The audience for the lunchtime concerts at Regent Hall enjoys a varied palette of music; from soloists and chamber groups up to full bands. A week on from the rather genteel refinement of the Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra, Zone One Brass brought the vibrant sounds of contemporary brass music.

Helpful introductions

Founded by students at the Royal College of Music in 2002, several founder members are still playing with the band 15 years on.

Under the direction of Richard Ward they presented music by Simon Dobson, Hans Werner Henze and Leonard Bernstein. On this occasion they opted to use trumpets rather than cornets throughout, with the conductor's excellent introductions helping to make this largely unfamiliar music accessible to the listeners.

Simon Dobson was the band's first conductor, and his 'Clash' made for a striking opener; the opening sustained chords leading into vigorous music influenced by the composer's own career as a trumpeter on the contemporary scene. Jon Stokes exciting trombone solo drew spontaneous applause.

Quirky music

Henze's 'Ragtimes and Habaneras', written for Grimethorpe at the behest of Elgar Howarth, draws on many sources for its material, including various Latin American styles and the music of the Berlin cabaret.  The use of mutes gave a wide range of tone colours, and the committed performance brought out the humour in what can seem a somewhat fragmented work.  

There were solo contributions from Rebecca Crawshaw and David Geoghegan (trumpets), Cal Isfryn (flugel), Matt Lewis (trombone) and Lewis Musson (euphonium), whilst the trombone and tuba sections impressed throughout.

Transatlantic exuberance

The programme concluded with movements from 'West Side Story' in Eric Crees's arrangement. 'Prologue', 'Mambo', 'Cha-cha', 'Cool' and 'Somewhere' encompassed a range of styles, with tight ensemble work and delicate staccatos in 'Maria'. The pianissimo trumpet trio at the start of ‘Somewhere’ had the audience spellbound, and mention should be made of Elsa Bradley's contributions on tuned percussion.

In the absence of the planned encore (left behind by Richard!!) the audience opted for a repeat of 'Mambo', a little less inhibited this time and complete with the ferocious shouts of 'Mambo' which were missing the first time round.

Peter Bale