RNCM Brass Band Festival
As a showcase of all that is great about brass band music, the renamed RNCM Brass Band Festival remains pre-eminent across the world in its programming of the highest quality brass band repertoire and performers, as Christopher Thomas discovered.
It is perhaps fortuitous that the RNCM Brass Band Festival (a subtle yet vitally important change from its former title of Festival of Brass) falls at the end of January, forming as it does a vital New Year event that serves to focus our minds on what matters most; namely the music rather than the sport that is contesting. In this respect at least, it is a wonderful musical palette cleanser ahead of the main events of the competitive banding year.
As regular attendees at the Festival well know, its programme building by Artistic Director, Paul Hindmarsh, is one of the keystones of the event. His encyclopedic knowledge and passion for the repertoire as a whole certainly helps, but it his ingenious ability to construct programmes grouped around themes and sub-themes that proves to be one of the fascinations of the Festival year-on-year, with 2016 being no exception.
The accent of this year’s Festival revolved around a celebration of Joseph Horovitz’s 90th birthday, Michael Ball’s 70th and the music of John McCabe - a tribute that was tinged with sadness, given his death shortly after the 2015 Festival. Music by Sir Dean Goffin also played a key role in the Salvationist’s centenary year.
As we have come to expect, a generous smattering of premieres, as well as works by our younger generation of creative talent, also figured prominently with Tom Davoren, Jonathan Bates, Paul McGhee and Simon Dobson amongst the composers having works played during the course of the weekend.
To read a full review of the Festival including performances by Black Dyke, Fairey, Tredegar Town, Foden's, RNCM Brass Band, Cory, Grimethorpe Colliery, A4 Brass Quartet and Peter Moore subscribe to BBW Digital here.
PHOTO: Black Dyke on stage. To view further photos from the three day Festival, visit Ashley Elliott's extensive BBW photo gallery here.
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