Eight soloists battled it out at BBC Manchester’s Studio 7 on Sunday evening for a place in the final of BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist of the Year to be held just down the road at the RNCM on Saturday 21st February.
A competition it maybe, but it’s a radio broadcast too, so in front of an invited audience, two ‘semi final’ recordings were made with the players being split into two groups of four.
Prophet and Gray
Judging the contest were Jamie Prophet and Russell Gray. Russell told the audience at the BBC Studios in Manchester that the 'finalists made it all look so easy'.
First Semi-Final
The four finalists will aim to join Brenden Wheeler, Katrina Marzella and Ben Thomson as a winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist of the Year4BR
David Moore and Stephen Sykes were both in fabulous form in the first semi-final. David opted for Goff Richards' Pastorale before finishing with Philip Sparkes Song and Dance. Trombonist Stephen Sykes took to the floor of Studio 7 at the BBC studio's to perform the 2nd Movement of Rieche's Trombone Concerto and Robin Dewhurst's Brasilia.
Triple Slavische
Mark Harrison opened up the night's competition with the first of three performances of Slavische Fantasie whilst the other contender in the first four to play was Soprano Cornetist, Melanie Whyle whose performance included the popular Aria from Mozart's Queen of the Night.
Virtuoso performances
The second semi-final featured two stunning virtuoso performances from Matthew White and Lauren Reeves-Rawlings. Matthew is currently studying at the RNCM in Manchester and plays with Leyland Band. The young euphonium got through to the final courtesy of his interpretations of the Hymn from Amadeus by Karl Jenkins and Peter Graham's Bravura.
First for the final
Lauren Reeves-Rawlings is the first french horn player to get through to the finals and her winning contributions came from the first and third movements of Edward Gregson's Concerto for French Horn and Band.
The two unlucky contenders to miss out were Nathan Richards and Tristan Button, both trumpeters and both of whom selected Slavische Fantasie.
Fine form
Brighouse & Rastrick were in fine form throughout and deserve acknowledgement for their accompaniment to the soloists, whom they’d worked with earlier in the day. Whilst the finalists were being decided B&R gave some light entertainment ranging from the march, Jubilee through to selections from King of Kings arranged by Leigh Baker.
The semi-finals will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Friday 13th and 20th February at 9.30pm with the final broadcast a week later on the 27th.
Free tickets
Free tickets limited to 4 per application are available from the Royal Northern College of Music website ( www.rncm.ac.uk) or from the Box Office (0161 907 5555) for the final on Saturday 21st February.
Black Dyke will be the accompanying band and with three of the players being familiar with the demands of championship section bands it promises to be a cracking final.
