One of the most ambitious brass quartets at the Royal Northern College of Music is trying to raise funds to test their musical mettle at the 2016 International Tuba and Euphonium Contest (ITEC) to be held in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Compass

The Brass Compass Quartet comprising Adam Bokaris, Vincent Tan, Marija Anna Novicane and Seth Livingstone are second year undergraduates from diverse musical backgrounds — hence the name — all taught by renowned euphonium maestros David Thornton and Steven Mead.

And as their leader Adam Bokaris told 4BR, they are hoping to raise the funds after being selected for the prestigious event later this year from a worldwide field of rivals.

Honour

"It's a great honour to be selected for the euphonium quartet semi-final,"Adam said. "Not only that but Vincent and I have also been selected to go through to the semi-final round of the Solo Euphonium Artist Division.

This is a huge opportunity for the group, but also an incredibly costly one, so we've set up a donations page to try and raise some of the money to get over there for the week-long conference."

The group has already enjoyed a great deal of success, and has a real international feel — explaining the reason why they named their ensemble as they did.

International line-up

Marija Anna Novicane comes from Latvia and started playing the violin for nine years, before she picked up the euphonium at the age of 14. She is currently the solo euphonium with Pemberton Old Wigan Band, but still takes time when she goes home to perform with the Latvian National Guard Wind Orchestra.

Meanwhile, Vincent Tan was born Singapore and graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts with a Diploma in Music Performance in Euphonium in 2009 under the tutelage of Fredi Sonderagger. He currently plays euphonium with Roberts Bakery Band.

A little closer to the RNCM home comes Seth Livingstone, who hails from Dobcross. He now plays with Rainford Band, whilst group leader Adam Bokaris comes from Sydney. Adam plays euphonium with the Leyland Band and was one of the four finalists in the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Award

This is a huge opportunity for the group, but also an incredibly costly one, so we've set up a donations page to try and raise some of the money to get over there for the week-long conferenceAdam Bokaris

More information:

If you wish to help the group, go to: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/brasscompass