Lil' Orphans Musical Productions and Zabap Music Productions hereby announce the initiation of the New Orleans Brass Band Project, a music workshop meeting weekly, Monday evenings, from 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm, at KidsPLAYce, 20 Elliot Street in Brattleboro, just underneath the Hotel Pharmacy.

The purpose of this workshop is to cultivate a community of musicians interested in performing music in the New Orleans Brass Band idiom, ranging from traditional dirges and rambles played in New Orleans jazz funerals for over a century now, to contemporary riff-driven and funk inspired second line rhythms.

Players of all ages & levels of accomplishment are sought on the following instruments: sousaphone or tuba, marching bass & snare drum, trumpet, trombone, clarinets, saxophones and miscellaneous percussion. The structure of the workshop is intended to be highly collegial & collaborative, with individuals actively encouraged to contribute arrangements & repertoire, and it is also hoped that the group will over time develop original compositions.

Over the past 25 years, the New Orleans Brass Band revival has exploded in popularity, to the point where it has become the dominant musical form in the city, embraced and performed by young and old alike. Bands such as the Dirty Dozen, Rebirth, New Birth, Treme, Hot 8, Free Agents, and Soul Rebels, have people dancing in the streets and the clubs all day, and all night long, almost every day of the year. It is our hope to be able to bring some of this energy to Southern Vermont & New Hampshire, utilizing the abundant talents of the Brattleboro area musical community.

For more information on the New Orleans Brass Band Project, call Pete Simoneaux at 603-835-6051, or inquire by email to peter.simoneaux@gmail.com, or call KidsPLAYce at 802-254-5212.