Music Director Ignatius Wang and musicians from the Lion City Brass Band in Singapore are celebrating this week following a highly successful debut concert.

Lions Pride

Entitled, 'Lions Pride: Ignition!' the event saw the band perform to a packed Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Concert Hall.

The concert featured Philip Wilby's 'Paganini Variations' alongside solo spots from local trumpet star Lau Wen Rong and Sterling euphonium artist Mark Glover, who managed to fit in his performance around his recent solo recitals in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Finesse and virtuosity

The band also featured music kindly sponsored by Paul Lovatt-Cooper and distinguished Singaporean composer Dr. Kelly Tang, who told 4BR: "The best brass band traditions represent extreme finesse and virtuosity in brass musicianship, as well as sensitivity to the subtle interplay of tonal gradations between the instruments of the brass choir.

Lion City Brass Band's inaugural concert marks an important first step by presenting these features in the most compelling and attractive manner, validated by musicianship of the highest calibre."

The band will now build on this experience and work towards new exciting engagements which are in the pipeline for towards the end of the yearLion City Brass Band

Primary Schools

The concert's second half kicked off with a massed band made up of students from Singaporean primary schools along with members of Lion City Brass — a key approach by Ignatius to instill educational values in younger generations and the local community.

For the Singaporean band members it proved to be an opportunity to be part of something they have never before experienced and for some of the British expatriate members of the band it was a welcomed opportunity to share some of their past UK banding experiences.

Build

A spokesperson added: "The band will now build on this experience and work towards new exciting engagements which are in the pipeline for towards the end of the year."