A number of leading composers who have written for the brass band medium are featured in the shortlists for prestigious British Composer Awards this year.

Nominations

Kenneth Hesketh, Andy Scott and Simon Dobson will battle it out in the ‘Brass or Wind Band’ category, whilst Gavin Higgins (above) is amongst the ‘Stage Works’ nominations. Emily Howard is featured in the ‘Making Music Award’ short list.

The nominations this year include some of the most famous, and influential British Composers in the musical world, such as Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Thomas Ades.

The British Composer Awards, now in their 10th year focus on contemporary classical and jazz music.

Talent

Created by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), the Awards exist to promote the art of composition, to recognise the creative talent of composers who live and work in the UK and to bring contemporary music to a wider audience.

The impressive list of nominees will be looking to emulate Wingate’s Composer on Residence Lucy Pankhurst who won a 2011 Award for her work, ‘In Pitch Black’.

RNCM premieres

Kenneth Hesketh’s ‘Danceries ll’, received its world premiere at the 2012 RNCM Festival of Brass performed by the Fairey Band, whilst Simon Dobson’s ‘A Symphony of Colours’ was also first performed by the band at the 2010 European Brass Band Championships in Montreux and subsequently featured on their RNCM programme.

Andy Scott’s , ‘Spirit of Mingus’ also received its world premiere at the RNCM Festival this year, performed by the Foden’s Band. It is the second time his work has been nominated, following the success of ‘Dark Rain’, a concerto for two saxophones and wind orchestra, which won a British Composer Award in 2006.

The impressive list of nominees will be looking to emulate Wingate’s Composer on Residence Lucy Pankhurst who won a 2011 Award for her work, ‘In Pitch Black’4BR.

Worldwide attention

The score to ‘What Wild Ecstasy’ by Gavin Higgins gained worldwide attention following its premiere by the Rambert Ballet Company as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, whilst Emily Howard makes another nominated short list for her work, ‘Mesmerism for Piano and Chamber Orchestra’.

The 10th British Composer Awards ceremony will take place on 3rd December at Goldsmiths’ Hall, London and will feature in a BBC Radio 3 broadcast on 9th December.