Patricio Cosentino, the well-known ambassador and educator for the tuba will continue his advocacy for the instrument on his latest visit to South America.

The Besson artist will be heading to Bogota, Colombia later this year after accepting an invitation from Juan Erney Sepulveda to be a guest teacher at the Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas for their 'Brass Week'.

British style brass band

As part of his visit, he hopes to bring students a taste of the exciting possibilities of expanding their musical experience through playing in a traditional British style brass band setting.

The 'Brass Week' in September will see a group of 37 brass and percussion players, including professors and students, participating in a series of workshops. Patricio will lead on works by composers Peter Graham, Paul Lovatt-Cooper, Joy Webb, Alan Fernie and Kevin Larsson for a public concert at the university.

Lasting legacy

Patricio told 4BR: "This is such an exciting opportunity to bring what I hope will be lasting brass band legacy to the University and to new players.

There is a real appetite to expand musical horizons in the country and understanding and enjoying what brass bands have to offer is certainly a part of that."

He added: "The brass band movement here still be in its early stages, but this is such an exciting development."