New Mexico Brass Quintet

The New Mexico Brass Quintet (NMBQ) began in 1977 as an ensemble-in-residence at the University of New Mexico and consisted of faculty members and graduate assistants. In addition to performing with the quintet, the graduate assistants studied for their master’s degrees and taught in the music department. Founding members Dr. Karl Hinterbichler, trombone, and Jeffrey Piper, trumpet are currently serving on the faculty at UNM.

The ensemble has established an international reputation as one of the finest ensembles of its kind. Its first European tour in 1980 took the NMBQ to Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. In the summer of 1989, the NMBQ toured in Europe again, with appearances in Italy and Germany. The quintet also appeared as a featured ensemble at the Philip Jones International Brass Festival in Barcs, Hungary. This prestigious festival camp, and competition attracts brass players, composers, and media from all over the world. In the summer of 1990, the quintet toured in Finland and the USSR and was featured at the International Lieska Brass Week. Brass players from 12 different countries were in attendance for this annual event. The NMBQ gave a concert for the Joroinen Music Days in Finland and then traveled to the Soviet Union and participated in the Kostamus Festival performing four different concerts. In addition to European appearances, the NMBQ concertized extensively throughout the United States and Mexico, and in the summer of 1992, toured in Australia, giving concerts, masterclasses, and clinics.

The Quintet is well-known for its commissions and performances of new music. Over the years, they have premiered many new works from composers throughout the world. In 1986 they were part of a consortium commissioning grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to commission four major American composers to write significant works for brass quintet.

The NMBQ has been featured on many radio and television broadcasts in the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Finland, Russia, and Australia and has released three commercial recordings.

Jeffrey Piper holds degrees from Truman State University and The University of Michigan. He has appeared throughout the United States, Mexico, China, Australia and Europe as soloist, adjudicator, clinician, and has frequently appeared on recitals and programs for the International Trumpet Guild.

Piper has performed as Principal Trumpet of the San Diego Symphony, and has served as Principal Trumpet with the Santa Fe Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, The New Mexico Symphony and Opera Southwest. He is a co-founder and member of the New Mexico Brass Quintet, and has served on the International Trumpet Guild board of directors. He was served as secretary of ITG from 1998-2004 and was elected Vice-President/President of ITG and served in that capacity from 2003-2009. Piper most recently was elected to the ITG Board of Directors serving until 2013.

Karl Hinterbichler is recognized as one of the leading low brass pedagogues in the nation. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of North Texas. Additional studies were with Edward Kleinhammer retired bass trombonist of the Chicago Symphony, Dennis Smith, former principal trombonist of the Detroit Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, at the Darmstadt Summer Institute for New Music in Germany and the Arnold Jacobs Master class at Northwestern University.

Dr. Hinterbichler has performed on tenor trombone, brass trombone, tenor tuba and bass trumpet with numerous professional organizations, including the National Repertoire Orchestra, Florida Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Symphony, Orchestra of Santa Fe, Eric Hawkins Dance Company, Flint Symphony and for fifteen seasons as Principal Trombone with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. He currently performs as Principal Trombone with Opera Southwest and with the New Mexico Brass Quintet.

Active as a writer and arranger, Dr. Hinterbichler has had numerous arrangements, articles and editions published both in the U.S. and in Europe. He is also an assistant editor and regular columnist for the International Trombone Association Journal and has given lectures, lessons, and master classes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Finland, Australia, Russia and the People’s Republic of China. As a result of a grant by the Hewlett Packard Corporation, he was selected to team-teach an experimental course for undergraduates combining the disciplines of music, linguistics and writing. He has also served on the faculty for a National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar on Russian culture and the opera Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky. He has presented lectures on a variety of musical topics at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, SUNY Fredonia, Texas Tech University, Northern Arizona University, St. John’s College, New Mexico Symphony Lecture Series, UNM MBA Program and the Kansas City Public Library Lecture Series. He has written forewords to numerous scores published by the German firm Musikproduktion Jurgen Höflich.

Time, date, and program subject to change.