The final brass concert at this famous hall in the heart of Birmingham proved a fitting farewell; nods of appreciation to the past, present and future providing an enjoyable musical coda before the last chord was to be played with an orchestral showcase a few days later.
It was filled with music performed with a sense of proprietary pride by the Conservatoire students, whilst their guests, fresh from winning the Welsh Regional Championship and Band Cymru titles, were also on commanding form.
Crisp
The opening fanfares to Shostokovich’s ‘Festive Overture’ played by the Conservatoire Brass Band and Symphonic Brass Ensemble were delivered with a crisp, metallic brilliance before it flew energetically along its course, whilst Jacob Larsen’s arrangement of Pat Metheny’s ‘Secret Story Suite’ was cool and placid - a meandering meditation of thoughtfulness aided by a suave bit of flugel playing on ‘Back in Time’ by Izzy Rutherford.
Precise
Tzu-Hsaing Lin was a precise solo voice in Wilby’s ‘Song & Dance’ - revealing a refined sense of phrasing, before the first half closed with a spirited rendition of the ‘March’ from ‘Kenilworth’ by Arthur Bliss - something of a National Trust musical postcard of brass band homage to a stately pile that has survived the wrecking-ball of modern development both physically and metaphorically.
Tredegar moved through the various gear changes with a smoothly engaged power torque; a fizzing ‘Gypsy Dance’ in the red zone of the rev counter to open followed by Dewi Griffiths upping the ante on the Arturo Sandoval classic ‘A Mis Abuelos’ and a lean, muscular take on Britten’s ‘Occasional Overture’ to close.
Joyful spirit
The combined forces then brought a joyful spirit as well as a touch of menace to ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Mars’ from Holst’s ‘Planets’, before the evening was rounded off with a thoughtful performance of Eric Ball’s ‘Resurgam’ - a neat bit of programming given the emerging edifice of the new campus building just a stone’s throw from the hall.
Ceri John’s bold arrangement of ‘Festal March’ by William Lloyd Webber - played in the presence of his son, and Conservatoire Principal Julian, topped things off with a noble sense of triumph before the doors to the Adrian Boult Hall were closed to brass for the last time.
Iwan Fox
