KU News Release

KU trumpet ensemble plans Dec. 8 and 9 concerts before touring in China

LAWRENCE — In preparation for a concert tour in China, the University of Kansas Trumpet Ensemble will perform preview concerts in Lawrence and Mission this weekend.

The ensemble, a finalist in the National Trumpet Competition the past two years, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at St. Michael’s and All Angel’s Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Ave., Mission; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., Lawrence.

At the invitation of the U.S.-China Cultural and Educational Foundation, the 14-member trumpet ensemble, directed by Steve Leisring, assistant professor of trumpet, will perform nine concerts in six cities in China. Leisring and several students from the trumpet ensemble will perform solos, assisted by Scott Watson, professor of tuba/euphonium. Scott Weiss, director of bands, will be guest conductor.

“Our hosts in China have requested an audience-friendly program, which I believe we have been very successful in putting together,” Leisring said. “We will perform many popular works, from opera and orchestral transcriptions to ragtime, jazz and Latin favorites to show the versatility of our ensemble.” 

The ensemble will perform in major concert halls at Remnin University in Beijing and in Shenyang, Chengdu and Kunming, China. The group will also perform a special concert for students and faculty of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The students will also perform during a New Year’s concert in Chengdu, and portions will be recorded for inclusion in a widely televised New Year’s special, according to the U.S.-China Cultural and Educational Foundation. Additional tour performances are pending.

“The opportunity for our KU students to connect with audiences in China will be something they will carry with them the rest of their lives,” said Leisring. “They will all experience how quickly music can bring people from different parts of the world together, regardless of language or other cultural differences.”

Members of the trumpet ensemble are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, parents’ names and high schools:

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66047
Evan M. Hunter, freshman in trumpet, son of John and Leslie Hunter; Lawrence High School.

From Lawrence 66049
George Robert Brahler, senior in voice, son of John and Kelli Brahler; Lawrence Free State High School.

JACKSON COUNTY
From Delia 66418
Emily Seifert, senior in music education, daughter of Leon and Connie Seifert; St. Marys High School.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Overland Park 66221
John Michael Rowland, junior in music, son of James and Bonnie Rowland; Olathe East High School.

From Overland Park 66223
Ann Gorsuch, sophomore in music and Spanish, daughter of Janette Sims; Blue Valley High School.

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Topeka 66611
James Robert Henry, senior in trumpet, son of Mike and Becky Henry; Topeka High School.

MISSOURI
From Chesterfield 63017
Andrew Michael Linn, sophomore in trumpet, son of Mark and Jennifer Linn; Parkway Central High School.

From Liberty 64068
Clarissa Beth Smith, sophomore in chemistry and trumpet, daughter of Neal and Vanessa Smith; Liberty High School.

From St. Louis 63131
Steven Sharp, freshman in trumpet and electrical engineering, son of David and Lorraine Sharp; Kirkwood High School.

VIRGINIA
From Falls Church 22042
Patrick Lawrence Hunninghake, sophomore in music education, son of Patricia and David Hunninghake; Falls Church High School.

CHINA
From Beijing
Li Peixiang, freshman in trumpet.

PUERTO RICO
From Humacao
William Munoz, master’s student in music; Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

From San Juan
Orlando Ruiz, master’s degree student in music; Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

From Yauco
Nitai Pons Perez, master’s degree student in music; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico; he is assistant director for the ensemble.

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