The renowned Viennese septet Mnozil Brass will make an appearance at Schaeffer Auditorium on Monday at 7:30 p.m. as part of the KU Presents! Performing Artists Series. The group is known for their wildly diverse repertoire, their exquisite playing and a sense of humor that has earned them the title “The Monty Python of the musical world.”
Tickets for the Mnozil Brass are $44 for adults, $42 for seniors and $19 for KU students. Tickets can be purchased at the KU Presents website, https://www.kutztownpresents.org, or by calling the KU Presents! Box Office between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, at 610-683-4092.
Imagine combining the Canadian Brass with touches of P.D.Q. Bach and sketch comedy. Add to the brew a repertoire that mixes “Bohemian Rhapsody” with the “William Tell” Overture; Harry James’ Concerto for Trumpet with James Bond music; Viennese “schlager” music (light, modern popular or folk styles) with “The Blue Danube” — you get the idea. Nothing is beyond Mnozil Brass and everything is a surprise.
The ensemble took the name Mnozil from the now-closed Mnozil Gasthaus, a pub located in the heart of Vienna, across from the University of Music and Performing Arts, where the founding members used to gather and play. Mnozil Brass was born in 1992 and quickly became popular in Austria, and then across Europe and most of the world.
Three of the founding players are still part of the group: trumpeters Thomas Gansch and Robert Rother and trombonist Leonhard Paul. The newer members have been on board since 2004: trombonists Gerhard Fussl and Zoltan Kiss, trumpeter Roman Rindberger, and tuba player Wilfried Brandstotter.
They will be performing a program commissioned by the Viennese Johann Strauss II Bicentenary Festival, which was celebrated throughout 2025 in various venues throughout the city.
Simply titled “Strauss,” the program honors the worldwide superstar known as “The Waltz King.” Along with some of the familiar waltzes that captivated audiences during the 19th century, but also other music from that time, said Rindberger, in a recent interview from his childhood home in Zell am Moos, northeast of Salzburg, Austria, where he was vacationing.
“At that time, Vienna was a city of two million people — it’s 1.8 million now — and they had amazing venues for playing Strauss music live for 5,000 people, that don’t exist anymore,” Rindberger said. “Who would do that nowadays?”
For variety, they will play other pieces from the same era, including music by the late-Romantic composer Richard Strauss (unrelated to Johann). Opera lovers can delight in the sublime orchestral suite from “Der Rosenkavalier,” arranged for brass septet. And there will be more surprises, of course.
Rindberger never imagined he would wind up in an ensemble such as this one. As a child, he followed in the footsteps of his trumpet-playing father, joining him to play in the local village band. But at 17, he enrolled in the venerable Mozarteum University in Salzburg.
After two years, he had to take a hiatus during which he rehabilitated his flawed embouchure with the German trumpeter and technical specialist Malte Burba. He later graduated and went on to earn a master’s degree from the City of Basel Academy in Switzerland. He received a stipend to play with the Zurich Opera as part of his training and then landed the opportunity of a lifetime to play in the world-famous Berlin Philharmonic; later, he became a soloist in orchestra of the Wiesbaden Opera House.
Then, in 2004, Rindberger was approached by Fussl and Gansch with an offer to join Mnozil Brass. At the time, he said he was ready for a change and decided to give this new adventure a try.
What makes Mnozil special, he said, is that “everyone has some really special skills. It makes us quite flexible in terms of playing different styles and creating different atmospheres.”
And, as a member of this unique group, Rindberger gets to use his singing skills, and do some comedy as well.
Theater
For the second of its three-show Family Series, KU Presents! will bring The PAZA Experience theater piece “The White Buffalo” to Kutztown University’s Schaeffer Auditorium next Sunday at 2 p.m.
The show will introduce people of all ages to the Lakota Sioux culture, combining storytelling, dance and music. It will feature Delwin Fiddler Jr. (Elk Bear) narrating, performing Hoop and Grass Dances and playing music; also featured will be Dr. Samora Free, a singer multi-instrumentalist and soundscape artist.
Tickets for “The White Buffalo” from Paza Experience are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors and $15 for KU students. Tickets can be purchased at the KU Presents website, kutztownpresents.org, or by calling the KU Presents! Box Office from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, at 610-683-4092.
Fiddler is the founder of PAZA, Tree of Life, a nonprofit group based in Easton that is devoted to teaching and sharing many aspects of the Lakota tradition with Native Americans and anyone else who would like to know more about this culture. Its logo explains it best: “Bringing People Together Through Culture, Community and Conservation.” Free is the manager of PAZA’s Arts and Culture Department.
“The White Buffalo” tells the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman, who appeared to two Lakota men and brought the Seven Sacred Rites to the Lakota.
“We will sing and dance, and through that process, we will take the journey together,” Fiddler said. “We want to bring all cultures together to walk the Red Road (the spiritual path). We have to hold on to the traditions and culture, the stories and the legacy, and we have to turn back to nature.”
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The Reading Theater Project’s 11th annual “5-Minute Fringe Festival: Legacy” features new work by 12 playwrights and performers from around the region. Performances continue through today at the Yocum Institute for Arts Education’s black box Schumo Theater, 3000 Penn Ave., West Lawn.
All tickets are Pay What You Will, including $0, with a recommended price of $20. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit readingtheaterproject.org.
Each year the festival features new and exciting work; this year audiences can look forward to short plays, monologues, dance, and music, as well as pieces that intermix performance genres.
“For me, the 5 Minute Fringe is about possibility,” said artistic director Jody Reppert. “New theater doesn’t begin fully formed, but it begins with a spark. A spark can catch in 5 minutes. It opens the door for more artists to experiment, to discover, and to tell stories that might not otherwise find a stage. That spirit of shared creation is at the heart of what we do.”
Each night of the performance will be followed by a talkback so audience members can share observations and ask questions of the performers and writers.
Playwrights and performing artists selected for the production: Andrew Pochan, Nadia Pochan, Joel Lesher, Elaine Soltis, David Hall, Santo D. Marabella, Mike Shott, Adam Richter, Alison Lines, Tony Quinones, Cat Whelan, Beth Toner, Rebeccca Dunn, Kevin Wade, Kimberly Patterson, Crux (Rob Rodriguez), Jacquelynee Conyers-Jordan, Tara Mitchell, Daphnee McMaster, Sophia Stopper, Jessica C. Warchal-King, Marty Bonk, Sarena Gable, Arielle Ridley, Megan Zalek and Matt and Jeanette Fotis.
Pianist Andy Roberts will play throughout to link one piece to the next. The production will be directed by Jewell A Brown. Sean Sassaman will be stage managing and crafting the lighting design.
