MANKATO — Brass instruments are always in orchestras. French horns, trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas. It’s hard to miss what they add to songs.
But when your choir consists only of brass instruments — plus percussion — you get a completely different sound. The sound of the Minnesota Riverbend Brass Choir.
Tom Bierer was very familiar with that sound. From childhood trumpet instructor Harold Krieger to his studies at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, which is known for its brass choir, he gained a deep appreciation. So, in 2022, after collecting that background and a whole lot of musical arrangements, he created his own brass choir.
In this way, he is like Giovanni Gabrielli, an Italian composer in the late 1500s-early 1600s, whose music accentuates the qualities of a brass choir.
“To put the group together, I had to accumulate a library of music first,” Bierer said. “As a church musician (in Venice, Italy, Gabrielli) had recognized that there were some talented people within his parish (St. Mark’s), in his town, and he started to compose music that would accommodate and involve them, which I thought was a modern idea.”
St. Mark’s was built in the shape of a cross, Bierer said, and Gabrielli could place a group of musicians in each corner of the church to provide a unique sound.
“He would compose the music in such a way that at one time the rear group would play for a certain length of time, then it would be echoed by the group in front, and then the group on the left and the group on the right. Sometimes together,” Bierer said. “And so this cacophonous kind of sound was being created within this massive cathedral that is quite powerful.”
It’s that sound that makes the music unique and an interesting experience, said percussionist Ryan Rader.
“I think what is unique about this group is that the brass choir fits so well within a church sanctuary. Like, sanctuaries are just so acoustically sound and really designed for a group like this,” Rader said. “So, to experience a brass choir in a space where the music just resonates the way it does is really pretty excellent.”
It’s also the reason Bierer chooses the churches he does for performances. If the space is too small, he said, it won’t duplicate the sound Gabrielli found at St. Mark’s. In addition, he works to move performances around, offering people from many denominations the opportunity to hear sacred music with historical significance.
“In the context of being able to work with churches, the only limitation that we would put is just the size of the facility. If it was too small of a church, the group sound would overwhelm it,” Bierer said. So, a larger, high-ceiling cathedral-style church is preferred.
When forming the choir, he drew on music teacher friends who regularly perform, he said, gathering a 12 Days of Christmas sort of choir: four French horns, four trumpets, four trombones, a euphonium or baritone plus two tubas and percussion. In all, it’s 18 musicians.
Another member involved since the start is Ryan Shirk, who plays trombone in the group but also plays euphonium, tuba and other instruments.
It gives him a change of pace from other groups, ranging from the Minnesota River Valley Wind Ensemble to the Schell’s Hobo Band and Kaleb Braun-Schulz and the Nightingale Band.
“It is a unique group,” Shirk said. “There are not always a lot of opportunities to play with or hear a larger, brass-focused ensemble. The sound of several horns playing in a large, resonant hall is always exciting, and it’s a nice way to help bring in the holiday season.”
People may know the sacred music of the season that the Minnesota Riverbell Brass Choir plays, but it is presented in a way that’s probably new.
“It’s a different take on Advent/Christmas music that they are familiar with. Many of the tunes that they have heard are things that are quite common, but the arrangements are not. The arrangements range from the early Gabrielli things all the way up to the most modern renditions,” Bierer said.
“I would encourage anyone to attend a concert if they have the means to do it,” Rader said.