The Brass Septet Cono

The brass septet Cono is a brass ensemble founded in 2019. As an ensemble, Cono continues the globally unique Finnish brass septet tradition by performing the classics of septet music alongside new compositions and commissioned works. The ensemble’s instrumentation consists of one E♭ cornet, two B♭ cornets, alto, tenor and baritone horns, and tuba.

In the early 1900s, during the golden age of the Finnish septet tradition, nearly every village and factory had a brass septet responsible for all the community’s music-making, from devotional moments to dance music. Composers of the time, such as Jean Sibelius, Leevi Madetoja and Toivo Kuula, wrote music for brass septet precisely because of the ensemble’s immense popularity. By the time the 2000s arrived, this tradition—found only in Finland—had nearly faded into lost folklore, and only a fraction of the septets remained compared to the peak of the previous century.

Now the septet tradition has experienced a revival, and Cono is one of the ensembles born from this new wave. The group, originally founded by music students at the Sibelius Academy, has since become professional and formed a permanent ensemble with regular players. As an ensemble, Cono has set as its goal the development of the septet tradition by actively commissioning and performing new music for brass septet alongside the classics. Cono plays conical instruments belonging to the original brass septet instrumentation. Cono is Italian and means cone.