Conductor: Dr David Thornton
Soloist: Lewis Barton
The Great Hall
Oundle Hall
Friday 1st August

It was Eleanor Roosevelt who coined the phrase that the future belonged to those who believed in the beauty of their dreams.

However, the longest serving First Lady of the USA was not someone prone to fridge magnet aphorisms or self-help car bumper stickers. An imposing figure in times of war and peace, she was as pioneering as she was inspirational, her words backed by the substance of her actions.  

Fully embraced

Her philosophy was fully embraced by the 56 young performers led by Dr David Thornton in providing a remarkably mature endorsement of the musical mission statement that now also drives the NYBBGB organisation as a whole.

The ambitious outlook weaved a rather unexpected and welcome pathway from start to finish - encapsulated by Andrea Price’s 10-minute work, inspired by the Roosevelt belief that dreams, both conscious and subconscious can inspire imagination and endeavour. 

The ambitious outlook weaved a rather unexpected and welcome pathway from start to finish - encapsulated by Andrea Price’s 10-minute work, inspired by the Roosevelt belief that dreams, both conscious and subconscious can inspire imagination and endeavour. 

Bold and inventive, the trust it placed in the players to explore elements of self-doubt and self-expression as well as singular and communal endeavour was marked, the strands, vocal as well as instrumental culminating to an uplifting, joyful climax. 

Additonal layer

Equally impressive though was a sung version of ‘Mad World’  that followed (with an ensemble of tutors providing the simple accompaniment).  A song whose lyrics speak of the intensity of dreams (anyone who has seen the film ‘Donnie Darko’ will attest to) its inclusion brought an additional layer of understanding of the non-musical challenges now faced by the next generation of brass band performers. 

A song whose lyrics speak of the intensity of dreams (anyone who has seen the film ‘Donnie Darko’ will attest to) its inclusion brought an additional layer of understanding of the non-musical challenges now faced by the next generation of brass band performers. 

Young composers whose own successful personal development has been marked came with Tamsin’s Crook’s ‘Clash of the Titan’s’,  a clever interplay of ensemble forces that evoked the mythical battles of Greeks Gods, and Amber Hooton’s ‘Sailor’s Hymn’  with its elegiac feel of dreams and aspirations yet to be fulfilled.

14-year-old Easher Austin will surely follow suit. His remarkably mature ‘Marche Triomphale’  infused with its own elements of Rimmer and Elgar character had a bold combination of brio and elegance.     

Inspirational ambassador

Both elements were also displayed by the impressive guest soloist Lewis Barton, whose own musical dreams are being developed as a student at the RNCM in Manchester as well as with Leyland Band. 

His performances were hallmarks of his talent – both lyrical and virtuosic in ‘Pater Noster’, ‘Under the Boardwalk’  (taking the flugel lead) and ‘Hejre Kati’.  He is the most admirable of inspirational ambassadors for the band and its vision.  

His performances were hallmarks of his talent – both lyrical and virtuosic in ‘Pater Noster’, ‘Under the Boardwalk’  (taking the flugel lead) and ‘Hejre Kati’.  He is the most admirable of inspirational ambassadors for the band and its vision.  

Elsewhere the thematic thread was maintained with the tenderness of the opening ‘She Moved Through the Fair’  (with super lead lines), and the latter ‘Thula Baba’, as well as the verve of Goff Richards’ ‘Spirit of Youth’,  the Swiss chocolate box imagery of ‘The Old Chalet’  (with a few musical mountaineers perched on high), and Nordic mix of certainty and quirkiness with ‘Vitae Lux’  and ‘Gutte Og Mann’.   

‘A Malvern Suite’ was played with a mix of disciplined test-piece rigour and showcase musicality, whilst the encore of ‘Deep River’ rounded off a concert of ambition and aspiration with a vibrant joyfulness.

Iwan Fox