ONYXBRASS
ONYX BRASS Repertoire
The repertoire of Onyx Brass is huge. The group plays a wealth of music from original compositions to arrangements of religious music; from ceremonial fanfares to songs from the shows; from the beautiful simplicity of a Bach fugue to the stomp of a Copland ballet. Individual requests are preferred but, if asked to, the group can come up with a suitable programme sure to have broad appeal which, also manages to challenge its audience.
New Music
Onyx has a particular commitment to commissioning and performing new works. This
is exemplified by having the celebrated and critically-
The year 2006 was an exciting one . The month of March saw 3 first performances from the group. The first two were of pieces written by friends and colleagues of the group, James Maynard and Mick Foster. These were premiered at the Imperial College lunchtime recital series on March 16th and were entirely funded by Onyx. The third piece, by Judith Bingham was performed alongside the BBC Singers as well as recorded for BBC Radio 3. This was a joint JAM (see "Work with Choirs" tab) and BBC commission for Onyx and the Singers.
Whilst Onyx is and always has been committed to performing new music, the group is acutely aware of how daunting this can be for an audience. Every step is, therefore, taken to ensure that pieces are palatable on a first listening and that the audience is furnished with as much relevant information as possible. Onyx would like people to enjoy listening to new music as much as the group enjoys playing it.
Over the past four years, Onyx Brass have focused a lot more intently on repertoire
for brass and choir. This is mainly due to their hugely beneficial partnership with
the John Armitage Memorial charity. This organization promotes between 2 and 5 concerts
a year which in the past have been held in London, Cambridge and Edinburgh. The
programme is always based around a major commission and then supported by submitted
entries from composers yet to break in to the mainstream. These are then assessed
and selected by a panel of distinguished composers and musicians. In the past, Tim
Jackson, Jonathan Dove, John McCabe and Paul Patterson have composed the featured
commission. In 2006, the composer will be Judith Bingham and the concerts in March
will be performed with the BBC Singers and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Onyx are very
proud to be part of an organization which fosters new compositional talent as well
as commission major works each year from established composers.
For more information go to www.jamconcert.org
At the other end of the spectrum, “A Sporting Chance” is a piece written for Onyx and primary school choir. It was written by Bob Chilcott for a Making Music tour that the group did a few years ago and, due to its unmitigated success, has been reprised many times. First, with the help of sponsorship from ING Barings and secondly, thanks to the support of Arts Council England. For more information on this project please go to the education section of our website.
