Quintet No. 2

Quintet No. 2 was premiered on February 9, 2023 by the Mirari Brass Quintet.

From what started out as a short idea that came as I was walking to the campus library, Quintet No. 2 evolved as a high-energy piece to challenge performers by adding body percussion to the demands of brass quintet playing. The result is a five person, ten part piece that is perfect to close out a concert.

Program notes:

The aptly-titled “Quintet No. 2,” being the second brass quintet composed by Ben Kaye-Skinner, was written after his first quintet, despite the fact that the former was not named “Quintet No. 1.” This nomenclature, though infuriating to many and having caused more than one diplomatic incident between the United States and Switzerland, is appropriate, concise, and characteristic of the no-nonsense approach found in other songs entitled “Quintet No. 2.” As of the writing of these program notes, a major search engine that you certainly know the name of that starts with “G” and rhymes with “Google” finds “About 16,300,000 results” for the search “Quintet No. 2,” and it can be assumed that all such quintets, as the second quintets so composed by their composers, are correctly named.

Whenst composing a second quintet first shalt thou count to two, no more, no less. Two shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be two. Three shalt thou not count, neither count thou one, excepting that thou then proceed to two. Five is right out.

Look for Ben’s next brass quintet, “Quintet No. IV,” coming soon to a theatre near you.

Mirari Brass Quintet
Katy Ambrose, French horn
Joe Cooper, trumpet
Steph Frye-Clark, tuba
Sarah Paradis, trombone
Matt Vangjel, trumpet