Members of the Seraph Brass ensemble performing at Ouachita on Sept. 20 are (from left) Mary Elizabeth Bowden, Rachel Velvikis, Raquel Samayoa, Victoria Garcia and Cristina Cutts Dougherty.

PRESS RELEASE

September 16, 2022

For more information, contact Ouachita’s news bureau at [email protected] or (870) 245-5206. 

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will host the all-female Seraph Brass ensemble in concert Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public. 

Seraph Brass features Mary Elizabeth Bowden and Raquel Samayoa on trumpet, Rachel Velvikis on horn, Victoria Garcia on trombone and Cristina Cutts Dougherty on tuba. Winners of the Silver Medal Global Music Award for their 2018 debut album “Asteria,” The group performs a broad range of music and has toured throughout the United States, China, Mexico and Europe. They are in residency in Northwest Arkansas at the Walton Art Center’s Artosphere Festival orchestra. 

Members of the group hold positions in the Richmond Symphony, World and European Brass Association, Louisville Orchestra, University of North Texas, University of Richmond, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Shenandoah Conservatory. 

“The School of Fine Arts is excited to host such an elite ensemble made up of America’s top brass players from orchestras around the nation,” said Dr. Ryan Lewis, interim dean. “Audiences are sure to enjoy classic brass repertoire alongside new – and a few surprising – compositions and arrangements.”  

The program for this performance includes “Holberg Suite, Op. 40” by Edvard Grieg, “Sempre Libera” from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi,  “Tarantella Napoletana” by Gioachino Rossini, “Fantasia III for Brass Quintet” by Kevin Day,  “Drei Romanzen, Op. 22” by Clara Schumann, “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt, “Vuelta del Fuego” by Kevin McKee, “Central Park Morning” by David Chesky,  “Hora Staccato” by Grigoraș Dinicu, “Khirkiyaan (Windows): Three Transformations for Brass Quintet” by Reena Esmail, “Asteria” by Catherine McMichael and “Go” by Anthony DiLorenzo. 

For more information, contact Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.