It is comprised of ten musicians and was created especially for this event. The formation is based on the “Unknown Brass� and the “Urtijei Brass Quintet�. The members of the ensemble include music instructors from regional music schools and well as musicians who have attended national and international music schools and conservatories and obtained experience from playing in several orchestras. Their repertories include the Renaissance, Classical, Romantic and Modern genres.

Friday’s concert on the Antonius Square in Ortisei-St.Ulrich will be supported by the renowned and price-winning “Cor-Sasslong� from St.Christina. Its biggest successes were placing 1st at the Smetana Choir Competition in Prag in 1991, placing 2nd at the Choir Competition in Bolzano-Bozen and placing 3rd at an Italian choir competition in Adria. Furthermore, the choir successfully participated at the Choir Olympic Games in South Korea (2002) as well as in Bremen in 2004. A special event for the “Cor-Sasslong� was participating at a papal audience at the Vatican (2004).

The Brass Ensemble will be boosted by a few vocalists from the valley (the “Friends�). The program includes Christmas songs in anticipation of the upcoming holidays. It is a special honor for the “Sasslong Brass Ensemble� to appear along with the “Cor Sasslong� & “Friends� to celebrate the FIS Ski World Cup in Gardena-Gröden.

The performance is financially supported by the Foundation of the Südtiroler Sparkasse and is featuring dozens of local artists, international top athletes and institutions from Gardena/Gröden, SouthTyrol and the rest of the world. Also last year the Foundation contributed to the success of the Anniversary celebrating Forty Years of World Cup in Gardena/Gröden. Once again, this is another example of how the Foundations’ supports culture and sport in the region.