Trinity College of Music Students Union Brass Band

Conductor: Stephen Maw
Regent Hall
London
3rd April

For anyone who decides to indulge in a lunchtime concert at Regent Hall will at some point become the onlooker of the biannual appearance of Trinity College of Music Students Union Brass Band, in which the leadership of their conductor, Stephen Maw, channels his charm and warmth through the band with thoughtful and imaginative performances.

Warm Welcome

The flamboyant opening of ‘Fanfare and Flourishes’ confirmed why this is often a suitable opener for a concert due to the crisp articulation and regal nature. 

The performance suited the cornets well with it’s clean attacks and was supported well, if not at times, too sufficiently by it’s bombastic bass section.

Stephen Maw then sang his praises to the individual efforts and commitment towards the longevity of the band, and that each member had volunteered their services out of personal desire to perform and not through the education obligations that they succour on a daily basis.

The Vikings

The band continued with a programmatic contrast of Philip Sparke’s, ‘The Vikings’, in which a dark and sinister undercurrent of muted cornets and trombones incited a bleak and mystic appeal not that different from Scandinavian winters. 

It’s canonic sections were delicately balanced, as were the dovetailing solos of its Principal Cornet and Principal Trombonist. It’s middle section was clearly marked with liveliness from the percussion and despite the odd moments of hastful rushing, the ensemble eventually settled into its change in tempo and concluded with a well tuned and poised ending.

Tributes, Homage, Compliment……

Now, it is a truth almost universally acknowledged that at some point, a brass band will tip it’s proverbial hat towards a Romantic classic, in this respect, Edvard Grieg’s,’ ‘The Last Spring’. 

Whilst the sentimentality could be felt easily with it‘s heart-rendering melody, the accompaniment sadly fell short in it’s mismatched balance of volume which could be tactfully restrained.

The Challenge

Repiano Cornet Sam Lewis then took to the stage to perform Eric Ball’s, ‘The Challenge’ on Trumpet that was originally performed in 1943 by the former BBCSO Principal Trumpeter, William Overton. 

Sam’s interpretation revealed a commanding and confident presence in which the piece’s more dexterous passages were handled with his crisp articulation, clear tone and  playful flourishes.

A more industrious enterprise was then accomplished with a sobering arrangement of ‘Amazing Grace’ by the band’s cornetist, Jonathan Scott. 

As expected, the opening verse was entrusted by it’s muted cornets creating a quasi- bagpipe feel that retained a ceremonial quality throughout, with some incidental buoyant punctuations from the soprano cornet. Moreover, it is only fair to applaud Scott’s dual contribution as a composer and performer, which enhanced the intention and performance of this everlasting piece of music.

Creative gifts

At the height of his creative gifts, Wilfred Heaton’s ingenuity towards brass band music was unfairly dismissed by the Salvation Army as “too advanced”. 

However after 1973, his luck eventually turned after his music was deemed worthy of National Championship standard and was used as a test piece. It was during the band’s performance of ‘Mercy’s Light’ and ‘Victory for Me’ that we were treated to the genteel sensibilities and technical skill of it’s players, in particular the sensitivity and lightness carefully demonstrated from it’s Flugelhorn player.

Finale

To wrap up the performance, TCMSUBB left it’s audience in the magnificence of Eric Ball’s ‘The Kingdom Triumphant’, in which it’s majestic opening from the Trombones and Horns, expressed grandeur and confidence. 

The Flugelhorn and Euphonium solos of  ’O Come, O Come Immanuel’ displayed control in which both players responded skilfully to Stephen’s gestures and eloquent direction. 

The lead up to the finale lagged in energy, to which I can only assume was conservation of energy towards delivering it’s powerful and broadly written climax with deep, sonorous sounds that filled Regent Hall with splendour.

Finally, Stephen and TCMSUBB sent their audience home with a rousing encore of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Trepak’ from ‘The Nutcracker Suite’, in which audience members could be seen swaying their heads to the beat and nodding along with approval.

Kimberly Lagos

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