ONYX BRASS

Author Archive for Andrew Sutton

With its scrupulous attention to balance, timbre and nuance of phrasing, it is reminiscent of the Philip Jones quintet in its prime, where total integration of five musical personalities becomes an ensemble that is much more than the sum of its parts….five stars. 

BBC Music Magazine

I’m dreaming of an Onyx Christmas

…just like the ones I used to know. If there’s anything that sounds like Christmas to me, it’s probably a brass band playing carols. We’re always quite busy around this time of year – we’ve already played two concerts with choirs (Laudate and Eltham Choral Society), and we’ve got a very busy day coming up…

Onyx Brass come alive as responsive individuals most readily in the Shostakovich. The G major fugue is supremely virtuoso, the E minor resplendent and dramatic, the D major questing and deft.  And then comes the urgency of the G sharp minor, the multi-layered A flat and the orchestrally-inspired struggle of the D minor (marked resonancesof the Fifth Symphony in its new guise) – all delivered with a liberated and characterful imagination…The real achievement, however, is the Shostakovich, already downloaded on my iPod as some of the most thrilling chamber brass-playing of its kind. 

Gramophone on Fugue, Sept 2008

Bravo the Onyx! 

Philip Jones

Onyx Brass on YouTube

Back in July we took part in the excellent Durham International Brass Festival. Not only did we enjoy every moment but along with the help and expertise of James Stretton we have made and posted 3 video clips from our concert in Brancepeth Church. We think they are rather good (obviously) but what do you…

Cheryl Frances-Hoad and The Madness Industry

On September 25th 2012 at the Richmond Concert Society we will be giving the premiere of The Madness Industry by Cheryl Frances-Hoad. This is one of our major new commissions this year and we are very excited about it. On first look it will be an excellent and challenging addition to our repertoire. This is…