Hepworth made the short journey over the M62 to make their début appearance at the festival this year.

Tirelessly

MD Michael Fowles had chosen an intriguingly eclectic selection for the occasion, and he worked the band tirelessly during a programme where not everything quite clicked perfectly into place – not helped initially by a stubbornly passive audience.

Nonetheless, it was very enjoyable music making from the Yorkshire band, opening with Simon Dobson's cracking arrangement of 'Mysterious Voices of Bulgaria'.
 
Favourable

With the MD finally getting an interactive response from the hall, they gained a much more favourable response with a confident rendition of Lucy Pankhurst's 'Wired'.

The undoubted highlight though came with the performance of guest soloist Peter Moore.  

The trombone virtuoso is no stranger to either the band or Bridgewater Hall (and hopefully not for many years to come either), as he delivered three contrasting solos that were simply magnificent in style and execution.

Oozed musicality

Langford's 'Rhapsody for Trombone', oozed musicality and left Michael Fowles (a fine trombonist himself) to quip to the audience 'that nobody must have told Peter when he was younger, that playing the trombone is difficult'. 

Cook's up tempo, 'Bolivar', was waspishly confident and colourful (with a clarity of technique that was breathtaking), whilst Simon Wood's arrangement of the classic, 'Blessed Assurance', left the audience open-mouthed in admiration. 

The banding movement will have to cherish future opportunities to hear this remarkable young talent performing in this environment. 

Salsa inspired

He rather inspired the band too, with Andy Scott's salsa-inspired 'Pacquito' bristling with energy, whilst in contrast, the inclusion of Simon Dobson's 'Little Hymn' was tastefully restrained and controlled.

Michael Fowles also chose two rarely heard pieces in Malcolm Arnold's 'English Dance No 6', followed by Ernest Tomlinson's timeless gem, 'Little Serenade'.

To send the audience to lunch, Hepworth concluded with Philip Littlemore's engaging arrangement of the 'Coronation Scene' from Boris Godunov, to round off a concert where they had completed a hard working début aided by a solo performer of peerless talent.

Malcolm Wood