International Brass Band Summer School

Conductors: Dr Robert & Dr Nicholas Childs
Soloists: Richard Marshall, Brett Baker, David Childs
Fulton Hall
Swansea University
Friday 10th August

The 2007 International Brass Band Summer School came to a rousing end in a warm and relaxed manner at Swansea University on Friday evening. 

An audience of over 300 people packed into the Fulton House Hall like newly caught sardines off the Gower coast to enjoy an eclectic mix of music from 120 musicians from all over the world. The recent Iles Medal recipients, Dr Robert and Dr Nicholas Childs, led the concert that rounded off a splendid week on the campus for the players, aged from 10 to 77 and of varying capabilities.

This year the IBBSS has doubled in size thanks to the reputation of the main artistic directors, but also the quality of the team of tutors, three of whom were featured on the night as soloists. An impressive list of partner sponsors led by Leeds Metropolitan University and York Instruments allowed for a broader scope of musical activities too - allowing the players (and their families in many cases) ample time to enjoy the home town of the poet Dylan Thomas as well as the modern facilities on the campus.

The concert started just a little late to accommodate the extra listeners, 50 or so were delegates on an English language course from the University of Rome. All week the campus has been a hive of educational activity and the students have enjoyed the impromptu mealtime concerts and recitals, and even a Whit Friday contest at three of the venues on site, all provided by the IBBSS course.

Robert Childs led the ‘Preference’ Band (a neat nod to one of the sponsors of course) with Peter Graham’s antiphonal ‘Academic Fanfare’ an appropriate opener given the surroundings. Bright and breezy with the cornet section (and sopranos in particular) given it plenty of welly, it set the tone for what was to follow.

Richard Marshall was the first of the guest soloists and stepped up to receive a collective ‘Ooooh’ from the audience before he had even played a note. After he had delivered a sizzler on Kenny Baker’s ‘Virtuosity’ the ‘Ooooh’s’ were replaced with ‘Aaaahs’ and Black Dyke’s principal cornet had bagged another 300 members to his fan club.

’Bugler’s Holiday’ enjoyed a quick whip through, although on this occasion the star was definitely the conductor, Maria Molund from Sweden. This delightfully vivacious young lady has previously been a member of the Gothenburg Band and displayed a personality in front of a band to match her conducting – as bubbly as a bottle of local Corona pop. We suspect we may see more of her in the years to come. 

Philip Wilby’s ‘Thine be the Glory’ was a tremendous old tub thumper of a hymn tune that would have taken the roof off the local Methodist chapel, before the ‘Preference’ Band rounded off their solo contribution with a testing rendition of ‘James Cook –Circumnavigator’, a piece that deserving of its resurrection. There were a few choppy waters as expected but overall it was nautically colourful with some fine bass trombone playing the pick of a solid group of soloists. 

The ‘Eminence’ Band then took to the stage under Nicholas Childs and ‘Where Eagles Sing’, (perhaps deserving to be subtitled, ‘Where composer Paul Lovatt-Cooper sings all the way to the bank’!) It is undeniably a corker though and once more it provided the band with a stern but enjoyable test.

Brett Baker was the featured soloist and his ‘Annie Laurie’ had a real period feel for the fantastic and flamboyant – you can’t beat a trombonist doing tricks others think impossible can you now?  It really was flying Scotswoman playing.

’I Will Follow Him’ provided the trombone section with the opportunity showcase their nun inspired stuff, before Philip Wilby’s superbly atmospheric rendition of the classic Welsh hymn tune ‘Cwm Rhondda’ (introduced with typical impish humour from the man himself) delighted and intrigued.

To round off their contribution a lively and vibrant ‘Gaelforce’, which rounded off a first half, that just about had something for everyone to enjoy.

A quick 10 minute break and the massed bands opened with Rodney Newton’s delightfully witty foot tapper of a march entitled ‘IBBSS’, which was a cross between a Sousa march, ‘Imperial Echoes’ and the music that introduces the football results on Radio 5 on a Saturday night.  A real catchy Whit Friday special this - all that was missing was James Alexander Gordon coming in with the scores half way through!

David Childs then delivered playing from a different universe with ‘Hot Canary’ - which quite unbelievably incorporates 68 super F’s in four minutes of virtuosity that left the audience with a permanent grin of their faces – a mixture of disbelief and enjoyment.   This was ‘Tweety Pie’ on steroids.

’Softly As I leave You’ was the chance for the euphonium and baritone sections to shine – and they did, before Kenneth Downie’s ‘African Trio’ was a neat chance to show off the bands ability to change style and tempi as well as plug the ongoing excellent work of Brass Band Aid. 

All that was left was to round it off with something big, bold and bravura and the audience got that and more with Robert Child’s arrangement of the ‘1812’, complete with narration from Black Dyke’s Matthew Routley (who hails from Abergavenny and whose Yorkshire accent after 15 years or so doing musical missionary work in the dark county became progressively more Welsh the longer he spent in his homeland).

It rounded off a splendidly relaxed night of entertainment, enjoyed by an international audience too. All this and plans for next year are all ready underway.

Iwan Fox.

^back to top