Making classical music ‘exciting and accessible’
The 5 Browns seek to engage and challenge audiences
Sitting at five Steinway Grand pianos, all of which are placed facing one another like fitting puzzle pieces, the siblings who make up famous classical music ensemble the 5 Browns will take the stage tonight for their first show in Santa Fe.
The 5 Browns, or Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan Brown, all grew up playing piano after oldest, Desirae, began lessons as a kid. Melody Brown says it initially started as kids each wanting to follow in their older siblings’ footsteps. But somehow all five remained passionate about the craft as they got older and became equally gifted.
Melody, who along with brother Gregory spoke with the Journal, said the coincidence of all five becoming good musicians is something the siblings still cannot explain. All of them attended The Julliard School and have since toured internationally together for more than a
decade, with the goal of bringing the classics to a different audience.
In addition to recording six albums since 2005, the quintet has performed on the Today show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes and other television shows, which Gregory Brown said has helped them bring their style to those it wouldn’t normally reach.
Now in their thirties, most of them married and some starting families, the siblings who grew up in Utah are spread out across the country: Deondra and Melody still in their home state, Desirae in New York City, and Gregory and Ryan in the Washington, D.C., area.
Gregory Brown said doing tours together keeps the siblings close even when far apart, describing them all as each other’s “best friends.”
“It’s a total gift at this point in our lives to still see each other so often,” he said.
Their Santa Fe show is at the Lensic Performing Arts Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. Gregory noted that it’s rare for the siblings to play somewhere new within the United States — this is their first Santa Fe show — and both he and Melody said they’re excited to visit.
The Browns will play five-piano arrangements of classical favorites like the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Stravinsky’s “Firebird” and Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which many audience members will remember from Disney’s “Fantasia” with Mickey Mouse as said magical apprentice.
The group will also do solos or duets so the audience can hear each of their individual musical personalities, said Gregory. Melody added that these performances are a chance for her brother, Ryan, to show off some of his own compositions; Gregory to show what a “virtuoso” he is by playing Chopin arrangements; and for her sisters Desirae and Deondra to display their speciality of twopiano playing and their different styles: she described Desirae as more “graceful” and Deondra as “fiery.”
The group has always aimed to make classical music feel exciting and accessible. Throughout their concerts, Gregory says, they try communicating with the audience between pieces so everyone can know what to listen for, and better understand the pieces and what they mean to the group. He said they choose selections that will both engage and challenge an audience unfamiliar with the classical genre and show you don’t have to be a classical expert to enjoy .
“(We) try to be ourselves, not too stuffy, because we consider ourselves to be still pretty young and we enjoy playing classical music. It’s not something you have to take too seriously,” said Gregory.
“I think people don’t realize how accessible classical music is,” he added, saying it’s not about knowing the most composers or symphonies, but that the genre can emotionally move someone.
“All it’s really about is what you’re feeling inside while you’re listening.”