*
banner

BrookWright Composer finalists announced

The five finalists in the prestigious competition are revealed — and you can vote for your favourite too.

Brookwright
  The competition attracted over 90 entrants from across the globe

The five finalists for the inaugural BrookWright International Brass Ensemble Composer Competition 2021 (IBECC) have been announced.

Final five

An impressive 92 entries were received from around the world, with judges James Curnow, Dr. Liz Lane and Paul Hindmarsh having a difficult decision to make in finally selecting a line-up of Alexander Harris (UK); Gregory Fritze (USA); Isaac Smith (USA) Joseph Santo (USA) and Karl Whelan (UK).

The banding public can now vote for their favourite piece by visiting:
www.brookwrightmusic.com/composercontest

After listening to all five entries, click 'like' on the piece you wish to vote for. Voting will close at noon USA Central Standard Time (CST) on Friday 20th August 2021.

The piece with the highest number of 'likes' by this time will be awarded the 'Public Commendation Prize' and a cash prize of $150.

Prizes

The overall winner, decided by our judges, will also be announced after this and will receive $500 cash, a download license to the music playback programme NotePerformer, publication of their work through BrookWright Music, whilst also receiving any associated royalties, and a virtual video and audio recording by an All-star Ensemble comprising some of BrookWright's 'Artists in Association'.

The standard has been exceptionally high and the judges had an incredibly difficult taskAndrew Wainwright

Thrilled

Speaking about the competition, BrookWright's owner Andrew Wainwright told 4BR: "We've been thrilled with the response to the contest and would like to thank everyone who entered and especially our finalists. The standard has been exceptionally high and the judges had an incredibly difficult task."

He added: "We now look forward to receiving everyone's vote for the Public Commendation Prize and add our thanks to thank our competition sponsors — Christopher Bond Music, David Daws Financial Services Ltd., Besson, John Lawes, NotePerformer, room4groups, Stratos and World of Brass."

Become a supporter and help make our future secure.

4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice. There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world. Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month.

Support us    


jOHN gILLAM

Death of John Gillam

May 4 • The death has been announced of the hugely respected player and administrator.


British Open

Result: 2026 Spring Festival Grand Shield

May 3 • Milnrow claims the Grand Shield honours to return to the British Open with Hepworth joining them.


British Open

Result: 2026 Spring Festival Senior Cup

May 2 • Kirkintilloch claims the Senior Cup honours as Rainford, Tongwynlais Temperance and East London Brass join them in the Grand Shield in 2027.


2026 Spring Festival

Result: 2026 Spring Festival Senior Trophy

May 2 • Sandhurst Silver claims the Senior Trophy honours as Sovereign Brass, Unite Scotland Kinneil and Yorkshire Imperial are also promoted to the Senior Cup.


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Sunday 3 May • St Alfege Church. Greenwich Church Street SE10 9BJ


Regent Hall Concerts - FiveBy5 Trumpet Quintet

Tuesday 5 May • Charlton House and Gardens. Charlton Road, . London. . SE7 8RE


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Friday 8 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Wardle Anderson Brass Band - Wardle Junior Blast

Friday 8 May • Milnrow Parish Church, 16 Westward Ho, Milnrow, Rochdale OL16 3JX


Regent Brass - Woodbridge Excelsior Band and Russell Gray

Saturday 9 May • The Salvation Army (Regent Hall), Oxford Street, London W1C 2DJ


Bilton Silver Rugby Band

May 3 • The band requires an Eb bass player for our First section band conducted by Jack Fisher. . We have a varied and expanding programme of events throughout the year, including our very well attended, themed concerts.


Bilton Silver Rugby Band

May 3 • The band requires a Cornet player (Position negotiable) for our First section band conducted by Jack Fisher.. We have a varied and expanding programme of events throughout the year, including our very well attended, themed concerts.


Wellington Silver Band (Somerset)

May 2 • Bb Basses. With Colin Dance now appointed as our MD and our other Bb Bass leaving due to work commitments, we have openings for two Bb basses. We are a friendly community (4th section?) band with a variety of gigs including our own Proms in the Park.


Darren R. Hawken

PGdip, BMus(hons) PGCE, dipABRSM, LRSM
Conductor, Arranger, Teacher, Adjudicator, Band Trainer


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd