Ahead of their appearance at the 2026 Brass in Concert Championship this weekend, National Champion Cory has just had time to catch their musical breath following a memorable nine-day tour to Canada and the USA.
It saw the band perform five concerts with five different host bands, racking up 7,000 airmiles, and another 1,450 miles by coach along the way.
They also ended their trip with plenty of new supporters and fans — many of whom will be tuning in to the live-stream broadcast on wobplay.com to support them in their bid to regain the title.
Ontario first
The tour began with their first ever trip to Canada. Hosted by Ontario's Upper Canada Brass, their appearance in Toronto saw the Welsh band joined by their hosts for the final three concert items, including the marches 'Castell Caerffili' by T.J Powell and 'The Canadian' by James Merrit.
It also saw the band bring a touch of their well known innovation to celebrate their recent National Championship title success.
Not being able to transport the famous silver trophy over the Atlantic, the band did the next best thing and had a life-size photo image made in Canada which they displayed on stage at each concert and signed at the tour's conclusion for one lucky winner to keep as a memento.
Ohio and Virginia
After a day's sight-seeing at Niagara Falls, the band travelled into the USA, 50 years after its first visit in 1976 as part of the bicentennial celebrations.
Their fourth visit saw them head to Columbus in Ohio, sharing a memorable concert with Dublin Silver Band, ahead of their own long-haul flight to Norway to compete at the Siddis Championships in Stavanger.
A day-long coach trip followed, although the changing Autumn colours across the Virginian landscape made it a spectacular one as they made their way to perform with James Madison University Band in Virginia.
There they linked up with the band led by Kevin Stees, with Cory MD Philip Harper enjoying the opportunity to lead them in a workshop during the day. They then joined forces at the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, where the Welsh champion featured its stable of soloists in Kyle Lawson, Jack Wilson, Charlie Boax and Darcy Beck.
North Virginia and New York
A slightly shorter bus trip them saw the band hosted by Brass Band of Northern Virginia led by conductor Dr Brian Bowman. This time the joint items included 'An American Trilogy' as well as Dorothy Gates' arrangement of Dave Wolpe's version of 'The Stars and Stripes Forever'.
The final concert of the trip saw the band head to New York for a successful collaboration with the New York Staff Band of the Salvation Army.
Having last performed together in 2019, the duo each played a set, which for Cory included 'Jupiter' from 'The Planets' and the fun of 'New York Rampage' by Philip Harper. After the concert the band drove into Manhattan to enjoy a final day of sightseeing with members heading to the top of the Empire State Building, taking a boat-ride to the Statue of Liberty, and visiting Central Park.
Our audiences were so full of enthusiasm and joy, we loved playing for all our new American and Canadian fans — and so we can't wait for the next timeCory MD, Philip Harper
Fantastic tour
Speaking about a memorable tour, Musical Director Philip Harper told 4BR: "It was another fantastic tour and I'm very proud that all the band members were such great ambassadors for both Cory and for British banding.
We met some wonderful people and had some amazing experiences together — from the electric moments of music making with new banding friends, to visits to Niagara Falls and eating the most superb New York cheesecake.
Our audiences were so full of enthusiasm and joy, we loved playing for all our new American and Canadian fans — and so we can't wait for the next time."
