Way back in 2014 we recorded the music that Dave had composed for his sister’s wedding. Originally planned as just a personal momento, the recording was taken in studio conditions so what better than to release it as a single to lighten moods in these dark days of Winter and Covid-19 lockdowns. In two versions,…
Saturday 17th October sees us performing Malcolm Arnold’s Brass Quintet no.1 for the 2020 Malcolm Arnold Festival.
Due to the current COVID restrictions, we recorded the piece a few weeks ago so you can catch it online from the comfort of your own home at 730pm as part of the evening concert. The festival itself is run by the Malcolm Arnold Society and sees a large number of events from 16th-18th Oct.
Huge thanks goes to Ryan Linham for stepping in at the last moment when Alan was ill.
As a taster, here’s a #1minuteof clip of the 3rd movement.
Over the weekend of 4/5 October, we got together along with a few friends to record a new disc for Chandos Records. Revisiting our collaboration with John Wilson from Fanfares, the recording has Festmusik der Stadt Wien by Richard Strauss as its centrepiece and brought together the finest brass-playing talent from across Britain.
Also included on the disc will be new arrangements of vocal motets, again by Strauss and smaller scale transcriptions for the quintet of music by Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Rubinstein and Franz.
We will keep you posted with the release date.
Here is the line up:
Trumpets – Alan Thomas, Niall Keatley, Philip Cobb, James Fountain, Christian Barraclough, Simon Cox, Ryan Linham, Catherine Knight, Richard Blake, Matthew Williams
Trombones – Amos Miller, Peter Moore, Matthew Gee, Matthew Knight, Richard Watkin
Bass Trombones – Dan West, Paul Lambert
Tubas – David Gordon Shute Sasha Koushk-Jalali
Horns – Andrew Sutton, David Pyatt
Timpani – Scott Bywater
In less than a week our live recording for JAM on the Marsh: Virtual is broadcast. Here’s a little teaser for you. Catch the whole concert here on Saturday August 8th at 730 and for one month afterwards on their YouTube Channel
We are so please to announce that on August 8th at 730pm, JAM on the Marsh Festival will be live streaming a concert we recorded for them in Hythe. Due to the ongoing Covid 19 situation, the festival as planned sadly was shelved. However Ed Armitage and Festival Director Michael Bawtree have curated JAM on the Marsh: Virtual with nine concerts and three exhibitions online from 6th – 15th August.
The concert, recorded as live in one take with no breaks or edits, is based around our recent NMC Recordings jazz inspired disc, Onyx Noir. It features works by Kenny Wheeler, Trish Clowes, Jason Rebello, Laurence Cottle, Colin Skinner and Mark Nightingale but also a new arrangement by Gershwin and one of Herbert Chappell’s Hollywood Portraits to round off the evening.
Back in June, we got together for a tentative rehearsal and it got us thinking how we can move forward in these socially distant times. No indoor performing and the need to be 2 metres or more apart, we settled on a concept we’ve titled Instant Concert.
And for the want of a better phrase , it does what it says on the tin. We arrive, set up and perform. Nothing is needed by the venue as the ensemble is entirely self sufficient. Portable, weatherproof and audible across large distances, we are able to present a large selection of serious classical music to light, jazzy numbers suitable to be adapted to any outdoor occasion.
Sounds interesting? We’ve played at intimate garden parties to large outdoor events and would be more than happy to advise you on how the group could be involved. Please get in touch here.
During the Covid-19 lockdown period in the UK, we have been searching for things we can put together from a distance, and we are so grateful to Emily Hall who has allowed us to transcribe her short work, Eternity, for two Flugelhorns and French horn. Originally written for three female voices, the piece consists of three simple lines that create a timeless, mesmeric quality.
The piece was put together by first recording the audio remotely then each player choosing a suitable location near to their homes to shoot their video.
