*
banner

Pssssst! I will only say this once....

Young composers with an appetite to try something a little daring need to get in touch with a certain Jonny Midnight...

Top secret
 

Young composers with a penchant for a little bit of daring, thrill seeking and covert musical undercover work are asked to get in touch with a certain brass band secret agent to see if they can work together on his next special assignment.

Midnight

Jim Hayes — principal cornet of Co-operative Funeralcare Band — and also known as ‘Jonny Midnight’, is set to start work preparing for his third CD release called ‘Angels Will Fall’ under his alter-ego, after the popular reception received for his first two outings, ‘Dial M for Midnight’ and ‘A Second from Midnight’.

With a handkerchief over the receiver to a payphone somewhere in the North East, the instructions were relayed to 4BR in inimitable ‘Midnight’ fashion.

"The success of the first two releases has shown that there is plenty of great compositional talent to work with as a soloist," Jonny/Jim said.

"I want to explore new ideas and bring something a bit daring and even more inventive to this latest release, and I would love to hear from young composers who want to write solos that have a very individual identity."

Exciting

He added: "In the past I’ve worked with some great up and coming composers and the results have been brilliant.

The likes of Matt Hall and James McFadyen have also gone on to write works for other soloists and top flight bands, so I hope this could be the start of an exciting career for another new talent."

Interested

So if you are interested then the initial contact should be made at: olwynhayes@btinternet.com

And with that, we were told the tape would self destruct in 10 seconds...

Become a supporter and help make our future secure.

4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice. There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world. Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month.

Support us    


Cory Alps

Cory to head to Alpine Festival

May 6 • The Welsh champion will join up with BrassBand Bozen Uberetsch as part of the first Alps Brass Festival.


Sarah Baumann

BBE appoints Baumann to interim CEO role

May 6 • Sarah Baumann has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Brass Bands England.


David Childs

Childs to provide recital and masterclass at Elgar International Festival of Brass

May 6 • Details have been released of the recital and masterclass appearances of the euphonium virtuoso at the forthcoming event in Birmingham.


Brighouse

Brighouse to close Best of Brass series

May 6 • The British Open champion will provide the final concert of the annual Leeds 'Best of Brass' series.


Regent Hall Concerts - FiveBy5 Trumpet Quintet

Tuesday 5 May • Charlton House and Gardens. Charlton Road, . London. . SE7 8RE


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Friday 8 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Wardle Anderson Brass Band - Wardle Junior Blast

Friday 8 May • Milnrow Parish Church, 16 Westward Ho, Milnrow, Rochdale OL16 3JX


Regent Brass - Woodbridge Excelsior Band and Russell Gray

Saturday 9 May • The Salvation Army (Regent Hall), Oxford Street, London W1C 2DJ


Regent Hall Concerts - Woodbridge Excelsior Band

Saturday 9 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


East London Brass

May 7 • B Flat Bass : fresh off the back of our promotion to the Grand Shield, ELB are on the look out for a bflat bass player to complement our existing section. The band is ambitious and has an exciting second half of the year ahead.


Thornton Cleveleys Band

May 7 • We currently have the following vacancies.. 3rd Cornet and Bb Bass.. Friendly 3rd Section NW band based just outside of Blackpool. We have some great concerts coming up as well as marches, galas and charity events. With the odd contest thrown in too


Thornton Cleveleys Band

May 7 • MD VACANCY . We are a 3rd section NW band based just outside of Blackpool. Monday and Thursday rehearsals. Good mix of concerts and contests. Library full of music with funds available for new music. .


Jonathan Corry

Ph.D, M.Mus, B.Mus (hons)
Conductor, adjudicator, teacher.


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd