RNCM Brass Band

Conductor: Dr Nicholas Childs
Newton Heath Train Maintenance Depot
4th July

The Newton Heath Train Maintenance Depot in Manchester was a superb choice of venue for a concert to commemorate 40 years since the age of steam drew to a close following the final journey of the last steam engine on British rails (T157) in 1968.    

Safety first

The event was opened by a hello from steam engine ‘May’, who proudly sounded her whistle before members of the RNCM brass band performed Malcolm Arnold’s ‘Railway Fanfare’. Then followed a number of introductory speeches explaining how the day originated as well as highlighting the historical importance of the event. 

Obligatory safety announcements were made, perhaps a little more extensive than at a usual brass band concert, due to the venue being a working train depot! 

Selected items

Dr. Nicholas Childs led the RNCM Brass Band in fine performances of a specially selected programme of music inspired by the rail industry, in addition to entertaining the audience with interesting facts about the pieces and their significance to the event. 

He also introduced a number of the players themselves to the audience, paying particular tribute to Nick Jackson and Jamie Cooper (principal cornet and 2nd man, respectively) giving a little insight into their own experiences at the RNCM and the opportunities available to the students there.

Newton Heath Variations

The band performed Rimmer’s March ‘North Star’, ‘Royal Border Bridge’ (Arthur Butterworth ), ‘The Bluebell Line’ (Phil Lane) and ‘Inter City’ (Darrol Barry) before joining with the Wardle Anderson brass band to perform the finale of the concert; Newton Heath Variations, a specially commissioned work by Lucy Pankhurst. 

Dr. Nicholas Childs invited Lucy to give and insight about the piece and the thoughts behind such an original composition. The work not only featured the two bands but also incorporated atmospheric whistles from steam and diesel engines to represent the transition from the age of steam to the use of diesel trains. 

Imitating sounds

The piece was full of sounds symbolising a working train depot including the lower brass using their mouthpieces as pseudo whistles. The central element of the piece was based upon imitating the sounds in the workplace at the Newton Heath Train Maintenance Depot. 

Lucy made use of a range of percussion instruments including claves, a whip and vibraslap alongside less conventional ‘instruments’ such as an anvil, a megaphone and a train ticket ‘riffle’ which created more realistic sounds. There was also a part written for a power drill, however the bands were unable to include it due to health and safety regulations!

Innovative

Overall it was a very enjoyable afternoon with the highlight being ‘Newton Heath Variations’. The piece was very well received by the audience, performers and organisers alike. One player said that it was ‘enlightening to have the opportunity to play original music that was so unlike much of the music performed today’. 

Dr. Paul Salveson, Head of Government and Community Strategies at Northern Rail, declared that the piece was ‘innovative, accessible, exciting and so relevant to the theme of the day’

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