ABOUT RBQ

Riverside Brass Quintet (RBQ) is an award-winning ensemble expanding the NYC chamber music experience to be as vibrant, dynamic and inventive as the city it calls home.  

Through novel performances, RBQ presents the diverse music of New York City with a new and artfully engaging perspective. Historically, brass instruments are equally welcome in a concert hall as they are on a street corner - a virtue RBQ leverages to create inviting performances to both the uninitiated listener and the seasoned concert-goer. RBQ’s unique sound lends itself to effortless genre blending between traditional chamber music and commercial styles.

With intentional collaboration and programming, RBQ is committed to uplifting local artists and ensembles. Recent projects include the premiere recording of “Chrysalis” by Chloe Rowlands, a co-commissioned new work by rising composer Aliyah Danielle, and an interdisciplinary performance at Art on the Ave’s Inwood Gallery with visual artist Ruthy Valdez. RBQ has been a featured ensemble on programs produced by NOVUS NY, Dalton Chorale, and First Presbyterian Church. 

RBQ frequently partners with nonprofit organizations, such as the Kaufman Music Center and EnoB to provide free interactive concerts in schools, hospitals, and retirement homes. The quintet also held a residency at Peabody’s Innovation for Music Academy Summer Program.

In 2024, RBQ curated its Brass on Broadway concert series with funding awarded by the Lower Manhattan Community Council (LMCC) and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ). This project enabled Upper Manhattan residents to attend and explore popular Broadway music in three varied venues across Central Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood at no cost to them. 

As a recipient of the Chamber Music America’s 2024 Ensemble Forward grant, RBQ released their Debut EP, Impromptu, produced by GRAMMY-winning bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton and mixed by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Nich “S!lky” Jones.

What started in 2023 as a group of friends reading music and sharing bagels, quickly grew into an established ensemble with a profound blend, purpose, and synergy that all began in an apartment on Riverside Drive.