Black Dyke Band in Concert
Warwick Arts Centre 20 February 2016Conductor: Nicholas Childs
Tenor horn soloist and educator, Owen Farr reviews Black Dyke's Uni Brass Gala Concert.
The 2016 UniBrass Festival proved to be a huge success, in no small part due to celebrity appearance of the current European Champion, Black Dyke, which completed the day’s festivities with a thoroughly enjoyable Gala Concert in the Butterworth Hall. As soon as the band started up, the glorious sounds that filled the acoustic were a clear indication that the crowd was in for a great night.
The King’s Division Trumpeters joined ‘Dyke’ to open the concert in a powerful take on Strauss' Fest Musik der Stadt Wien. Richard Marshall then became the first soloist of the evening with a stunning rendition of Terry Camsey's Life's Pageant before the band blasted into an energetic Wheel of Fortune from Pirates of the Caribbean. Flugel Horn Soloist, Zoe Hancock, quickly changed the mood with a sublime rendition of Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s By Trevone Bay before Black Dyke treated the appreciative audience to a performance of its European-winning own-choice test-piece, Metropolis 1927 by Peter Graham.
The second half got underway with another PLC blockbuster - Enter the Galaxies, which proved just as effective on this occasion as it did when first performed by Cory and Robert Childs to win the 2008 Brass in Concert title. The Queensbury outfit has always been blessed with fantastic soloists and it was housemates, Jonathan Bates (Solo Horn) and Chris Binns (Solo Trombone), who were first to share the solo spotlight in the second half. Jonathan Bates showed no sign of struggling in the Finale from the Wicked Struggle by Stan Nieuwenhuis and Roger Harvey’s Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair provided the perfect vehicle for ‘Dyke’s’ youngest soloist, Chris Binns, to contrast wonderfully with sweet lyricism. Euphonium Soloist, Gary Curtin, concluded the solo spotlight with Andrea Price’s brilliantly virtuosic Eire Time, before the band took us back in time to the swing era with a trio of Opus One, I Only Have Eyes for You and Mack the Knife.
Not surprisingly, Fire in the Blood, Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s final offering of the night, brought the house down and led to an inevitable encore of Peter Graham’s toe-tapping Gaelforce. The enthusiastic audience, comprising mostly of university students, showed its appreciation with a standing ovation before returning to the bar for more fun and festivities!
Photo: Black Dyke sound check in Warwick
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