Concert: National Children’s Band of Great Britain

National Children’s Band of Great Britain
Artistic Director: Professor Nicholas Childs
Guest Soloist: Joe Cook
Choral Spotlight: Led by Owen Farr
Repton School, Derbyshire
28 July 2017

This year's NCB course in Repton School, Derbyshire, was led by Professor Nicholas Childs, assisted by tutors: Richard Marshall and Tom Hutchinson (cornets); Zoe Hancock (flugels); Owen Farr (horns); me - Jayne Murrill  (trombones); Gary Curtin (euphoniums/baritones); Matthew Routley (basses); Lee Skipsey (percussion); and guest soloist Joe Cook. The band numbered 61 players and its principal cornet was Luke Barker.

The course days comprised a morning meeting and thought for the day, followed by a full rehearsal, a sectional and a choir led by Owen Farr, accompanied by tutors. After lunch, there’s another full rehearsal, sectionals,  some down time and a final rehearsal. Every possible moment is filled with music making, although that was only part of it. Every morning at 7.00am, Nicholas Childs met an astonishing number of children challenging him on the tennis court! The team of house staff, led by Monica and Gary Walczak, did a wonderful job and Wednesday evening saw the entire course enjoy bowling.

Joe Cook thrilled with his advice and spectacular playing during a master class at which he performed a particular highlight - Mike Forbes’s The Grumpy Troll, played without the fourth valve-tuning slide attached. The end-of-course concert in the 400 Hall to a packed audience of parents opened with Starlight (Alan Fernie) before leading into Olympus (Philip Harper). Joe Cook featured three solos in the first half, On the Run (Schjelderup) and Lights on the Tyne (its composer, Simon Oliver, in the audience) and Tico Tico (Abreu).

The first half finished with World Tour by Rodney Newton, and the second half opened with Cyclone (Oare) and Kabalagala (Alan Fernie) before Joe Cook returned with The Grumpy Troll and Quicksilver (Paul Lovatt-Cooper). The choir then sang a medley from Frozen and Happy from Despicable Me 2 and the finale - The Final Voyage by Paul Lovatt Cooper - was played along to a film commemorating the final voyage, in 1916, of HMS Hampshire. The whole programme was performed with a level of maturity and musicianship beyond the children’s years.  

JAYNE MURILL

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