Rochester has been called the Queen City, so when the Brass Queens brought their energizing music to town from Brooklyn, New York, it was a perfect fit. The Brass Queens came to Rochester for several performances on Thursday July 9 as part of Rochester Public Music’s Passport Sessions concert series.
“Passport Sessions gives greater visibility to distinct musical traditions and the cultures that shape them,” says Avital Rabinowitz, the director of Rochester Public Music. “It brings music to Rochester that people may not otherwise have had the chance to experience live.”
The Passport Sessions series presents musical experiences both for students in the Rochester Public Schools’ Summer School Aged Child Care (SACC) program and to the general public through a partnership with Thursdays Downtown. “Some people come specifically for the performance, while others discover it as they move through the festival,” says Rabinowitz describing the public performance at Thursdays Downtown. “We often see people come closer, start dancing, or participating in ways that feel natural to them.”
Rochester Public School’s SACC program provides summer care for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. When the Brass Queens performed two concerts for SACC children at Franklin Elementary, the energy in the gym where the drum set and sousaphone found spots under the basketball hoop was palpable. When the Brass Queens invited students to stand and dance along with their upbeat music, there was no hesitation to start moving.
Students had an opportunity to ask the Brass Queens questions as part of the performance. They learned everything from each member’s favorite flavor of ice cream to whose music they most enjoyed listening to. Some children wondered how the Brass Queens could get all there instruments to Rochester from New York.
Members of Brooklyn, New York-based Brass Queens perform at Franklin Elementary School on July 9, 2026.
Contributed / Kate Klaus Photography
“The kids are fantastic, and they were such good audience members. It was a privilege to be able to play for them,” says Stephanie King, one of the Brass Queens trumpet players. “One of my favorite things to do is a school visit.”
“Their (the Brass Queens) music is rooted in the brass band tradition, but they bring their own sound and perspective to it as a contemporary, all-women ensemble,” says Rabinowitz. “They also have the kind of energy that works especially well for Passport Sessions. The music is rhythmic, physical and easy for people to respond to, whether the tradition is familiar to them or not.”
The Brass Queens started in 2019. The band’s sound combines the musical tradition of the New Orleans brass band with a Brooklyn flare. The Brass Queens have toured across the country and internationally playing at festivals such as the Telluride Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Jazz festival, and the Exit Zero Jazz Festival. In 2023, they won the New York City Metro Transit Authority’s Rider’s Choice award as part of the Music Under New York program. They have shared stages with musical greats like David Byrne. Their most recent album, released in 2024, consist of all original music and is titled “Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1.”
“This style of music is rooted in early jazz music. It is very improvisational. It is responding to something,” says Ally Chapel, one of the Brass Queen’s founders and an alto sax player.
“A cool thing about the brass band tradition is the passing down of tunes and learning songs and the community of musicians sharing arrangements and learning things by ear,” adds Alex Harris, a trumpet player and co-founder of the Brass Queens. “We go to New Orleans every year and we try to immerse ourselves in that.”
“Part of what drew us to this musical style in particular is how community-based and inclusive it is because it comes from this tradition of literally being on the street,” says King.
For King, bringing Brass Queens music to children is about exposing them to musical possibilities. “We are exposing this group, this genre, and these people playing this music to them early so there is no chance for them to form and unconscious bias by saying ‘I’ve only ever seen a man play the tuba or seen boys play trombone.’ We want to start as young as possible so kids understand that anyone can play any instrument. That this space is meant for anybody, and we are an inclusive group.”
Members of the jazz group Brass Queens from Brooklyn, New York, perform at Thursdays Downtown on July 9, 2026. The group had earlier performed at Franklin Elementary School and were visiting Rochester as part of Rochester Public Music’s Passport Sessions concert series.
Contributed / Kate Klaus Photography
“For children, hearing different instruments, rhythms, languages and styles of performance can expand their sense of what music can be,” says Rabinowitz. “The goal is not to turn the performance into a formal lesson. It is to let them experience the music directly, enjoy it, and become curious in their own way.”
When asked what advice she would give to others wanting to make music be part of their lives, Harris had a quick response: “Create your own opportunity. There wasn’t what we wanted to do which was play with all women, so we said we are going to make it exist. You just need to go out there and do the thing you want to do.”
Besides the Brass Queens, Rochester Public Music’s 2026 Passport Sessions series has already presented Los Rebeldes for performances in June. On Thursday July 30, Passport Sessions will feature La Manga, a musical group focused on Afro-Caribbean Colombian music.
“La Manga’s music is built around percussion, rhythm and movement, which makes it especially well-suited to both Thursdays Downtown and the SACC performances,” says Rabinowitz. “Rochester is not one culture, and it is not one musical tradition. Our public programming should reflect that.”
Learn more about Rochester Public Music’s Passport Sessions at
www.rochestermn.gov/activities-parks-culture/music/concerts-events/passport-sessions.
See La Manga perform as part of the Passport Sessions series at Thursdays Downtown’s Peace Plaza Stage on Thursday July 30 at 7 p.m.