Within 48 hours of leaving their bandroom in South Wales, European champion Cory had already entertained the brass band lovers of Western Australia with their first concert at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre - a  town an hour or so south of Perth.

The players scarcely had time to try and overcome any lingering jet lag either, as less than 24 hours later they had travelled to the state capital on the Swan River to undertake the second in what is going to be a gruelling schedule of 10 concerts in 13 days.

Monday gamble

The band still seemed a little tired as they were welcomed by the Western Australia Band Association prior to the concert.

The organiser’s (Brass Down Under) gamble to hold the concert on a Monday night was brave to say the least. However, it just about paid off, with the large concert hall about a third full - and those who turned up got to sample the degustation menu of items chosen to cater for the full range of musical tastes.

Those with a culinary musical palette had plenty to savour, with tasty Welsh cakes and Mexican tapas mixed in with a bit of bush tucker and the obligatory old potboiler.

Thumping style

The reigning Brass in Concert champion opened in thumping style with the fizzing ‘Los Hermanos de Bop’ that hit the audience right between the eyes, before a rendition of the curiously forgettable ‘A Bandman’s Overture’ by Philip Sparke.

Steve Stewart was on sparkling form with the James Bond theme tune from ‘Live and Let Die’ delivered in the bravura style that has become his trademark.

His engagement with the audience and all round contribution made him the stand out performer of the evening – or ‘best on ground’ as they like to say in these parts.

Welsh winks

Baritone player Stephen Kane was next in the spotlight with a fine rendition of the traditional Welsh melody ‘Y Deryn Pur’ (The Gentle Dove) before the whole band took flight with Ray Farr’s arrangement of ‘Superman’.

Guest flugel player Helen Williams of Foden’s delighted the audience with the newly commissioned ‘Valley Song’ by Alan Fernie.

With more than a Celtic wink to the Welsh air ‘Dafydd y Garreg Wen’ (David of the White Rock) the audience loved it, although a few Cymru expats still doubted the inspiration of relocating Dafydd and his harp from Porthmadog to the Rhondda.

Still, it made for a nice tune, beautifully played.

Wowed

Principal Cornet Tom Hutchinson certainly wowed with a classy performance of ‘Tico Tico’, before the band closed the first half with Dan Price’s evocative and very clever ‘Dreamtime’, composed especially for this tour – and featuring the lower brass imitating didgeridoos.

Polished

The second half got underway with a cut-and-shut brace of Gareth Wood’s ‘Fanfare for Cory’ and the rip-snorting arrangement of ‘Men of Harlech’ before a polished rendition of ‘Londonderry Air’ by trombonist Chris Thomas brought temporary tranquillity before a quick romp though the final movement of Gilbert Vinter’s ‘Salute to Youth’.

More Philip Sparke followed – this time the much more satisfying third movement of his ‘Euphonium Concert No 3’ - confidently delivered by Matthew White, who is continuing to mature into the complete virtuoso package.

Highlight

Chick Corea’s ‘La Fiesta’ was perhaps the highlight of the concert.

Expertly arranged by MD Philip Harper (whose own excellent contribution to the evening was not just confined to directing the band with panache but also being a witty and personable compere) it was delivered with sheer verve and gusto.

With time for one more solo item, the band’s young percussionist Max Ireland stepped forward with his xylophone and delivered a fine rendition of the PLC arrangement of Ronda Alla Turka.

Finale

The finale was a bit of Mahler, with the MDs clever arrangement of ‘Symphony No 2’ that brought a musically satisfying second half to a resounding close, although the added lollipop encores were a neat gob-full of sweeties to go home on too.

Cory will now cross the Nullarbor to Adelaide where the gruelling tour continues before moving to the eastern seaboard later this week.

If you get the chance, go see them. The best bands in the world don’t come to these shores too often.

Anthony Banwell