This exciting festival of youth, community and the very best of professional music-making in joyous collaboration takes place in the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, Toronto, ON.

Rising Stars

Friday April 3rd features the “Rising Stars.” The young, energetic members of the HSSB’s three Youth Bands perform under the leadership of Anita McAlister and Darryl Eaton. The exciting concert opens with John Williams’ Olympic Spirit performed by the combined Community and Youth Bands.

The Youth Band’s solo pieces are: Celebration by Canadian composer Donald Coakley; Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, arr. John G. Mortimer; and Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury, arr. Darrol Berry.

The Junior Band (up to grade 11) performs Ernst Sachse’s Concertino in Eflat with Eflat cornet soloist Duncan Campbell; and Alexandre Morceau’s Concert Piece with trombone soloist Emma Metzger.

The Youth Band welcomes special guests the Ontario Central East Divisional Youth Band of the Salvation Army with its conductor Mark Hall to collaborate in John Williams’ Epic Themes, and Wagner’s Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral, arr. William Himes.

This concert features the Annual Young Artists Solo Competition, and the three gifted finalists at the Senior level (grade 12 to University) are: cornet soloist Ben Promane performing Scott Irvine’s Aubade; trombone soloist Elburz Sorkhabi performing Arthur Pryor’s Thoughts of Love; and euphonium soloist Kohei Kamikawa performing H.L. Clarke’s Carnival of Venice. The successful winner will have the opportunity to play his solo with the HSSB in Sunday’s “Slide Show”.

Community Showcase
Saturday, April 4th will be the “Community Showcase” featuring community bands performing a variety of brass band showpieces.

From Ontario: London’s Plumbing Factory Brass Band; Whitby Brass Band; Orillia Silver Band; Kincardine Brass Band; Ottawa’s Maple Leaf Brass Band; Weston Silver Band; Toronto’s Metropolitan Silver Band; and the newly formed Community Showcase Festival Band, a volunteer ensemble made up of members of the participating groups.

From the USA: Buffalo Silver Band, N.Y. and the Brass Band of Columbus, Ohio. Some of these ensembles will compete for the honour to receive The Hannaford Cup, the annual award for excellence.

Slide Show
Sunday’s final is entitled “Slide Show” as the Hannaford Street Silver Band will feature special guest Joe Alessi who is without question the world’s finest classical trombone soloist, with a heart of jazz! For a fourth return engagement, the HSSB is again delighted to welcome guest conductor Alain Trudel, one of Canada’s most gifted and celebrated artists. “Slide Show” — sponsored by NSK Canada Inc. — is the grand finale to the Festival of Brass weekend.

This eclectic concert features the Canadian première of Urban Cabaret, a new work for trombone and brass band written by Bramwell Tovey especially for Joe Alessi. (The work was first performed in the U.K. by Foden’s Brass Band.) The amazing Alessi will thrill the audience performing Philip Sparke's scintillating Sambezi for trombone and brass band. Alain Trudel steps down from the podium and picks up his trombone to join Alessi in Arthur Pryor’s Air Varie.

The HSSB’s solo performances include Jaime Texidor’s Bonds of Friendship; Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F Major; Malcolm Arnold’s The Padstow Lifeboat; and Edward Gregson’s major work Variations on Laudate Dominum.

Another highlight of this concert is the performance with the HSSB of a young soloist, winner of the Youth Program's Annual Young Artists Solo Competition that took place April 3. The winning soloist will be announced by the Competition’s special adjudicators – Joe Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic; and Alain Trudel, one of Canada’s finest conductors.

To celebrate long-time HSSB subscriber William Askew on his 89th birthday, the HSSB performs The Holy City by S. Adams. Mr. Askew, a member of the Oshawa Civic Band, will be present for this special event.

The concert’s grand finale features the combined forces of the HSSB, the Youth Band and trombone soloist Joe Alessi performing Meredith Willson’s thrilling 76 Trombones from “The Music Man”.

As usual, there is a pre-concert chat at 2:15 with Joe Alessi and Alain Trudel, hosted by Ray Tizzard, in the lobby of the Jane Mallett Theatre.

More information can be found at < http://www.hssb.ca>