Dennis Ferry
Encyclopedia
Dennis Ferry is an internationally known trumpet
er and the former Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
in Geneva
, a position that he held from October 1977 until January 2009.
in music from Carnegie Mellon University
and a Master of Music from Catholic University
.
He was the Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva from October 1977 until January 2009. Previously, he had occupied the same position in the orchestras of Jerusalem, Düsseldorf
, and Rotterdam
. He was also a member of The United States Air Force Band
in Washington, D.C. for four years, and from 1983 to 1996 was Principal Trumpet of the Colorado Music Festival
Orchestra. He has participated in over 700 live radio broadcasts and appears on over 30 commercially available recordings.
As a specialist in baroque music
, he plays natural trumpet
with such baroque ensembles as Les Arts Florissants
, La Chapelle Royale
, Gli Angeli Genève
, and the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra
. He has recorded two solo CDs for Harmonia Mundi
- the first on natural trumpet (Scarlatti
and Melani
); the second on cornet à pistons
(works from the Belle Époque
). In 2005, Ferry recorded the Ponchielli Trumpet Concerto with the Denver Municipal Band. In 2006, he recorded Rose Variations by Robert Russell Bennett
with the same ensemble. This is one of only two recordings of Rose Variations with the original band accompaniment. The previous recording was made by John Haynie in 1958 with the University of Illinois Concert Band.
In addition to his playing career, Dennis is also active as an arranger. Morning Song (Kellaway
) for brass quintet is published by Editions Bim and his brass quintet version of Grainger
's Lincolnshire Posy
is published by Solid Brass Music. Ferry has also authored an excerpt book on the use of high-pitched trumpets in the orchestra,Piccolo Trumpets published by Virgo Press England. He has taught and given master classes in Switzerland, Holland, and the United States.
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er and the former Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, a position that he held from October 1977 until January 2009.
Biography
Born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Ferry began his musical education in the United States with his father, Tony Ferri, a big-band trumpeter. He obtained a Bachelor of Fine ArtsBachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in music from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
and a Master of Music from Catholic University
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
.
He was the Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva from October 1977 until January 2009. Previously, he had occupied the same position in the orchestras of Jerusalem, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. He was also a member of The United States Air Force Band
The United States Air Force Band
'The Singing Sergeants' is the official chorus of the United States Air Force. It was formed in 1945 from members of The United States Air Force Concert Band, but is now composed entirely of professional vocalists who have been appointed by audition. The Singing Sergeants have appeared before every...
in Washington, D.C. for four years, and from 1983 to 1996 was Principal Trumpet of the Colorado Music Festival
Colorado Music Festival
The Colorado Music Festival is a classical music festival in Boulder, Colorado. It was founded in 1976 by the Vienna-born conductor and violinist, Giora Bernstein and presents an annual summer season of concerts in Boulder's Chautauqua Auditorium performed by the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra...
Orchestra. He has participated in over 700 live radio broadcasts and appears on over 30 commercially available recordings.
As a specialist in baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
, he plays natural trumpet
Natural trumpet
A natural trumpet is a valveless brass instrument that is able to play the notes of the harmonic series.-History:The natural trumpet was used as a military instrument to facilitate communication ....
with such baroque ensembles as Les Arts Florissants
Les Arts Florissants (ensemble)
Les Arts Florissants is a Baroque musical ensemble in residence at the Théâtre de Caen in Caen, France. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979. The ensemble derives its name from the 1685 opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The organization consists of a chamber orchestra...
, La Chapelle Royale
La Chapelle Royale
- History :La Chapelle Royale was founded in 1977 in Paris by the Belgian conductor Philippe Herreweghe. It takes its name from the Chapelle royale of the French kings....
, Gli Angeli Genève
Gli Angeli Genève
Gli Angeli Genève is a Baroque ensemble based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 2003 by the bass-baritone, Stephan MacLeod, their debut performance was at the Festival Amadeus de Meinier. The ensemble performs an annual season of four concerts in Geneva, primarily dedicated to Bach's cantatas and...
, and the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra
Boston Early Music Festival
The Boston Early Music Festival is a music festival held every two years in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, for all people interested in historical music performance....
. He has recorded two solo CDs for Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
- the first on natural trumpet (Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
and Melani
Alessandro Melani
Alessandro Melani was an Italian composer and the brother of composer Jacopo Melani, and castrato singer Atto Melani. Along with Bernardo Pasquini and Alessandro Scarlatti, he was one of the leading composers active in Rome during the 17th century...
); the second on cornet à pistons
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
(works from the Belle Époque
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
). In 2005, Ferry recorded the Ponchielli Trumpet Concerto with the Denver Municipal Band. In 2006, he recorded Rose Variations by Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
with the same ensemble. This is one of only two recordings of Rose Variations with the original band accompaniment. The previous recording was made by John Haynie in 1958 with the University of Illinois Concert Band.
In addition to his playing career, Dennis is also active as an arranger. Morning Song (Kellaway
Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory...
) for brass quintet is published by Editions Bim and his brass quintet version of Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
's Lincolnshire Posy
Lincolnshire Posy
Lincolnshire Posy is a piece by Percy Grainger for concert band composed in 1937 for the American Bandmasters Association. Considered Grainger's masterpiece, the work is composed of six movements, each adapted from folk songs that Grainger had collected on a 1905–1906 trip to Lincolnshire,...
is published by Solid Brass Music. Ferry has also authored an excerpt book on the use of high-pitched trumpets in the orchestra,Piccolo Trumpets published by Virgo Press England. He has taught and given master classes in Switzerland, Holland, and the United States.
Selected recordings
Ferry has appeared as a soloist on the following recordings:- Fête de la trompette (A celebration of the trumpet), Harmonia Mundi FranceHarmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
, 1999. - Arias et cantates pour soprano, trompette et continuo, Harmonia Mundi France, 1984/1999.
- Stravinsky: Ragtime / Octet / Histoire du soldat / Petrushka, Chandos RecordsChandos RecordsChandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
, 2007.
Publications
- Dennis Ferry (arranger). Piccolo trumpets: orchestral excerpts. Virgo Music, 1989 (score)
- Percy Grainger; Dennis Ferry (arranger). Lincolnshire Posy for 2 trumpets, F horn, trombone, tuba. Solid Brass Music, 2003 (score)
- Roger Kellaway; Dennis Ferry (arranger). The morning song for brass quintet: 2 trumpets in B♭, horn in F, trombone, tuba. Editions Bim, 2004 (score)
Sources
- Bradley, Jeff, Festival a vacation for notable trumpeter, Denver Post, July 29, 1996; p. F-08
- International Trumpet Guild, Dennis Ferry on US lecture tour, August 2008
- Keim, Friedel (ed.), "Ferry, Dennis", Das grosse Buch der Trompete: Instrument, Geschichte, Trompeterlexikon, Schott, 2005, p. 329. ISBN 3795705304