70 young musicians representing 24 Cornish bands recently enjoyed the latest Cornwall Youth Brass Band residential course led by guest conductor Les Neish.

Taking a break from his globetrotting performance schedule, Les led the performers, aged between 10 and 21 in an eclectic selection of challenging music in preparation for their end of course concert at St Michael’s Church in Newquay.

Bestowal of a Century

As stated previously on 4BR, amongst the music performed was the world premiere of the tenor horn concerto, ‘Bestowal of a Century’, written by Christopher Bond for Lowenna Taylor, who gave a sparkling performance which was received with acclamation by the large audience, as well as ‘Heligan’, inspired by the world famous Cornish garden, written Kevin Ackford.

Hard work

Prior to the course the band undertakes regular monthly rehearsals, led by a team of local conductors and tutors, who also support the guest conductor throughout week.

I must say a huge thank you to all the players of the band. The most amazing thing for me was not the incredible talent but the wonderful spirit and friendship that all the members haveLes Neish

Smashing time

That support was fully appreciated by Les, as he told 4BR: “I had a smashing time and it was great to see the band has gone from strength to strength since I was last them in 2008.

I must say a huge thank you to all the players of the band. The most amazing thing for me was not the incredible talent but the wonderful spirit and friendship that all the members have.

It is truly a family and I feel very honoured to have been part of it on this course.”