Pacific Symphony Principal Trumpet Barry Perkins To Be Featured In INAUGURATION FANFARE FOR JOE AND KAMALA

Streaming Tuesday, Jan. 19, 9 a.m. PST.

By: Jan. 15, 2021
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Pacific Symphony Principal Trumpet Barry Perkins To Be Featured In INAUGURATION FANFARE FOR JOE AND KAMALA

Principal Trumpet Barry Perkins has been invited to represent Pacific Symphony in the Hope & Harmony Ensemble, formed by concert tour company Classical Movements in honor of the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Led by world-renowned conductor Marin Alsop, the 14 musicians represent the Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Peabody Institute, South Asian Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and Utah Symphony.

At a time when the orchestra world has been virtually silenced by the pandemic, Classical Movements has made a deliberate effort to bring together orchestras from every part of our country and to reflect the diversity of our people. Half of the performing musicians are women and six are musicians of color.

The performance features two masterpieces of American classical music that perfectly represent our president- and vice president-elect:

  • Aaron Copland's iconic "Fanfare for the Common Man" to celebrate the American people and in honor of Joe Biden; and
  • Joan Tower's dynamic "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" for Kamala Harris, our remarkable and "uncommon" first female vice president.

The virtual "Fanfare for Joe and Kamala" will be streamed on social media on Tuesday, January 19 at 9am PST. In an extraordinary demonstration of cooperation between our nation's top orchestras, this performance will be livestreamed simultaneously on Facebook by Classical Movements, all 14 orchestras and other partners, with a combined digital footprint of over 7.6 million and growing.

In addition to footage of each musician, recorded in their homes and on site across the country, the presentation incorporates photographs and video illustrating "America the Beautiful" and the context of the struggle for civil rights and equality for women in the United States. Classical Movements has partnered with video and sound engineers Arts Laureate to produce these videos.

The Hope & Harmony Ensemble is conceived, produced and directed by Classical Movements. In the middle of a pandemic that has so seriously disrupted the classical music industry, we have transformed the necessity of virtual performance into an opportunity to bring together this diverse and representative group of musicians from all over the country in a way that would not have been possible under other circumstances. After 28 years working closely with the nation's finest orchestras, Classical Movements is uniquely placed to bring together these incredible musicians and gratified by the enthusiastic response from participants and partners.

Classical Movements Founder and President Neeta Helms first envisioned an inauguration tribute to honor the first female president during the Democratic primaries in 2008, approaching Marin Alsop before having to set the idea aside. After reviving the idea in 2016 for Hillary Clinton's potential inauguration, it is only now that the opportunity arrives-assuming additional significance in this historical and cultural moment.

"I am elated to be able to finally celebrate our first female Vice President. I am deeply inspired by Kamala Harris-and as an Indian-born American, I feel particular personal pride that her mother was Indian and in her archetypically American background," notes Neeta Helms. "In this time of difficulty and hardship, it is also fitting that we celebrate Joe Biden, an example to us all for his ideals of decency and hope and his perseverance in the face of hardship and tragedy. Filling a unique and vital role in the music industry that has been hit so hard by the pandemic, it was essential to us to create an ensemble that represented and celebrated our nation's diversity, featuring women and men equally."

Marin Alsop adds, "It's a privilege to pay tribute to this new leadership team and celebrate this historic moment in America!"

Barry Perkins commented, "Having classical music involved in any presidential event is especially significant to me. Our highest level of government deserves a distinguished high level of music. As this orchestra is comprised of representatives from orchestras from all around the United States, I am so honored to be representing my particular region.

Roster of Musicians

Elizabeth Freimuth

Principal Horn, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Jaclyn Rainey

Principal Horn, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Ellen Dinwiddie Smith

Third Horn, Minnesota Orchestra

Nivanthi Karunaratne

Principal Horn, South Asian Symphony Orchestra

Barry Perkins

Principal Trumpet, Pacific Symphony

Jeff Luke

Associate Principal Trumpet, Utah Symphony

Elmer Churampi

Third Trumpet, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Joseph Alessi

Principal Trombone, New York Philharmonic

Amanda Stewart

Associate Principal Trombone, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

John Lofton

Bass Trombone, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Velvet Brown

Lecturer in Tuba, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University

Scott Christian

Assistant Principal Timpanist, National Symphony Orchestra

Brian Prechtl

Percussion, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Cynthia Yeh

Principal Percussion, Chicago Symphony Orchestra


Aaron Copland is perhaps one of the most iconic of American classical composers, and his work, in the words of conductor Leon Botstein, "helped define the modern consciousness of America's ideals, character and sense of place." Born to Lithuanian-Jewish parents in Brooklyn in 1900, Copland wrote compositions that remain some of the most famous to ever emerge from the American classical music movement, and "Fanfare for the Common Man" is one of the most recognizable orchestral pieces of all time.

GRAMMY Award-winning American composer Joan Tower is consistently acclaimed as one of the most successful composers of her generation. Currently the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Music at Bard College, Joan Tower is notable for her bold and energetic compositions, shaped by her childhood and adolescence living in South America. Her "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" series, one of her most famous works, is dedicated to "women who are adventurous and take risks." The first work in the series, featured on this program, was premiered in 1987 and is dedicated to Marin Alsop.

Marin Alsop is undoubtedly the most famous and lauded female orchestral conductor in the world. She is currently the music director of the Baltimore Symphony and chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony. She was a protégé of Leonard Bernstein and was the first woman conductor of a major American orchestra. Her many accolades include conducting the Last Night of the Proms, and she was the recipient of a 2010 GRAMMY Award.

In his 17-year-long tenure as principal trumpet with Pacific Symphony, Barry Perkins has been hailed by critics as "fearless," "first rate" and "phenomenal." Throughout his career, he has performed with many professional orchestras as well as esteemed conductors. Barry has performed on the world's most prestigious concert stages including those of Munich, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Lucerne, Hannover, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Vienna, Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall and Pacific Symphony's Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

In addition to his current duties with Pacific Symphony, Perkins is a member of the music faculty at California Baptist University, UCI and founder of the Barry Perkins Trumpet Academy, which has reached hundreds of young musicians throughout Southern California.

Perkins is also an active Hollywood Studio Musician. A few recent film and TV credits include: The Predator, Aquaman, First Man, Welcome to Marwen, Deadpool 2, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ready Player One, Jumanji 2, Orville, The Post, Downsizing, Star Trek Discovery, Logan, Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Transformers: The Last Night, Spiderman: Homecoming, Cars 3, Rogue One, Star Wars The Force Awakens, Hidden Figures, The Big Friendly Giant, Independence Day Resurgence, The Secret Life Of Pets, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Going In Style, The Magnificent 7, The Good Dinosaur, Peanuts, The Finest Hours, Monster Trucks, The Walk, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Pixels, Minions, Fantastic Four, Concussion, The Finest Hours, Big Hero 6, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Godzilla, My All American, The Amazing Spiderman 2, Blended, Agents of Shield (TV), The Interview, Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy, Frozen, Into The Storm, White House Down, Pacific Rim, Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters, Planes, Lone Ranger, EPIC, Monsters University, Oz The Great and Powerful, Wreck-It Ralph, GI Joe 2, The Amazing Spiderman, Snow White and the Huntsman, Men in Black 3, The Muppets, Karate Kid, The Last Airbender, Avatar, 2012, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Knight and Day, Wolfman, Couples Retreat, The Princess and the Frog, Wolverine, Tinker bell 3, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Hotel For Dogs, Bedtime Stories, G-Force, Miracle at St. Anna, and Repo Men.



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