Reporting on The BYU Honors Brass Quintet's Experiential Performance Tour Throughout South-Central Alaska
You can do this. Now, go show them who you are.
These were the words that my mother would give to me before every single performance, competition, or solo festival I faced as a young tuba player. As one might imagine, Anchorage, Alaska didn’t have much opportunity for an aspiring tubist – yet the lack of pedagogical inspiration became the crucible that would forge my work ethic, philosophies and dreams of a lifelong career in music. These dreams, along with mentors such as Philip Walters (tubist & educator) and Justin Somaduroff (high school band director, trumpet/trombone player & actively performing musician) eventually guided me towards BYU's Music school, and now onwards towards my next educational step in achieving them.
Thanks to the donations of local Alaskan businesses, the BYU Honors Brass Quintet was able to embark on an experiential performance tour throughout local venues in south-central Alaska towards the end of Summer 2026. These free, one-hour concerts were advertised to these communities and included a variety of musical genres, verbal presentations, and a featured local professional musician. The Quintet’s tubist, Emma Hogge, was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and through the combined efforts of peers, local Alaskans, and family – brass music was available for these communities for the first time in over a decade. Bryson Noble (Emma’s dear childhood friend and professional trumpet player) was the keystone to the success of this project, joining the Honors Brass Quintet in performing Oskar Böhme’s ‘Sextet for Brass, Op. 30’ in concert as the cornet soloist.
Something that surprised me was how big of an audience we had – It was very lovely to know that there’s always people that love to hear us and see what we do as musicians. I also felt like it was truly important that we were doing something really good for the community, which was amazing to be a part of as a resident of Anchorage myself.
From planning, connecting with local venues, and finding effective ways to market each performance – this project was an incredible undertaking and opportunity as aspiring professional musicians and educators. The hands-on experiences of independent programming and performing were challenging, inspiring, and spiritually deepening as the people of Alaska left impressions of their light with us.
The HBQ first rehearsed at our cornetist's family cabin on the cliffside near Ninilchik, Alaska. Between exploratory outings and appreciating the breathtaking views, we squished 6 chairs and stands into the tiny summer home’s living room. For three days we repped our setlist, ironed out talking assignments, rehearsed with Bryson and refined the challenging sextet piece.
Monday night held our first performance, bringing brass music to the tiny Eagle River and Chugiak communities in Joy Lutheran’s beautiful chapel. After delivering a meaningful performance and debuting our concert series in the Last Frontier, audience members eagerly waited to speak with each of the touring musicians, asking questions about the tour and what it means to be a professional musician in 2026. Recognizing that connecting face-to-face was something Alaskans gravitated towards, we were able to tweak certain aspects of our next performances to better suit these communities.
Out of all of the states I’ve been to in the U.S., I think Alaskans are the nicest – I mean like they are so nice and welcoming.
The Quintet’s second performance was incredibly unique in both our application of these concepts and in its setting – hosting a completely outdoor performance for a small group of young women attending their annual Girl’s Camp in Willow, Alaska.
Arriving at camp, I was quickly reminded of the environmental challenges of this area as the historical Alaska tourist train announced its passage with almost deafening honks and sirens. An outdoor concert is ambitious for any acoustic performance, and Alaska is notorious for mischievous weather patterns and unexpected happenings (such as a pedestrian-alerting train horn that sounds multiple times a day). As the responsible party in scheduling these performances, I grew nervous about these disruptive environmental concerns and the lack of promotional work as the concert drew closer, worried that this would becoming an unpleasant performing experience for my peers and no audience to appreciate our music. These anxieties evolved into a learning opportunity for myself, recognizing that through humility, asking for help and accepting oneself where ever you’re at are also factors in musical performance. As performing musicians, we typically understand the mind-body balance required for us to successfully perform – yet this concert experience taught me how equally important spiritual awareness is in effective performance. Taking these lessons to the stage, we were blessed with unusual calm and clear weather from Alaska’s skies for the entire hour we performed. Looking out at the faces of the Girls Camp kids, sitting in the very seats I had occupied in my youth, I felt like I had finally begun to employ that mind-body-spirit balance, delivering heartfelt remarks during our intermission and feeling the spirit so strongly as I performed with my incredible peers. So many tender mercies happened throughout this concert – Alaska remaining still and silent, even the passing train, which always honked as it passed, remained quiet as it rumbled by. The Young Women Leaders insisted on a photo all together, and with tears in my eyes we concluded this unique performance amidst the willow trees. With a lot of patience and positivity, the Quintet was able to learn a lot from this concert experience – how crucial venue planning and performance scheduling is in successfully bringing live music to everyday people.
One of my favorite memories from the trip was Mama Hogge singing in the chapel for us, and seeing the bull moose in the parking lot literally right after she finished her song. It was awesome!
After packing up camp and heading back towards Anchorage, we had a couple days to prepare and explore the surrounding areas before their grand finale concert on August 9th. Emma Hogge (tubist) had created small hand-out flyers a few weeks before the rest of the quintet’s arrival for the tour, hoping to personally distribute them across the city. Friends and family immediately jumped in to help, printing out hundreds of flyers for the August 9th concert and giving them to coworkers, neighbors, and even the Missionaries – who didn’t hesitate to ask for a few hundred more to hand out as they went door-to-door. The Honors Brass Quintet’s final performances were set to both occur in Anchorage, with an afternoon masterclass during the week and a more formal fireside performance on Sunday. When no one came to the weeknight masterclass, we pivoted and used the time and space to record the piece we had commissioned particularly for this tour – 'A Child’s Prayer’ by Janice Kapp Perry and arranged by Megan Esserine for brass quintet.
The final performance came quickly, and so did 150+ audience members! For Emma and Bryson, this final Anchorage concert was especially meaningful as the audience consisted of many friends, family, and childhood mentors. For the rest of the Quintet – Casey Harris (trumpet), Emma Wycherly (trumpet), Kyle Bishop (Horn), and Carter Babcock (Trombone) - the warm reception during the final concert was the perfect end to the Summer of 2026, and to this year’s BYU Honors Brass Quintet.
The final Anchorage concert recording from August 9th can be found here.
