7 year old Archie Pannell of Haverhill Youth & Community Band is one player who has certainly been keeping busy of late.

The talented young cornet player had qualified for the final of the Under 12 BrassPass Young Brass Awards competition earlier this year, building on previous success that had already seen him win several solo contests and gain his Grade 5 with distinction.

Great idea

Unfortunately, the event in Bolton was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but although he was disappointed Archie and is father Tim came up with a great idea to help keep him inspired.

Tim asked some of the finest musicians he has performed with if they would remotely accompany Archie on o renditions of Elgar's 'Chanson De Matin' and Hartmann's 'Wiederkehr' especially arranged for the occasion.

While nothing can replace the thrill of live performance for Archie, the process of making these videos and the end result just about makes up for missing outTim Pannell

Dad allowed

The resulting videos feature an all-star line up that includes the likes of Mark Wilkinson, Russell Gray, Kyle Lawson, Chris Pannell, Nick Hudson, Chris Gommersall, Garrath Beckwith, Chris Robertson, Shaun Crowther and Mark Landon. Archie even allowed his dad to be a part!

Tim told 4BR: "While nothing can replace the thrill of live performance for Archie, the process of making these videos and the end result just about makes up for missing out, although he hopes he can qualify and play at next year's BrassPass event."

To enjoy:

To enjoy Archie playing go to:
Chanson De Matin: https://youtu.be/XNJLglmdR8U

Wiederkehr: https://youtu.be/XqmDQcAZkdY