Cory Band in Concert
Forbes Center for the Performing ArtsJames Madison University Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA
Kevin Stees, Professor of Tuba/Euphonium at James Madison Univeristy reviews Cory's first concert in the USA since 1976
On 13 February 2016, for the first time in 40 years, the United States once again welcomed the mighty Cory Band to its shores and the first venue on this historic tour was James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Concert-goers in the central Shenandoah Valley are no strangers to brass bands because the area is home to three different bands, but no one in the audience was prepared for the spectacular concert Cory had in store.
From start to finish, the band presented a programme titled Best of British that was in equal parts engaging, entertaining and exhilarating. Musical Director Philip Harper served expertly, not only as conductor, but also as compère for the afternoon’s festivities.
Gareth Wood’s arrangement of Men of Harlech, full of high energy and Latin flair, was a well-chosen ‘opener’. The band then moved to a well-crafted performance of Arthur Sullivan’s The Yeoman of the Guard followed by the first soloist of the night, soprano cornetist Steve Stewart, who rocked out on Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die. The remainder of the first half was devoted to Cory’s Brass in Concert set: Elemental: The Four Elements of the Universe, which featured unique and exciting originals and arrangements by Philip Harper, the peaceful and serene Aristotle’s Air by Christopher Bond, and brilliant solo features by Tom Hutchinson on cornet and Helen Williams on flugel. Of particular note was Philip Harper’s masterful arrangement of The Brigands’ Orgy from Hector Berlioz’s Harold in Italy - a rousing conclusion to the half.
After the interval, the audience was treated to the Malcolm Arnold classic, The Padstow Lifeboat, before Glyn Williams brought the house down with both his humor and his phenomenal performance in Peter Graham’s Brilliante. Chris Thomas gave an ever so elegant rendition of Arthur Pryor’s The Blue Bells of Scotland and Steve Kane’s baritone solo, Carrickfergus, was both beautiful and exciting. Following an expertly presented James Bond Collection and A Queen Trilogy, the band performed a high-energy rendition of Riverdance as its finale. Three encores and four well-deserved standing ovations later, Cory left the stage having delivered an outstanding first concert of its US tour. To imagine that the ensemble had only arrived in town the night before - exceptional!
Photo: Courtesy of JOHN SOUTHCOMBE PHOTOGRAPHY
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