The University of Salford Brass Band recently gave their annual February concert at the refurbished Peel Hall.
Contemporary twist
This year, under the baton of their new conductor Tom Davoren (above), the concert had a contemporary twist; showcasing the close connection between the university's music and performances courses under the thematic banner 'Collision Theory'.
The music programmed included four premieres composed by alumni and friends of the institution, Dr. Peter Meechan, Dr. Richard Rock, Lucy Pankhurst, Paul McGhee and Stephen Richardson, with each piece connecting the brass band with outside genres.
Purely experimental
Tom Davoren told 4BR: "The goal behind the programme was purely experimental. Instead of simply taking popular or contemporary ideas and arranging them for brass band, we wanted to have tangible elements of other popular art forms sprint at the band head on.
The result produced original music for brass band and computers, pre-recorded tape, speaker and dubstep band performed in a live environment that was an exciting experience for everyone involved."
Innovation
He added: "It's this kind of innovation in performance that we are looking to develop at the University of Salford."
The concert premiere of Lucy Pankhurst's 'Microcosms' set the context — a traditional British brass band performing a contemporary take on an entertainment contest set, condensed into a collection of six micro-movements.
Literature
The first of two threads in the programme were drawn from literature. 'Lament', from Meechan's 'Macbeth' commemorated this year's Shakespeare anniversary through a collaborative performance with student actor Joel Callahan, whilst Paul McGhee's elegant interpretation of Ramin Djawadi's 'Rains of Castamere' looked at extracting the darkest moments from the 'Game of Thrones' story from George R R Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire'.
In addition, Peter Meechan's 'Forgotten Children' and Richard Rock's 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' featuring Brett Baker as trombone soloist, both employed live and recorded electronic elements to bring their contrasting sound-worlds to life.
It's this kind of innovation in performance that we are looking to develop at the University of SalfordMD, Tom Davoren
Collision Theory in practice
The concert reached its climax with a new work from recent graduate Stephen Richardson. His first work for brass band, 'Collision Theory', was a unique six minute composition incorporating a live dubstep band — an extract from which you listen to on the Salford Music and Performance youtube channel below.
