Dash Duo perform a 10:30 a.m. concert as part of the West Vancouver Concert Series at Silk Purse Arts Centre on Jan. 24. Open seating tickets are $17 each and can be purchased at silkpurse.ca.
Dash Duo perform a second recital with Naomi Woo at the Vancouver Academy of Music (1270 Chestnut St.) on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. eventbrite.ca/e/dash-trumpet-duo-and-naomi-woo-piano-tickets-51667822849.
They met under competitive circumstances.
Mary Elizabeth Bowden and David Dash, she from the Chicago area and he from New Jersey, nervously struck up a conversation during a trumpet audition with the Naples Philharmonic in Florida.
“We both advanced with the audition and were talking with each other,” recalls Bowden. “And Dave won that position … so he had a really great day – he won a position and met his future wife.”
Indeed, a marriage and a musical duo were borne from that fateful meeting.
Winston-Salem is home base for the husband and wife trumpeters, who both teach at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Dash as assistant professor of trumpet and Bowden as a resident artist.
“They call us artist faculty,” explains Dash. “So we are hired on the basis of our ongoing artistic activities. We’re still out there, we’re creating – we’re working as artists. That’s something that is a little different from some universities but is a chance for us to be able to share with our students what we are creating.”
North Carolina is also where the couple reconnects after spending long stretches apart. Like many professional musicians, Bowden and Dash have solo careers that take them separately around the world for performances with philharmonics, symphony orchestras, and the like.
“Well, I would say we have to plan carefully,” says Dash, of creating a work-life balance. “We have to really look at how many days go between when we are able to see each other. And just make sure we schedule time together.”
Forming the Dash Duo in 2010 allowed the couple to hit the road together and project their love of trumpet music to audiences across the U.S.
“And that’s one of the big reasons why we formed our duo – we love playing together and making music together, so we get to travel and spend time with each other too. It’s really nice,” says Bowden.
Ambleside is the next stop on the Dash Duo tour. The couple will be performing three shows in the Vancouver area during the last week of January, including an intimate engagement at the Silk Purse Arts Centre, where the Dash Duo will make their Canadian debut.
“I hear it’s a beautiful and exciting place to visit,” says Dash, ahead of their trip to Vancouver.
On their packing checklist is seven trumpets of varying sizes.
“It’s probably more annoying than travelling with a tuba,” says Bowden with a laugh.
The couple assures the trumpet is not imposing but rather mesmerizing in smaller spaces, such as the charming Silk Purse, formerly a honeymoon cottage.
“Some people might perceive the trumpet as an instrument that might be too loud, but we’re happy to show the audience that the trumpet can have a variety of different colours and can be a really beautiful instrument to listen to,” says Bowden.
In fact, the Silk Purse audience will be treated to the sound variation of seven different types of trumpet. The Dash Duo will come with a pair of piccolo trumpets, the smallest of the family, in tow. Piccolos produce bright, energetic notes, in contrast to the flugelhorn which emits a much darker sound.
For their recital at the Silk Purse, Bowden and Dash will summon different trumpets to guide them through a wide-ranging repertoire that jumps around different styles and eras.
Along with well-known pieces by Mozart, the audience will hear a “fun” arrangement of the “Carmen Fantasie” from the famous opera.
“This is a piece where we really showcase a lot of the different trumpets,” promises Bowden.
The Dash Duo will be accompanied on the piano by Naomi Woo who Bowden met at the Banff Centre when she was studying with Canadian trumpet great Jens Lindemann.
Bowden, a Yamaha artist, has produced multiple recordings through Summit Records. Bowden’s latest solo album, Rêverie, will be released in April. Recorded with the Kassia Ensemble, Rêverie is a collection of new arrangements of popular classical works made for trumpet, strings, harp and harpsichord.
Bowden performs as an international soloist and as a chamber musician with her all-female brass ensemble, Seraph Brass.
Dash, also a Yamaha artist, is a member of the Santa Fe Opera and was previously a member of the Naples Philharmonic. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Atlanta Symphony among many others.
More notably, Dash, after maturing musically though Juilliard School’s pre-college division, at 24 years old launched his professional career from a seat in the “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.
While in the band, Dash toured across the U.S. and performed at the White House quite a bit while George W. Bush was the sitting president.
“We would be playing little brass quintets for example and he would walk by,” says Dash.
Dash, who performed at Bush junior’s second inauguration, has fond memories of performing as part of the oldest musical organization in the U.S. and one steeped in rich history.
“It’s a tight ensemble in terms of people really listen to each other. It is highly disciplined. It allowed me to get into other auditions for other groups.”
While in Vancouver, Bowden and Dash will give classes at UBC on entrepreneurship and the psychology of improvement.
“The simple advice is be prepared to work really hard for a long time,” says Bowden. “It takes a lot of grit to make a career in music, and a lot of being able to take rejection.”
Already signed up to perform a Müzewest concert, Bowden and Dash wanted to play a couple other venues around town and make it a week-long visit to Vancouver. Dash emailed different classical music programmers and came across the Silk Purse website.
“And they liked our material,” says Bowden. “It takes a lot of personal reaching out as a solo artist. You have to do a lot of advocating for yourself.”
On the subject of self-improvement as a musician, Dash says a healthy amount of criticism is necessary for the growth process.
“At the same time (young musicians) have to make sure to find their own voice and be able to speak through their instrument and say interesting things,” says Dash.
