RWCMD Impress at Regent Hall
The Brass Band of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama impressed a capacity crowd at Regent Hall, London on Friday 24th March. Under the leadership of Dr Robert Childs, Head of the Brass Band Pathway at the RWCMD the band performed a well-crafted programme celebrating Wales and Welsh Music.
The programme began with a flourish with Peter Graham’s ‘Triumph’ from ‘The Day of the Dragon’, with the composer amongst a wealth of distinguished guests, including Stephen Cobb, Derick Kane, Roger Webster, Sir Karl Jenkins and his wife Carol Barrett, in attendance at the lunchtime event. The baton was then passed to Dan Dennis for a wonderful rendition of Philip Harper’s ‘Kingdom of Dragons’. Bob Childs then welcomed the first of the band’s soloists, Alistair Cupples who gave a beautiful performance of the much loved ‘Myfanwy’.
The programme continued by featuring renowned Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins, firstly with a stunning show of ‘Palladio’ arranged by Tony Small, which sounded every bit as good on brass as it ever has on strings. Next came the concert’s main featured work, a Suite from Jenkins’ ‘Stabat Mater’ skilfully arranged for band by Robert Childs. The Suite featured four movements: ‘Sancta Mater’, the gorgeous ‘Cantus Lacrimosus’ and ‘Ave Verum’, the latter of which was the perfect vehicle to showcase the beautiful tones of Owain Thomas and Grace Thomas, before concluding with a fabulous performance of ‘Paradisi Gloria’. The concert ended with two traditional Welsh classics, ‘All through the Night’ and ‘Men of Harlech’, both arranged by Gordon Langford.
Commenting on the trip to London, Bob stated, “The band played so well today, and the soloists did a great job. It was a real thrill for us all to perform in front of such a learned audience including so many high calibre musicians.” The band did not rest on its laurels for long, racing back to the RWCMD in Cardiff to take part in the ‘big blast’ the next day. The free event, again led by Dr Robert Childs, provided inspiration for nearly 50 young brass players, culminating in a wonderful informal concert performance.
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