Steven and Misa Mead have just returned home to the UK from a marathon 32 day tour that has taken in high profile events in both the USA and Japan.

The Besson euphonium artists left on 29th November, returning just in time to see in the New Year at home after covering nearly 25,000 miles on 11 separate flights, taking in no less than a dozen hotels and playing to over 12,000 people.

They also gave 80 private lessons, 9 public masterclasses, 8 concerts with bands and 6 recital performances with piano accompaniment.

Tour start

The tour began in Michigan in Ohio where Steve performed with the Brass Band of Battle Creek, just a few weeks before he joined up with them again for their hugely successful concert at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.

From there Steve and that Misa travelled to the warmer climes of New Orleans for a three-day residency at Loyola University, performing with the university wind orchestra and giving a recital with piano, before journeying to Pittsburgh to team up James Gourlay and River City Brass for a sell out concert at the city's famous Carnegie Music Hall, broadcast live on radio.

Working trips to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, with the Detroit Motor City Band, a three-day residency at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and a concert with the Mountain Town Brass Band back in Michigan followed, before Steve again teamed with Brass Band of Battle Creek in Chicago for their historic concert at the Midwest Clinic.

Wonderful welcome

Steve told 4BR: "It was a mammoth tour schedule but such an enjoyable one for Misa and I. Everywhere we went we enjoyed such a wonderful welcome and the response at events was amazing.

The appetite for brass and brass banding in America is growing all the time, and the progress being made through the work of people such as Jim Gourlay and the Brass Band of Battle Creek is inspirational."

Chicago highlight

Steve told 4BR that one particular highlight was the Battle Creek performance at the huge wind and concert band orientated Mid West Clinic.

"It was a rare honour for a brass band to be asked to perform there, but to do so in front of an audience of over 3,000 people at 8.00am in the morning was staggering.

The band was in superb form and I was really moved after playing Karl Jenkins' 'Benedictus'. You could have heard a pin drop."

Other works performed included Philip Sparke's brand-new 'Midwest Fanfare' and 'Music of the Spheres', as well as several lighter, jazz orientated works.

Ground breaking

Steve added: "Philip, who is something of an iconic figure at the event, later described the concert as a triumph — and it was hard to disagree. It really was ground breaking."

While in Chicago Misa also gave a recital at the Denis Wick Advisory Studio to an audience of low brass enthusiasts, before the pair flew to Japan to perform in Osaka and Tokyo, the culmination of which was an emotional recital in Misa's home city of Kumamoto.

It was a rare honour for a brass band to be asked to perform there, but to do so in front of an audience of over 3,000 people at 8.00am in the morning was staggeringSteven Mead

No stress

Looking back from the unfamiliar surroundings of home, Steve added: "It was such a thrill to team up with old friends as well as meet many new people on the tour.

We did miss Christmas in the UK, but it was very interesting to see how Japan celebrates the festivities in such a calm way — no stress at all!

Now I'm back my thanks go to Besson, Denis Wick and the Royal Northern College of Music for their support, although in the next couple of weeks I'm back on my travels to Palanga, so I think we should take the opportunity to enjoy putting our feet up for a little while at least!"