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 Pete Cooper, Founder/President In the grand tradition of British brass bands, the Las Vegas Brass Band is barely an infant. In the western US, though, its success is helping lead the way in expanding this rich form of musical expression, In some measure the band owes its existence to the shrinking job market for "live" musicians in the lounges and showrooms of the Entertainment Capital of the World. Many of the its musicians chose to stay in Las Vegas and change careers rather than uproot families and move to where there were even less job opportunities of any kind. One such musician was London born Pete Cooper. After a successful switch to Realtor, Pete began to look for new ways to use his musical talents. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Community College of Southern Nevada both had community concert bands and Pete has been a member of both. As a brass player though, Pete was looking for a sound that was very hard to find in the American Southwest and nonexistent in Nevada. That sound was from youthful memories of playing with the brass bands of the Salvation Army Chalk Farm, Crystal Palace and many others back in his London home. In 1994 Pete opened his wallet to buy enough tunes to start up a British style brass band and opened his phone book to find the brass musicians to fill the seats. Some seats were easier to fill than others. There's still enough jazz in Las Vegas to make flugel horns common but the average American musician has forgotten what a cornet is, thinks baritones and euphonium's are the same instrument and draws a complete blank when confronted by a tenor horn. Pete's salesmanship prevailed, however, and soon a band of trumpets, French horns, trombones, four euphonium's and a full complement of tubas-traditional pitches notwithstanding-began rehearsal. (Well, you've got to start somewhere!) The switch to cornets took place quickly and the French horns only lasted 2 years. Two years ago we acquired one English baritone so the band is one more baritone and 2 Eb tubas away from the instrumental standard. Rehearsals are once weekly for two hours and have taken place at a half dozen different public schools over the years but now the band rehearsals are held every Thursday at 7p.m. at the Las Vegas Corps of the Salvation Army located at 2900 Palomino Lane, where Pete holds a local officers commission as the Young Peoples Band Leader. If you are a brass bander passing through town who wishes to sit in, contact us via e-mail for times and directions. The band's concert season begins in September or October and concludes with on Independence Day in July. The band has played concerts in all of Las Vegas' public library auditoriums, shared concerts with bands of the local community college, university and public schools and has been featured by Clark County and several other community groups. Las Vegas Brass Band is also proud to have hosted the first North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) event in the Western United States in October of 1999. |
April 25, 2010 2:00pm June 06, 2010 2:00pm June 13, 2010 2:00pm July 04, 2010 2:00pm July 11, 2010 2:00pm October 17, 2010 2:00pm November 11, 2010 7:00pm December 10, 2010 7:00pm |