Gregson work to be premiered as 2020 British Open test piece
'The World Rejoicing' (Variations on a Lutheran Chorale), a brand new work by Edward Gregson will be the test piece for the 2020 British Open Championship. The work has been collaboratively commissioned by five partner countries, and will receive its premiere performance by the band drawn number 1 at Symphony Hall on 12th September. The piece will then be used as the test-piece for the Dutch, Swiss and Belgian National Championships in November 2020 and Norway in February 2021.
Commenting on his work, Edward Gregson stated, "I'm delighted to be writing this new work for five of the major European banding countries. In searching for a link between them I considered the fact that they all have some sort of Lutheran tradition, and thus hymns have played, and still play, an important part in their common heritage. It seemed fitting therefore for me to return to a compositional form I have used before (ie Variations) and to write a work based on a well-known Lutheran chorale. I hope it will be both challenging and enjoyable for the many bands and conductors who will perform it, as well as for the audiences who will hear it."
A spokesperson for the commissioning partners commented, "Edward Gregson will celebrate his 75th birthday in July 2020 with the work providing a fitting tribute to his career made to the brass band repertoire over the last 50 years."
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