Axiom Brass comes to Yuba City

Dorival Puccini Jr. is on East Coast time, just back from a concert and class at the Manhattan School of Music, when a reporter from Northern California calls.

"We're just back from Boston and in New York City today," he said. "Then Maryland on Friday, Chicago on Saturday, flying into San Francisco on Sunday, going to Yuba City and then Sacramento for a master class, then back home."

Puccini said Axiom Brass is looking forward to the Yuba City performance. It's taking place Monday at the at First United Methodist Church as part of the Tri-County Concert Association's live music lineup.

"We are very privileged ... to visit places and make new friends," he said.

The trumpeter for Axiom Brass has been on the road since Jan. 16 and said this will be first time the quintet has performed in California. He has a master's degree in music performance from the Juilliard School of Music and is now a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University.

Axiom Brass formed in 2006, in what Puccini said was "kind of like an afterthought" of years in school and playing in a quintet at Juilliard. The Max H. Gluck Foundation allowed the group to perform concerts at schools, retirement centers and rehab centers. The alumni lived in different places and would meet for concerts, but other priorities — like families and jobs — caused the original group to disband.

"At that point, I was living in Chicago and the best course was to get Chicago musicians, high-quality brass players," Puccini said.

The brass quintet started up again in 2007, impressing audiences worldwide and winning awards. The regrouping led Axiom Brass to strive for a stronger mission: educating a new generation of music aficionados, especially in today's tough economic times when music programs are being cut from schools.

Axiom Brass facilitates master classes on tour. Those classes spend time studying situations, not just learning sheet music. Young musicians also learn how to take care of themselves, like making sure to drink water, get plenty of sleep and deal with symptoms from illnesses.

"Adrenaline can kick in and you'll get short breath," Puccini said. "The show must go on, you have to learn how to compensate if you have to play for a high level."

Axiom Brass will do an outreach program for about 400 students in Colusa on Tuesday morning after the Monday night concert in Yuba City. There will be no cost to the students.

Karner Trethewey, TCCA concert chairman, said the association feels such programs are necessary and beneficial, and therefore cover the costs.

The association strives for a balance of musical forms, he said, from string ensembles to vocals, piano soloists and brass.

"Many of our members especially enjoy brass quintets. As a trombone player myself, I very much look forward to hearing them," he said. "Most of our artists, like the Axiom Brass, do have international exposure and acclaim."

TCCA board member Alisan Hastey said the association watched a DVD of Axiom Brass last winter and was impressed by the musical expertise.

For this concert, Hastey said, a paying adult can bring their children for free.

Monday's repertoire includes classical composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and Claudio Monteverdi, along with modern ones including Jan Bach and Ástor Piazzolla.

CONTACT Laura van der Meer at lvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4771. Find her on Facebook at /ADlvandermeer or on Twitter at @ADlvandermeer.