A week after their annual Easter Course, and following successful concerts at Uppingham School and Cambridge, the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain headed for the Barbican Centre - home of the London Symphony Orchestra and the evening's featured soloists, Philip Cobb and Peter Moore (above).
The event was preceded by an illuminating discussion between Bramwell Tovey, Robert Childs and Richard Evans, where it was revealed that, of the 80 or so players at this year's course, 33 were attending for the first time.
Un-phased
Elgar Howarth's 'Mosaic' made for a lively start; with crisp rhythms contrasting with the broad lines of a sweeping, octave melody. Gregson's 'Symphony in Two Movements', which the band had premiered a couple of years ago, certainly showed, as Bramwell Tovey had previously remarked, that young players are 'un-phased by modernity', as they took this challenging work in their stride.
'Elegy' from 'A Downland Suite' was given an idiomatic reading, with subtle rises and falls and excellent solo work by Tom Nielsen on principal cornet - a lovely counterpoint to the commanding rendition of Denis Wright's 'Cornet Concerto' by Philip Cobb (a former principal cornet of the band himself) which preceded it.
Ballet suite premiere
The second half opened with the premiere of the new concert suite 'Dark Arteries' by Gavin Higgins; a triptych of contrasting sections drawn from the original score written for the critically acclaimed 2015 Ballet Rambert production.
This was yet more challenging music; with the haunting sound of the basses emerged from their pedal register to the calm of the central reflective section, before the intense violence of conflict between the forces of mining communities and the agents of the statePeter Bale
This was yet more challenging music; with the haunting sound of the basses emerged from their pedal register to the calm of the central reflective section, before the intense violence of conflict between the forces of mining communities and the agents of the state. The work features a particularly prominent role for flugel horn - carried off with aplomb by Hannah Evans.
Solo tour de force
Peter Moore's fearless reading of Tovey's extrovert 'Lincoln Tunnel Cabaret' was a delightful highlight as he punched out the solo figures, often in total opposition to those around him. Philip Cobb then joined him in Joseph Turrin's attractive 'Fandango', with its answering phrases and effective interaction between the soloists.
There was more classic writing in Joseph Horowitz's 'Ballet for Band'; revealing excellent solo and ensemble playing from the opening tuba quartet onward, before Lucy Pankhurst's 'Wired' provided a wonderful finale - giving the players a chance to let their hair down in music they clearly enjoyed playing, not least the young, hard-working percussion team.
Three verses of 'St Clements', beautifully controlled, brought an excellent evening to a close.
Peter Bale
