A Composition by Chris Brubeck & Dave Brubeck

 
Chris Brubeck

Chris Brubeck

Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck

 
Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

 
As majestic images of Half Dome and Horsetail Falls fade in and out on a giant screen, the music builds and then melts to mirror the majesty of a church or echoes the Southwestern style as a mission takes the screen. When the final moonlit mountain went dark, the music stopped and the full house erupted. The effect is both inspiring and humbling.
— J.T. Long, Sacramento Press
 
 

Nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Composition"


Ansel Adams: America, composed by Chris Brubeck and Dave Brubeck, is a symphonic tribute saluting one of America's most cherished artists — Ansel Adams.

The 22-minute, one-movement piece, fully integrates sweeping melodies with 102 striking images of or by Ansel. Few people realize that Ansel Adams trained to be a classical musician, a fact which greatly influenced the work. It has consistently played to full houses, and has succeeded in its mission to bring new and larger audiences to orchestra concerts.

Ansel Adams: America has been performed to critical and popular acclaim by orchestras across the country. The Stockton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Jaffe, gave the world premiere and led a commissioning consortium of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, Temple University Orchestra, and Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra. Ansel Adams: America has also been performed by the San Diego Symphony, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Yakima Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, North State Symphony, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, the Akron Symphony and more. See a full list of performances
here.


Upcoming Performances


NOVEMBER 4 & 5, 2023

New West Symphony
Thousand Oaks, CA

New West Symphony performance of Ansel Adams: America.

Recent Performances

JULY 19, 2022

Festival Napa Valley
Napa, CA


Michelle Di Russo leads Festival Orchestra Napa in Ansel Adams: America with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet at Charles Krug Winery.


SEPT 24, 2021

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Richmond, VA & Livestream

Excerpts from Ansel Adams: America will be performed by pianist/composer Michael Jefry Stevens, to celebrate the opening of the special exhibition Ansel Adams: Compositions in Nature at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Pre-registration required for Livestream.


SEPT 26, 2021

Quincy Symphony Orchestra
Quincy, IL

The Quincy Symphony Orchestra performs Ansel Adams: America by Chris and Dave Brubeck.


They say a picture is worth a thousand words but I think a phrase of music is worth a thousand pictures really. In our program called “Pictures of Music” the highlight of the evening will be the new piece written by Dave Brubeck and his son Chris Brubeck. This is a celebration of Americana through the photography of Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams was able to capture this almost archetypical image we have of the idyllic America. Dave Brubeck is known for his rhythmic play and his really inventive approach to music.
— Marin Alsop, Music Director, Baltimore Symphony