Lettuce Field Trip

An Evening with Brad Ellis

        Last week, Charlotte and I had the opportunity to go see Brad Ellis perform with the UMBC Wind Ensemble. For those of you who don't recognize the name, Brad played Brad the piano guy and was the accompanist for Glee, both on and off screen. At the concert we got to see him perform delovely and a song about the joys of Burbank. He also accompanied two of the vocalists from the college, one of whom sang Nothing from A Chorus Line. Following that was by far the funniest piece of the night, the same events told from Mr. Carp's point of view. A Chorus Line was one of my favorite shows in high school, and seeing the perspective of a teacher who has a student who refuses to participate in class was hilarious. Next was a piece composed by Brad himself, but before I talk about that, I want to mention the final piece, Rhapsody in Blue. This is a band standard, but Brad played it expertly. It was truly a joy to see how talented he is on piano, in a piece that really allowed him to show off. 

               
          The most enjoyable part of the evening was the world premiere of McMurphy's Reeder, for Oboe, Piano and Wind Ensemble, composed by Brad. I am an oboe player myself, so getting to see this was extra special. One of the things I desperately wanted in college was to play a jazzy oboe solo, since I think the expressiveness of the instrument lends itself well to the genre. The minute Trevor, the soloist, started playing blues and swing rhythms, I was ecstatic. The piece was so much fun to listen to, as well as really showing off the oboe's range. At this point I need to give a shout out to Trevor, who currently plays with the President's Own, who's masterful performance truly brought the piece to life. After the performance, we got to go backstage and meet Brad. He was very gracious, and we got to talk to him about music and performance, and even a little bit about the podcast. We got our programs signed, and our pictures taken. It was a night to remember.

We would like to thank Brad for his time, Trevor for his talent and the students and staff of UMBC for bringing such a wonderful program right to our backdoor.