As with the woodwinds - the collective name used for this family is also a misleading one: brass instruments are not necessarily made of brass. This group is comprised of instruments employing a funnel-shaped mouthpiece, and most of them are actually made of some kind of brass alloy. What helps to distinguish it from other instruments is the way they are played: with the musician's lips placed on the funnel and vibrations from the compressed air, cause fluctuations in pressure in the air stream, which creates the musical sound, whose pitch can be changed by increasing its strength: by blowing through it, and, in the case of some brass instruments, using holes, a slide or valves. Since the very beginning some two hundred years ago, the trumpet, most often made of metal, has been equipped with valves, and is today considered a virtuoso instrument. The ancestors of the hunting horn can be traced back to 17th-century France. The range of the trombone is between those of the trumpet and the tuba, and the pitch it produces can be adjusted with the slide. Let us not forget the rumbling tuba, which also adds a distinctive colour to an orchestra's sound. And who will not only inform us of all this in the company of the expert host, but also demonstrate it? The world-traveling members of the In Medias Brass Quintet, founded at the Liszt Academy in 2010, have already demonstrated their talent at numerous competitions.

Age: 8-14 year
Presented by: Müpa Budapest