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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 12, 2008 - 45 Artscene · FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008 Intrada Brass getting people into That Holiday Feeling Band's first Christmas album flying off shelves By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Intrada Brass is getting people in the spirit of the season with their latest recording, That Holiday Feeling. The new album features 18 Christmas favourites by the Oakville-based group. The disc has already sold 600 copies, which is good news for the band, as 1,000 discs were pressed. Doug Field, longtime general manager with the group, said they are proud of the album. "It is absolutely world-class, local entertainment and is a great listen," he said. "It also supports a local group." The album was recorded on a hot summer weekend in June. The group chose the Salvation Army Church in Guelph for its outstanding acoustics. Despite the absence of snowman-making weather and eggnog, it was a jolly time, according to Field. "The band was in shorts and sandals playing Christmas carols and they had a great time," he said. Tracks on the disc range from the sonorous Carol of the Bells to the lighthearted Frosty the Snowman, featuring a tuba solo by Rob Brown. There are other classics, like White Christmas and Sleigh Ride, as well as tunes Field said will hopefully become new favourites. "My personal favourite is Noël Nouvelet, which was arranged by our associate conductor, Kevin Norbury," said Field. "It is a French carol and it is gorgeous. Kevin has scored it beautifully, and I think people will discover it as a new carol." This is the group's seventh disc, but its first holiday album. It is a project that has been years in the making. "We've wanted to do this album for many years and we finally got around to it," Field said. "We're pleased with it because it is programmed for a wide audience." The group hopes to break even with the disc, especially since it is a seasonal album. "A Christmas disc you can really only sell for eight weeks a year, so if we can come close to making back our investment by Christmas, we've done really well," Field said. "Judging IMAGES COURTESY OF INTRADA BRASS JOLLY IN JUNE: Members of Intrada Brass get into the Christmas spirit in June while recording their first holiday album at Salvation Army Church in Guelph. Album sales of the finished product, That Holiday Feeling, pictured below, are going strong. from our numbers so far, we're close. " The band and the album is getting a huge push through a deal with 3KO Entertainment. More than 10,000 copies of the disc are being sold as part of a four-disc Christmas CD package in stores like WalMart, Staples and Zellers across Canada. A distributor in the United Kingdom has also picked up the album. "We're really pleased with all of the exposure," Field said. It has been the busiest holiday performance season in Intrada Brass' 13year history, according to Field. The group, under Music Director Bram Gregson, gave a seasonal concert with the Con Brio Children's Choir in Mississauga last Saturday. It also performed at the Royal Ontario Museum the following day. The band has been presenting music at the museum twice a year, in the spring and at Christmas, for about five years. "People listen to a few tunes and then go off, so you program short tunes so they get to hear a few pieces," he said. "It is funny, because in the gallery where we play, we are situated between dinosaur fossils and a statue of Buddha, both of whom have been dead for a long time, so people take notice of us. We like playing there and the people at the ROM have been good to us." Their final holiday concert is tonight (Friday) in Georgetown. Intrada Brass has approximately 30 members, depending on percussion required. Instruments that make up the ensemble include cornets, flugelhorn, alto horns, baritones, euphoniums, trombones, E-flat tubas and B-flat tubas. Musicians come from the surrounding area and as far away as Fenelon Falls and Merrickville, but the one thing they have in common is that they can really toot their own horn. "These are professionals, music educators, some are semi-professional as well, and really talented amateurs," Field said. "They come from so far because this is a great place to play." The group performs three concerts in its subscription series each year at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, with upcoming performances on March 29 and May 24. It also gives a number of other concerts throughout the year at various venues. An Ontario Trillium Grant has helped the group start a free summer concert series at Coronation Park. It is hoping this will help grow audience numbers. "It's a tough sell because there is not builtin brass audience, so you have to program for people who want to hear recognizable music," Field said. "We like to think we are a class act and we're hoping other people who hear us see this too." Intrada Brass performs tonight (Friday) at the John Elliott Theatre in Georgetown at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $30. For information or tickets, visit www.town.halton-hills.on.ca/theatre. That Holiday Feeling is available online at www.intradabrass.ca. Online orders are shipped within 24 hours. Music samples from the seasonal disc are on its website. That Holiday Feeling is also being sold at L'Atelier Grigorian 210 Lakeshore Rd. E.; A Canadian Christmas, 312 Lakeshore Rd. W., Unit 2; Glen Abbey United Church, 1469 Nottinghill Gate; Good Books, 114 Thomas St.; Leslie Music Supply, 198 Speers Rd. and Notes, 35 Lakeshore Rd. W.