Looking West Ensemble was formed as a splinter group from Hubbards large ensemble, Skeleton Key Orchestra. The splinter group concept examines the inner workings of the large group by separating the ensemble into smaller groups to focus on musical and social interation, continued investigation into each instruments extended possibilities and the (re)defining of community vs. individual. LWE is a brass sextet + double percussion which finds its inspiration in the myriad possibilities of colors and textures provided by the brass family.

 

(background) LWE is a chance for me to work on a few different concepts i've been developing for quite a while involving brass band. My involvement has been more active since the SKO recording of East on 53rd Street, which was a brass band and a West African (kpanlogo) meets Afro-Cuban (guaguanco) influenced percussion section. I was also inspired by Komla Amoaku's stories of his father starting a tradition of brass bands across Ghana. So put that together with more research on brass bands from South America (especially Peru) and Bulgaria, you get a general idea of the concept. Of course, i've yet to deal with the marching band and drum and bugle corps. traditions widely popular in the USA (however, it is on my list). LWE's current lineup is - Karl Soukup and Kris Tiner on trumpet, Kathleen Moran on horn, Dwight Dillon on trombone, Brandon Jagow on bass trombone, Sam Behar on tuba and James Burton and Nathan Hubbard on percussion. More to come......NMH