Where we started
Amity Street brass quintet was originally a collegiate brass quintet that started as a chamber ensemble class for music majors at UMass Amherst. The original members: Adam Mejaour (trumpet), Luca Antonucci (trumpet), Jocelyn Haversat (horn), Chris Moeringer (trombone), and Aaron Staluppi (tuba) all came together from previous brass quintets during our studies in the music department at UMass.
Where we went…
During a late-night rehearsal, we all toyed with names for our new quintet. We knew we needed a name if we were going to eventually start gigging as a professional ensemble; after a few failed ideas, our trombonist, Chris suggested the name of a side street that he saw while driving along University Drive on the south side of campus. He mentioned that the name “Amity Street” had a nice ring to it and we decided to go with it. We realized that this word, “amity” was coincidentally a really important part of the success for our group. It wasn’t just how well we played music, but more importantly, how all of us meshed as individuals. Being true friends at our cores and being able to have just as great of a time going out for a meal as we did performing at a recital or an event. This has proven true in every musical ensemble I have participated in since. Understanding that we had something special with our group and were also making great music under the initial guidance of our UMass brass faculty, we decided to take the group to the next level. We performed for local events and venues in and around Amherst as well as putting on our own quintet recital before our graduations.
As the years went on, the original members of the group went their separate ways to pursue other aspects of their lives/careers, but in 2019, we all returned to put on another recital at the Springfield Community Music School, where Chris was teaching at the time. This reignited the fire that I had for brass quintet playing and reminded me that the quality of the people in the group elevated the musical experience to a place that I really wanted to replicate on a consistent basis. Since 2015, I have carefully worked to rebuild the current version of the Amity Street Brass Quintet. I worked with dozens of different musicians until I found that special mix of sound and human personalities once again. It was in 2019 that I also decided to add in our percussionist, Karl Grohmann to give our chamber ensemble additional musical depth and the ability to perform some of our repertoire more convincingly. Now back in full swing, we are excited to bring our music to you! Whether in the form of school music outreach, clinics, seasonal entertainment at your venue, or, at our next recital, don’t hesitate to bring a little chamber music into your life!
-Adam Mejaour
