The organisers of the Brass in Concert Festival have announced that the defending champion Cory will headline the World of Brass in Concert event alongside award-winning male vocal ensemble Only Men Aloud.

Movie theme

The concert, which will be the culmination of Saturday's attractions at Sage Gateshead, will have a movie theme, with event spokesperson John Woods telling 4BR:

"For some years we have been planning to bring a very different flavour to the Saturday gala event and we are delighted that this 'Welsh extravaganza' has come together with two groups at the pinnacle of musical achievement in the 'Land of Song'.

We are certain that the Sage Gateshead audience will be in for an absolutely spectacular prelude to the following day's Brass in Concert Championships."

Award winning

Only Men Aloud first achieved national prominence in 2008 when they won the top prize on the BBC television programme 'Last Choir Standing'. They have since performed at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, while they have recorded five albums, including 'Band of Brothers', which was voted Album of the Year at the Classical Brit Awards in 2010.

Very excited

Cory MD Philip Harper told 4BR: "We are very excited at the prospect of working with Only Men Aloud and adding another strand to Cory's unique brand of brass band entertainment.

Cory is not only passionate about bringing the genre of brass bands into the 21st century, but also committed alongside Only Men Aloud to reinvigorating the genre of brass and voice which has so much untapped potential in today's musical world.

Brass in Concert has been instrumental in recent years in bringing a new level of professionalism to the presentation of brass bands and we are delighted to be at the forefront as the event moves in a new direction."

No Durham concert

Meanwhile, John Woods concluded: "Due to the venue becoming unavailable, it has unfortunately been necessary to postpone until 2018 the Grimethorpe Colliery Band concert originally scheduled at Durham Cathedral on 22nd April.

Further details will be announced in due course and we apologise to anyone who has tried unsuccessfully to obtain tickets for this event.

The 2017 Brass in Concert Festival, however, is already shaping up to be the best ever and we will have some very exciting announcements about our international participants in the weeks ahead."

we have been planning to bring a very different flavour to the Saturday gala event and we are delighted that this 'Welsh extravaganza' has come together with two groups at the pinnacle of musical achievement in the 'Land of Song'BiC

Tickets

Tickets for the Brass in Concert Championship on Sunday 19th November (priced £30.00, £22.00 and £12.00) and World of Brass in Concert (Saturday 18th November — £27.00, £18.00 and £10.00) are available at www.sagegateshead.comor by telephone on 0191 443 4661.