérard Métrailler at the Geneva Conservatory of Music. During 2005-2006, he completed an academic exchange at the «Universität der Künste» in Berlin, where he studied with Konradin Groth, former 1st trumpet of the Berlin Philharmonic. He has also had the opportunity to work with renowned conductors such as Bernard Haitink and Kent Nagano. Returning to Switzerland, he received his Master of Music in Brass Performance in May 2007. He is currently a freelance trumpeter in Geneva and regularly subs in Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre de Chambre de Genève among others. Christophe Sturzenegger - French Horn Born in Geneva, musician Christophe Sturzenegger has recognized by various advanced music conservatories in a number of different disciplines including horn, piano, music theory and harmony. Christophe studied horn performance under Gregory Cass and Bruno Schneider. Before deciding to pursue a career as a chamber musician and freelance performer, he joined the Gustav Mahler Jugeng Orchester and played with other orchestras such as the Zurich Opera – academy- and the Basel Symphony Orchestra for four years. During this time, he played under some of the greatest conductors such as Abbado, Levine, Santi, Marriner, von Dohnanyi, Ashkenazy, etc., and appeared as a soloist under the direction of Emmanuel Krivine. Christophe won Second Prize in the Riddes National Musical Performance Competition, a semi-finalist at the International Trévoux Competition in France and a finalist in the International Web Concert Hall competition.. He was also awarded a Migros-Göhner Scholarship and won the Kiefer-Hablitzel Award given by the Swiss Musicians’ Association. He has already performed at festivals in Europe, South America, South Africa, Japan, and has made frequent radio appearances. David Rey - Trombone Born in Valais (Switzerland), David Rey obtained a 1st prize with Distinction and an Orchestra Performance Diploma in the class of Andrea Bandini at the Geneva Conservatory of Music. Member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra from 2002 until 2008, he also held the solo trombone position at the Durban Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa) and lectured at the Natal University (SA) from 2003 until 2005. He is currently the trombone soloist at the Brussels Philharmonic (Belgium) and regularly performs with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (CH). As an orchestra musician, he collaborated with the most well-known conductors such as Levine, Masur, Rostropwitch, Gergiev, Dutoit, etc… David has also distinguished himself in many competitions and performs regularly abroad both as soloist and with his chamber music groups: the trombone quartet "Triam" and the "Geneva Brass Quintet" |
