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RNCM Festival of Brass 2005 |
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Building on the success of the 2004 Festival of Brass – described by one reviewer as ‘the most important festival of brass band music ever mounted in Great Britain’ - the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester has put in place an even more ambitious and far-reaching festival for January 2005. The 2005 RNCM Festival of Brass takes place at the College from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd January.
The three days of wall-to-wall, tip top quality brass performers and repertoire, will feature Black Dyke Band and Nicholas Childs, Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band and Elgar Howarth, Fodens Richardson Band and Bramwell Tovey, Brighouse & Rastrick Band and James Gourlay, The International Staff Band and Stephen Cobb, Buy As You View Band and Robert Childs, and the RNCM Brass Band and Ensemble directed by Elgar Howarth.
The theme that runs through the 2005 RNCM Festival of Brass is "Celebration". It celebrates the 60th year of one of this country's most distinguished composers, Edward Gregson as well as the 70th birthday of that influential champion of the brass band cause - Elgar Howarth. It also looks back at the contribution of John McCabe, 65 in 2004, and marks the centenary of one of the country's greatest musical voices, Sir Michael Tippett.
Paul Hindmarsh, Artistic Director of the 2005 Festival said: "My vision is for the festival to celebrate each of these composers and their unique contribution to the brass band movement as follows: · We will explore Elgar Howarth the composer through his concertos (including the world première of his Concerto for Tenor Horn, soloist Sandy Smith). We will also see him in action as a conductor - directing Grimethorpe (UK Coal), the band with whom he has worked so closely for over 30 years, as well the RNCM’s up and coming young musicians.
· The festival will look at Edward Gregson as ‘the breaker of boundaries’. Each band will reveal an aspect of his contribution to the band medium: his large scale test pieces and his expansion of the band "envelope" from his youthful Salvationist music to his latest work, An Age of Kings. · We will celebrate the genius of Tippett in two different ways. Grimethorpe will give performances of his two big brass pieces in the opening concert of the festival. Then, on Saturday evening, Fodens, under the dynamic direction of Bramwell Tovey, will give the première of a festival commission, which takes the form of a Birthday Suite for Michael. During the planning of the RNCM Festival, Alan Wycherley, soprano cornet virtuoso of the Fodens Band, came up with the brilliant idea that we should invite Edward Gregson and Elgar Howarth to join forces and write some kind of combined birthday present. Taking my cue from that inspiration, I asked the two composers to contribute to this centenary celebration for Sir Michael Tippett.”
The 2005 RNCM Festival of Brass timetable is as follows: Friday 21st - 7.45pm - Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band, conductor Elgar Howarth Saturday 22nd - 12noon - RNCM Brass Band & Brass Ensemble, conductors James Gourlay, Elgar Howarth & John Miller Saturday 22nd - 3.00pm – Buy As You View Band, conductor Robert Childs Saturday 22nd - 7.30pm - Fodens Richardson Band, conductor Bramwell Tovey Sunday 23rd – 12 noon - Brighouse & Rastrick Band, conductor James Gourlay Sunday 23rd - 3.00pm - International Staff Band of The Salvation Army, conductor Stephen Cobb Sunday 23rd - 7.30pm - Black Dyke Band, conductor Nicholas Childs
Tickets are now on sale from the RNCM Box Office, telephone 0161 907 5555. Tickets which will allow entry to all concerts can be purchased for as little as £39. Individual concert tickets and concessions are also available. *** For further information please contact Philip Biggs, Festival Administrator on telephone 01223 234090 or 07710 505689, philipbiggs@bandstand.demon.co.uk |