Refreshing. I applaud any band and conductor willing to take on a challenge like this which is so far from most bands' comfort zones. It makes me wonder how many of our so-called 'top flight' band conductors (and adjudicators) could get anywhere near shaping or judging a top quality performance of this. It requires skills and knowledge that I have rarely seen displayed in my 40 years of banding...
I know of only two performances of the work prior to this one, both by bands of students - the premiere by the Salford University Brass Band under Elgar Howarth, and the RNCM Brass Band in 2015 under James Gourlay. So the answer to your question about how many 'top flight' bands could get near it is 'we don't know because none of them have bothered in the 34 years the piece has been around'. And bandsmen wonder why they're not taken seriously by the musical mainstream!
@@alecgallagher9196 - and my wider question relates to that. Because bands haven't routinely been exposed to music outside their own little niche, and because band conductors and adjudicators tend to be former band players with similarly limited experience, how many of the senior musical leaders in brass bands would know what to do if confronted with a score like this?
Superb 😮
Wow! I’ve been waiting years to hear this piece, and it certainly hasn’t disappointed my expectations. Huge thanks for posting this
Refreshing. I applaud any band and conductor willing to take on a challenge like this which is so far from most bands' comfort zones.
It makes me wonder how many of our so-called 'top flight' band conductors (and adjudicators) could get anywhere near shaping or judging a top quality performance of this. It requires skills and knowledge that I have rarely seen displayed in my 40 years of banding...
I know of only two performances of the work prior to this one, both by bands of students - the premiere by the Salford University Brass Band under Elgar Howarth, and the RNCM Brass Band in 2015 under James Gourlay. So the answer to your question about how many 'top flight' bands could get near it is 'we don't know because none of them have bothered in the 34 years the piece has been around'. And bandsmen wonder why they're not taken seriously by the musical mainstream!
@@alecgallagher9196 - and my wider question relates to that. Because bands haven't routinely been exposed to music outside their own little niche, and because band conductors and adjudicators tend to be former band players with similarly limited experience, how many of the senior musical leaders in brass bands would know what to do if confronted with a score like this?
@@alecgallagher9196I attended the RNCM performance you mention. One hell of a piece. It's about time one of the big bands recorded it