Roger Webster - Australian Tour

Roger Webster
Australian Tour
Salvation Army City Temple, Brisbane
Brisbane Brass conducted by Greg Aitken
Sunday 8 August

Amanda Casagrande reports on Roger Webster's start to his concert tour in Australia in Brisbane, where after a bit of a dodgy start (nothing to do with his playing) he simply wowed the crowds who came to see him perform.

The Arrival...

After spending 2 days travelling by air from the UK with stops in Dubai and Singapore, Roger Webster landed in Brisbane on Saturday at 6am. Roger was met by his 'mate' Steve Ridler who initially had trouble finding Roger who seemed to 'blend in' with the influx of Japanese tourists coming through the gate at the same time - something to do with height, I am told??  Under strict instructions from Greg Aitken not to lead Roger astray, as the following day would be very busy, Roger tentatively forced himself to experience a great Aussie beer, a Crown Lager, and a few prawns that evening.  It just so happens that the Tri-Nations Rugby match between Australia and New Zealand was also being televised.  The atmosphere was electric, tensions were high…..where was Roger???.....he was found playing scrabble and eating pavlova with the women and children!!!

His image was shattered.  (Australia won by the way!)   A well behaved, extremely jet-lagged Roger was taken home by Steve to have a decent sleep.   And what fine form he was in the next day….

The Concert...

Roger's repertoire for this particular concert included the Finale from Concerto for Trumpet/cornet by Elgar Howarth, David of the White Rock arr. Bowes, Carnival of Venice by Harry James/arr. Mark Freeh, Concert Etude by Alexander Goedicke arr.  W Broughton and a duet with principal cornet of Brisbane Brass, Ben Beavis - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square arr. Hopkinson.  A  very appreciative audience experienced some of the finest cornet playing to have hit our shores.  Roger's playing was convincing, dynamic, controlled, accurate, fluent and seemingly effortless.  He demonstrated amazing consistency of tone across such a wide range and changed character and style as called for by each piece - the 'cheekiness' of James' Carnival of Venice was particularly well captured.  Could it possibly get any better? - I don't think so!! Roger even stepped out from his normal comfort zone to talk to the audience!  This definitely enhanced his performance.  Perhaps the biggest criticism was, we would have liked to have heard more from Roger - for example, an appearance in the encore would have been more than appropriate.

Brisbane Brass and its Musical Director Greg Aitken also need to be congratulated on their accompaniment and performances during the concert.  Some have said that this is the best Brisbane Brass has played in many years.  They did a commendable job with accompaniments that were sometimes very challenging.  The Goedicke, for example, required sensitive treatment and good dynamic control. Mostly, this was delivered by Brisbane Brass, though at times, the band did overpower the soloist.  However, it has been suggested that the hall is not particularly conducive acoustically to solo and band accompaniment delivery.

Other repertoire for the day played by Brisbane Brass included The Cross of Honour (W Rimmer), Arizona (FJ Dockerill), Molly on the Shore (Percy Grainger arr. Howard Snell), Clog Dance (John Marcangelo arr. Bill Charleson), and a very powerful performance of The Kingdom Triumphant (Eric Ball).  A special guest appearance by Barrie Gott on Flugelhorn, playing the third movement of his own composition, Jazz Suite opened the second half.  Following this was It's Alright With Me (Cole Porter arr. Tom Brevik, And All That Jazz (Kander & Ebb arr. Frank Bernaerts), Soul Bossa Nova (Quincy Jones arr. Andrew Duncan), Shine as the Light (Peter Graham), with Gaelforce as an encore featuring some great Euphonium playing from Bill Barker. 

Roger only has one week in Australia and will conclude this tour with performances in Sydney and The Melbourne International Festival of Brass where he will appear in concerts with Pacific Brass - a representative band conducted by Ron Prussing, Principal Trombone of the Sydney Symphony. 

We thank Brass Music Specialists for sponsoring Roger's visit to Brisbane. We also thank Roger very much for sharing his talent and skills with us and hope that he will return again soon.  (We promise even bigger prawns next time, Roger!!) 

Amanda Casagrande

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