The next generation of brass band stars took their bow at Repton School for a cracking end of course concert. 

With the intimate auditorium packed with proud families and guests, the temperature gauge certainly brought a few beads of sweat to adult brows - although the youngsters, tiered on stage for every to see, produced playing of cool sophistication and style from first note till last.

Sparkling

Keen to show that the players were stretched musically over the week, Prof Childs showcased two major premieres to complement the lollipops and fun, whilst Katrina Marzella was an inspirational guest soloist.

A sparkling ‘Fanfare & Flourishes’ led into Peter Graham’s ‘Heroes of the North’ - a homage to four influential figures on the brass banding movement in the Bergen area of Norway; Tom Brevik, Viggo Bjorge, Frode Rydland and Howard Snell. 

A clever mix of the witty and the knowing, it was a delight - played with mature assuredness, especially the main solo lines.

‘A Repton Fantasy’ by Jonathan Bates also nodded appreciatively to its interweaved influences - from the hymn tune ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ to a touch of Willy Wonka (Roald Dahl was a former school alumni) and brilliant body percussion raindrop effects.  

Parched throats were left gasping at the super playing, as well as at the thought of a few rehydrating drops of interval refreshment.

‘A Repton Fantasy’ by Jonathan Bates also nodded appreciatively to its interweaved influences - from the hymn tune ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ to a touch of Willy Wonka (Roald Dahl was a former school alumni) and brilliant body percussion raindrop effects.  

Precision and balance

After the break, tutors Tom Hutchinson and Owen Farr led fun packed renditions of ‘Under the Boardwalk’ (featuring Katrina as the lead) complete with choreography The Drifters couldn’t have bettered, as well as The Monkees’ ‘I’m a Believer’, sung  with enthusiastic high-pitched verve. Alan Fernie’s ‘Pulsar’ and ‘Tritsch Tratsch Polka’ were whipped up with precision and balance. 

A closing Roald Dahl chapter came with ‘The World’s Greatest Storyteller’; ‘Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang’, whizzing along as if driven by another Repton old-boy Jeremy Clarkson, before the concert ended with ‘Liberty Bell’ - aided splendidly by 9 year old Lily Strentz - no taller than the valve tops of her Ebb tuba - showing off her campanology skills with virtuosic aplomb.

Iwan Fox