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Atlantic Brass Band
About
Atlantic Brass Band, one of North America's premier all-volunteer brass bands, proudly serves as the Ensemble-in-Residence at Rowan University. Its members include a diverse group of educators, college students, professional musicians, and non-music professionals; all united by their passion for brass band music. Originally founded as the Wheaton Brass Band in 1984, Atlantic Brass Band is one of the oldest brass bands of its kind in North America. The band presents an annual season filled with concerts, contests, and festival performances of all types. Over the years, Atlantic has been a regular feature at prominent events such as the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival, International Trumpet Guild Conference, Great American Brass Band Festival, National Trumpet Competition, Music Educators National Conference Eastern Division, The New Jersey Music Educators Conference, and the 2025 Mid-West Clinic. Atlantic's reach also extends internationally with past tours of Italy, and the U.K., performances in Canada, and participation in prestigious competitions like the 2013 World Brass Band Championships (Netherlands), the 2018 Brass in Concert contest (England) and the 2018 & 2024 Scottish Open. Atlantic has hosted the Mid-Atlantic Brass Band Festival, the region's premier brass festival, since 2012 and has recently partnered with Rowan Community Music School to help relaunch the Rowan Atlantic Youth Brass Band, helping to develop the next generation of brass musicians.
Musical Director
Salvatore Scarpa
As Music Director and Conductor, Salvatore Scarpa has led the Atlantic Brass Band with remarkable success, including three North American Brass Band Championships and the 2017 U.S. Open Championship. Before his retirement, Salvatore served as Director of Orchestras at Rowan University, where he conducted the University Orchestra and Opera Company productions while also teaching conducting, music theory, and music history. He was also a member of the conducting staff of Philadelphia Ballet, the Music Director/conductor of the Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company (Philadelphia), and a regular guest conductor for the Orvieto Festival of Strings (Orvieto, Italy). A graduate of Both the Eastman School of Music and Rowan University, Salvatore is part of a versatile generation of musicians equally adept in classical, jazz, and popular music. His compositions have been commissioned by esteemed groups such as the Empire Brass, the Philadelphia Pops, and the International Trombone Association. Additionally, he has written several theater scores and won a Down Beat Magazine 'Dee Bee' award for Best Jazz Arrangement. He is a member of the inaugural BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and assistant music director for the Grammy Award-winning production Zappa's Universe.
Choice Program
A Gabrieli Fantasy
Bert Appermont
Program Notes
The basis of the compositional material for this work is the Canzon a 12 in echo by Gabrieli, originally a three-chorus piece from 1608. Motifs, melodic cells, and chords from this work have been transformed, expanded, and placed in a new context. All sorts of triple choruses are featured, with groups playing in close succession, exchanging fragments, and utilizing counterpoint techniques like canon and imitation. The work consists of five movements - Canzon, Toccata, Chorale, Scherzo, and Finale - each with its own distinct character. The first movement opens with the original Gabrieli Canzon before a hammering 'echo' motif announces a furious allegro that breaks loose in the second movement, the Toccata. In this Toccata, the music develops through sparkling solos, virtuoso passages, and rhythmic shifts toward a grand tutti where a chorale theme is jubilantly accompanied by brassy motifs. The third movement, Chorale, utilizes mutes and dissonant sounds from different corners of the room to create a mystifying stereo effect between the brass choirs and the central group. In the Scherzo of the fourth movement, a burlesque and satirical theme - based on the opening notes of the Canzon - builds into a dissonant canon across the three groups of the band. Finally, the Finale returns to the grand closing passage of the original Gabrieli work, enhanced by hammering motifs and virtuoso scale patterns that culminate in a spectacular climax.
NABBA Results History (27)
| Section | Best Finish | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Championship | 1st | 3 |
| Event | Section | Place | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championships 2026 | Championship | 7th | 88.567 | |
| NABBA Championships 2025 | Championship | 5th | 92.433 | |
| NABBA Championships 2024 | Championship | 6th | 89.583 | |
| NABBA Championships 2023 | Championship | 4th | 91.767 | |
| NABBA Championships 2022 | Championship | 3rd | 92.717 | |
| NABBA Championships 2019 | Championship | 4th | 278.800 | |
| NABBA Championships 2018 | Championship | 2nd | 284.600 | |
| NABBA Championships 2017 | Championship | 1st | 293.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2016 | Championship | 3rd | 287.800 | |
| NABBA Championships 2015 | Championship | 2nd | 284.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2014 | Championship | 4th | 93.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2013 | Championship | 3rd | 275.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2012 | Championship | 1st | 283.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2011 | Championship | 1st | 277.000 | |
| NABBA Championships 2010 | Championship | 5th | 274.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2009 | Championship | 4th | 266.600 | |
| NABBA Championships 2008 | Championship | 5th | 268.500 | |
| NABBA Championships 2007 | Championship | 5th | 264.100 | |
| NABBA Championships 2006 | Championship | 4th | 275.400 | |
| NABBA Championships 2005 | Championship | 3rd | 259.600 | |
| NABBA Championships 2002 | Championship | 5th | 265.200 | |
| NABBA Championships 2000 | Championship | 5th | 271.600 | |
| NABBA Championships 1999 | Championship | 3rd | 260.400 | |
| NABBA Championships 1998 | Championship | 7th | 252.000 | |
| NABBA Championships 1995 | Championship | 5th | 224.000 | |
| NABBA Championships 1992 | Championship | 3rd | 242.000 | |
| NABBA Championships 1991 | Championship | 2nd | 262.000 |