The Blugene Brass Quintet

The name is quirky. It offers the vision of brass players gathered in a dusty field at the end of a long day at the ranch, playing the tunes they love. The Blugene Brass Quintet, though, does not wear blue jeans, and it is a sophisticated group that plays a wide variety of works arranged for brass ensembles. Its concert on Sunday, Oct. 16, has arrangements for classical music as well works by George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla and Northwest composer Megan Vinther. There also are brass arrangements of Beatles tunes. “We like to think of ourselves as slightly out of the box,” says Sheri Pyron, one of the founders of the group who plays French horn. “We play everything.” Blugene Brass Quintet was founded in 2017 and intended to be an all women’s group. “That was not sustainable,” Pyron notes, so the quintet now has trumpet players Cody Simmons and Zac Tendick as well as Arlo Baratano on tuba joining Pyron and trombone player Shira Fadeley. “I love this group,” Pyron says. “I have no regrets going in this direction.”

Blugene Brass Quintet performs with pianist Elray Stewart Cook and percussionist Don Elkington 3 pm Sunday, Oct. 16, at Central Lutheran Church, 1857 Potter Street. Admission is FREE, though donations to FOOD For Lane County are accepted.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

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Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

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