The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain will end their Summer Course with a sold-out concert at the Royal College of Music in London on Saturday 9th August.

As part of the organisation's long-term policy of encouraging young composers to write for the brass band medium, a trio of world premieres will be heard from the winners of its 2025 Young Composer Competition.

Dances

One of these is 'Nocturnal Dances' by Sam Thackray, who recently graduated in music from Cambridge University and who has already gained acclaim and awards for his compositions.

Based in London, the 22 year old revealed that he started to learn the trumpet aged 7 with the composing bug caught soon after. At 10 he won the Junior Composing Competition at the acclaimed North London Music Festival.

Since then most of his performing and composing experience has been with classical, jazz or choral ensembles, but he has also connected with the banding world through his association with Cambridge University Brass Band.

Award winner

His work, 'Emergence' won the 'Best Student Composition Award' at the UniBrass Championships in 2024, whilst he gained further acclaim for his short orchestral work, 'Aphorisms for Sinfonietta' derived from medieval tune 'L'Homme Arme' which formed part of his final year studies.

Since graduating he has enjoyed freelance playing for numerous ensembles such as the City of London Symphonic Winds and Royal Orchestral Society as well as enjoying teaching with Enfield Music Service.

Nocturnal cityscape

Speaking about 'Nocturnal Dances' he told 4BR: "My composition started life as a collection of energetic, yet slightly eerie dance-like ideas, representing a kaleidoscope of imagined scenes in a nocturnal cityscape.

I aimed to use an unusual structure, with the most energetic writing gradually subsiding as the stillness of night slowly takes over. The piece became more and more of an abstraction of these ideas as I continued writing, although there may still be a hint of car horns and the bustle of noisy crowds in some sections!

The final bars end with shimmering cornets and glockenspiel; a last glimmer of light."

My composition started life as a collection of energetic, yet slightly eerie dance-like ideas, representing a kaleidoscope of imagined scenes in a nocturnal cityscapeSam Thackray

Discovering brass

He also revealed that discovering Cambridge University Brass Band as a second-year student was, "one of the most pivotal moments of my time at university".

He added: "Having played in and conducted the band on subsequent tours in primary schools around the UK, the enthusiastic reception from our audiences was unforgettable and demonstrated how inspiring live brass band music can be to young people.

I was therefore thrilled to discover the NYBBGB Young Composer's Competition — and it was such an exciting opportunity to share my enthusiasm for the genre with so many exceptionally talented musicians, through my own composition! I hope people enjoy it."

Future ambitions

And having now graduated, Sam hopes to continue to develop "my compositional voice"in works for wind and brass band, while continuing composing for choral, orchestral and chamber groups.

"I'm a keen performer and would like to further extend my repertoire, diving into as many ensembles I can. The brass band has opened up so many exciting possibilities, so I hope to write more for the medium."

Find out more about Sam

Find out more about Sam at:
Email: samuel.thackray@hotmail.com
Instagram: @samthackray_composition