Maritime Brass Quintet

Maritime Brass Quintet

The Maritime Brass Quintet brings the highest caliber chamber music to concert halls, churches, festivals and schools across the Maritimes. The group is comprised of five of Canada’s finest brass players: Curtis Dietz and Richard Simoneau (trumpet), Gina Patterson (horn), Eric Mathis (trombone) and Bob Nicholson (tuba & bass trombone).


Maritime Brass Quintet members have studied throughout North America and performed or held positions with many of the world’s leading ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. They also have experience playing in numerous smaller groups and ensembles, including Foothills Brass, Northumberland Brass, Honolulu Brass Quintet, the Jive Kings and the Canadian Brass.


Since forming in the spring of 2011, the Maritime Brass Quintet embarked on a busy concert schedule and have been featured guests at many of the regions’ well-known concert series and performance venues: including the Scotia Festival of Music, the Music Room, Acadia University, University of Prince Edward Island, Universite de Moncton, and First Baptist Church, Halifax. They frequently collaborate with some of the regions finest musicians including Paul Halley and the King’s College Choir, Nick Halley and Capella Regalis, Jeff Joudrey and the Halifax Camerata, and in recital with Mark Duggan at the Scotia Festival of Music.
Recent performances include concerts with the Musique Royale Concert Series, Music at Three Churches, Mahone Bay, collaborations with Kings Chapel Choir and Capella Regalis and recent tour with jazz pianist/composer David Braid.


All MBQ members are dedicated educators as well as players, and are committed to working with brass players of all ages.



The Members of Maritime Brass Quintet

Curtis Dietz, trumpet

Now in his sixteenth season with Symphony Nova Scotia, trumpeter Curtis Dietz is a native of Hanover, Ontario. He is a graduate of the University of Montreal and also studied at the University of Toronto, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Banff Centre. Before coming to Symphony Nova Scotia, Curtis was a freelance musician in Montreal performing with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, I Musici de Montreal and L’Orchestre Metropolitain.

In the summer of 2002, Curtis joined the Canadian Opera Company orchestra for their performances at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. In 2005 he was featured as lead trumpet in Neptune Theatre's production of Chicago. He is currently on the faculty of the Acadia University School of Music. His mother also thinks he is very good.

Last but not least, Curtis is the proud father of two wonderful daughters, Greta and Kate, son Peter with wife Gina Patterson.


Richard Simoneau, trumpet

Richard was born in 1970 in Quebec City, and began playing trumpet at age thirteen in high school. He pursued his studies at the Quebec and then Montreal Conservatories, graduating in May 1994. That summer, he auditioned with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and won a one-year contract to play third and assistant principal trumpet. The next year he played principal trumpet with the Hamilton Philharmonic and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, before moving to his current position of principaltrumpet with Symphony Nova Scotia in September 1996.

Since moving to Halifax, Richard has been heard in many occasions as soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia. Many of those performances have been recorded and brodacsted nationally by the CBC. His other musical activities include performing brass concerts with the Maritime Brass quintet, which is a newly formed professional brass ensemble. Richard has been on faculties of such Universities as Acadia University in Wolfville and Universite de Moncton. He also acts as artist in residence at the Scotia Festival of Music held in Halifax.

When Richard is not performing on the trumpet, he enjoys spending time outdoors, mostly hiking and camping.

Gina Patterson, horn

Gina returned to Nova Scotia after seven years with Canada’s renowned Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. During her tenure there she performed with the orchestra in its award-winning production of Oedipus Rex and Bluebeard’s Castle at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, recorded for Rhombus Films, Bravo Television, CBC Records, and CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera as well as performing on the many acclaimed COC recordings with Richard Bradshaw.

An experienced chamber musician, Gina has rehearsed with the Canadian Brass and performed on the live national broadcast of the Schubertian Celebration at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. She has played with I Musici de Montreal, performed at the New Brunswick and Indian River Chamber Music Festivals, and was a finalist at the CIBC National Music Festival.

Gina has performed with orchestras across Canada, including Symphony Nova Scotia, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, and the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra.

Eric Mathis, trombone

Eric Mathis brings a variety of performance experience to the Maritime Brass Quintet. Associate Principal Trombonist of the Honolulu Symphony, Eric has performed with a number of orchestras including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra, the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra, the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has also held positions in the Northumberland Brass, the Millar Brass Ensemble and the Honolulu Brass Quintet. He now performs regularly with Symphony Nova Scotia and the PEI Trombone Mafia. Eric is also an active soloist and chamber musician, giving regular recitals in Canada and the United States. He has also been featured with Richard Simoneau and Symphony Nova Scotia in performances of Leopold Mozart’s Serenade in D.

A dedicated educator, Eric teaches trombone at Dalhousie University and is a coach with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. While in Honolulu, he taught at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. Eric has given private lessons, clinics and masterclasses to students of all ages.

Eric received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Prince Edward Island and his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he was a student of Frank Crisafulli.

Bob Nicholson, tuba & bass trombone

Winner of 2 East Coast music awards with the Jive Kings, Bob Nicholson is enjoying a varied and successful career. Bob recently completed three years as tubaist with the Calgary based Foothills Brass Quintet and is now pleased to be playing tuba and bass trombone with Maritime Brass Quintet.

Bob performed for 5 years with 'The Phantom of the Opera' in Toronto and for 14 summers in the pit orchestra of 'Anne of Green Gables' at the Charlottetown Festival. As an orchestral musician Mr. Nicholson has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, CBC Toronto Jazz Orchestra and the National Ballet Orchestra among others. Theatre work 'in the pit' includes Toronto productions of Beauty and the Beast, Showboat, Crazy for You, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables and numerous productions at the Charlottetown Festival.

Bob studied at the University of PEI, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the University of Toronto and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. In addition to performing with MBQ, Bob is currently teaching brass and music history at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Contact:

maritimebrass@gmail.com

902-483-9792




Curtis Dietz

(trumpet) 


Richard Simoneau

(trumpet)


Gina Patterson

(horn)


Eric Mathis

(trombone)


Bob Nicholson

(tuba & bass trombone)