BROOKINGS – Woodbine Productions will host the opening concert for Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and her all-female, all-Norwegian brass ensemble known as tenThing on its first U.S. tour.

The Brookings concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the SDSU Performing Arts Center.

The U.S. tour takes tenThing from coast to coast. Woodbine Productions selected tenThing for the series due to the group’s internationally acclaimed blend of flawless musicianship and stage presence. The tour includes some of the most acclaimed venues for music in the United States, and the Larson Concert Hall in the SDSU Performing Arts Center in Brookings is no exception.

David Reynolds, high brass instructor at SDSU, has been waiting for some time for this performance.

“Tine has a reputation for quality that is matched by very few musicians in the world. It is a great honor to host her and her group in their first U.S. performance,” Reynolds said. “This concert will feature familiar and popular tunes as well as exceptionally challenging works, which they will make sound easy.

“If there is a student musician or brass player in your family, you should not miss this opportunity to hear brass music at its absolute finest. It is sure to be an inspiration for all.”  

The group will perform signature arrangements of music by Bernstein, Weill, Bizet, Grieg, Piazzolla, Mozart and more, which have thrilled audiences around the world. Norwegian Jarle Storløkken has arranged many of the scores, enabling the group to perform music the audience will enjoy, regardless of its original instrumentation.

The group is the brainchild of trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth, whose accolades include being one of BBC Magazine's "Superstars of Tomorrow" and Echo Klassik's "2013 Newcomer of the Year." In 2007, the Norwegian Grammy Awards named Tine “Newcomer of the Year,” the first classical artist ever to receive such the distinction.

Since first forming, the group has performed all over its native Norway. Elsewhere in Europe, it has performed at the Rheingau and Bad Kissingen festivals in Germany and the BBC Proms in London.

Concert-goers are urged to plan ahead for their arrival at the 7:30 p.m. concert due to construction at the Performing Arts Center. While the large parking lot on the north is open, the west side of the building will not be available.

A project coordinated by the SDSU Foundation and underwritten by an anonymous donor, Woodbine Productions and patrons of the concerts provide more than $50,000 in scholarships annually for students involved in music at South Dakota State University.

Tickets are available by calling the SDSU Department of Music at 688-5188.