James Shepherd Versatile Brass has announced that they are to hold a composers competition to encourage new works to be written for the famous ensemble.

Versatile

Although the group has well over 700 pieces of music in their library, their well earned reputation for innovation means that they are always keen to add new repertoire to enable them to carry on living up to their ‘versatile’ name.

Some of the most famous names in brass have written for JSVB in the past, such as Elgar Howarth, Philip Wilby, Edward Gregson, Howard Snell and Alan Catherall, so the group hopes to be able to help unearth yet another composer who wishes to make their name through a musical association with them.

Diverse

The virtuosity and diversity of the playing talents of JSVB gives the opportunity for a composer to explore a wide range of colour palettes, with the group’s recent CD recording including a total of 20 different brass instruments, ranging from piccolo trumpet to Eb bass!

Top three

The competition will include awards for the top three entries judged by a guest panel, with the winning entry premiered at a JSVB concert during 2015.

In addition, the top 10 shortlisted pieces will receive a rehearsal recording of their piece and the top three entrants will have the opportunity to publish their pieces.

Discover

A spokesperson told 4BR: "This mutually beneficial competition will help a unique ensemble discover new repertoire whilst providing support to new talent.

It’s an incredible opportunity for up‐and‐coming composers to hear their work performed by quality musicians, and for more experienced composers to experiment creatively with writing for styles outside the standard brass band instrumentation."

This mutually beneficial competition will help a unique ensemble discover new repertoire whilst providing support to new talentJSVB

Entry requirements

Entry to the competition is free, but only original compositions will be accepted (no arrangements).

Entries can be any format (march, solo, concert item etc), but must be within a 5 minute time limit.

The deadline for submissions is 30th November.

Competition rules and entry forms can be found at: www.jsvb.co.uk