New Brass Composition Brings Together Lincoln Center Cross-Campus Collaboration

In the midst of uncertainty across the cultural landscape (COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and upcoming elections), a New York City composer has been inspired to compose a new work that offers a glimpse and hope into the City’s strength to overcome these challenging times.

Anthony Barfield, a well-known composer in the brass community, wrote Invictus with the mindset of combining his various styles of compositional writing which include classical, gospel, hip-hop, and jazz. To then organize a premiere by New York’s finest musicians is no small task. With many restrictions still in place, Barfield was able to gather musicians from the various Lincoln Center ensembles and perform in a unique set up around the Plaza with a distance of 12 feet between each musician. The musicians involved in the premiere performance include:

• MET Orchestra
  • Raymond Riccomini (Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra), trumpet
  • Anne Scharer, horn
  • John Romero, trombone
  • Christopher Hall, tuba
• New York Philharmonic
  • Christopher Martin, trumpet
  • Thomas Smith, trumpet
  • Richard Deane, horn
  • Colin Williams, trombone
  • David Finlayson, bass trombone
• New York City Ballet Orchestra
  • Neil Balm (Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra), trumpet
  • Dan Wions, horn
• Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
  • Marcus Printup, trumpet
  • Dion Tucker, trombone
• The Juilliard School
  • Marshall Kearse, trumpet
  • Zachary Neikens, bass trombone

Click here (Lincoln Center) and here (WQXR) to learn more about this composition and the premiere performance.

Photo Source: YouTube Video