London Central Brass wins Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Competition
London Central Brass, made up of four current and one recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, was presented with the £7,500 first prize in the 2023 Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Competition. The successful quintet were also awarded the £500 Onyx Brass 30th Anniversary Prize for invention in programming, from the competition's founder, Dr Ursula Jones OBE.
Runner-up was the exciting KamBrass from Barcelona, but now studying in Luzern, who were presented with the £5,000 Buffet Crampon Prize as well as the £500 voucher award for Entertainment and Innovation presented by Phil Parker Ltd. The third finalist, who each presented an extensive one hour long recital programme, was New Antonine Brass from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who claimed the £2,500 Founder's Prize. The additional Clarence Myerscough Trust Award to the most promising semi-finalist went to Perrogen Brass from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Held over five days at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the event attracted 11 high quality ensembles from the UK, Europe and the USA, each comprising players aged between 18-30. Six semi-finalists then competed on Friday 14th July, with three finalists selected to appear the following day, with each group presenting a one-hour recital programme. In addition to the competition element, the ensembles enjoyed masterclasses provided by the international jury panel Pasi Pirinen (Principal Trumpet, Helsinki Philharmonic); Alan Thomas (Onyx Brass, Septura, former principal trumpet BBC Symphony Orchestra); Annamia Larsson (French horn of Stockholm Chamber Brass); Mayumi Shimizu (Solo trombone of SWR Symphony Orchestra) and Jens Bjørn-Larsen (tuba with Hannover Hochschule, Chamber Orchestra of Europe).
The victorious London Central Brass comprises James Nash and Holly Clarke on trumpet, alongside French Horn player Beatriz Vila, Rhydian Tiddy on trombone and James Tavares on tuba. Although recently formed the ensemble are no strangers to success having already claimed first prize in the Musicians' Company Brass Ensemble Competition with their exciting programming of new and established repertoire. Holly, a former member of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain stated, “We are absolutely thrilled. This is perhaps the most important brass ensemble award for young performers in the world, and to win it will help us greatly with our future musical ambitions.”
London Central Brass will now add concert appearances at the Luzern Festival in Switzerland, the Wigmore Hall in London and at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to their calendar, as part of their prize, whilst they are soon to undertake a series of engagements featuring a blend of new and established classical and jazz infused works.
Following the announcement of the awards, which was preceded by a ‘massed’ performance, led by Roger's Harvey, of his arrangement of a suite from 'Castor and Pollux', Ursula Jones also took time to congratulate each of the finalists and generously provided bottles of prosecco for everyone to enjoy. Jury member Alan Thomas commented, “I’m still buzzing after an awesome week of brass chamber music of the highest level at the Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Competition. A genre incredibly close to my heart! Rest assured, the future of brass quintets is very exciting indeed!! Please keep an eye out for the prize winners! Great thanks are also owed for the incredible energy of Ursula Jones and Amos Miller making this wonderful event happen!” Ursula Jones also stated, “I've had a wonderful time, what an inspiration these young performers are.”
Results:
First prize, The Philip Jones Prize: London Central Brass (England)
Second Prize, Buffet Crampon Prize: KamBrass (Spain)
Third Prize, Founder’s Award: New Antonine Brass (Scotland)
The Clarence Myerscough Trust Award: Perrongen Brass (Norway)
Phil Parker Ltd Award: KamBrass
Onyx Brass 30th Anniversary Prize: London Central Brass
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