About LAB-A
Who We Are
The Los Angeles Brass Alliance (LAB-A) is a brass ensemble for brass musicians, by brass musicians. We exist to foster connection, community, and artistic opportunity for emerging brass professionals in the greater Los Angeles area. LAB-A was founded in April 2023 after a studio session brought brass musicians from across LA together, and musical community is central to our identity.
LAB-A operates as collective, pulling from a pool of approximately 100 emerging brass professionals located in the greater Los Angeles area. Our musicians are current graduate students or recent graduates of over 15 different major universities in and beyond Los Angeles. Most are starting their careers in the freelance scene, taking auditions, or completing advanced degrees in music performance.
Our ensemble has an average performing size of 35-40 members, and performs 4 concerts per season, in addition to hosting competitions and workshops. Concert sign-ups are open to any eligible brass musician, and are posted on our website and social media pages for each cycle.
Are you looking for a space to meet, play and collaborate? Join us for a concert!
At LAB-A's Next Up at Pasadena Prebyterian Church (2024)
Our Fearless Leaders
Hello!
We're Svend and Ben, and we are so excited to introduce you to LAB-A. We are the President and Vice President of the Los Angeles Brass Alliance, and are thrilled to be leading this incredible team.
We created LAB-A to form an alliance that brings together recent college graduates and graduate-level musicians to share our passion for brass playing. This brass ensemble is made of interconnected, diverse and collaborative brass musicians in Los Angeles -- a brass ensemble for the next generation.
LAB-A’s mission is to cultivate community between emerging brass professionals through unique artistic opportunities, collaborative experiences, and culturally-informed, intentionally inclusive performances.
We look forward to working with you to make LAB-A a success. Thank you for your support, and we can't wait to see what we can achieve together.
Warm regards,
Svend and Ben
Ben and Svend playing on the session that inspired LAB-A (2023)
Our Values
Inclusivity
LAB-A strives to create a space for musicians of all identities to perform, collaborate and connect. We aim to actively include non-dominant narratives in every part of the LAB-A experience.
Artistic Autonomy
We strive to platform our member’s artistic autonomy and freedom of expression. We're here to support your passion projects, or connect you with the people and resources who can help make it happen.
Passion for the Arts
We seek to broaden brass ensemble performance practices and community connection through collaborations with Los Angeles's wide variety of artistic disciplines and representations.
Growth Mindset
We're lovers of the process, and seek to support each other as we grow. We work to continually empower ourselves and our community to expand as artists, organizers, and people through constant curiosity and re-evaluation.
Our Artistic Intent
LAB-A is a collaborative entity with the curiosity to explore new and diverse mediums, including outside of the traditional brass canon. We consciously create space for musical exploration with the desire to expand opportunities, knowledge, and understanding.
Our Community Context
LAB-A seeks to platform new performances and turn adversity into advantage by connecting young, ambitious brass professionals in the Los Angeles area. Our goal is to generate a diverse community of brass players bridging the gap between the collegiate and professional artistic world.