Contra Costa Wind Symphony: Autumn Concert Program

Elgar Howarth is one of the most conspicuous figures in modern English musical life, managing to maintain a multifaceted career as a conductor, composer, arranger, and instrumentalist. As such, he is a throwback to an earlier time when a musician was fluent in all facets of his craft, much like his versatile namesake, Sir Edward.

Howarth was the son of a brass band conductor. Thus, his musical training was early and at ten, he joined his father's ensemble, graduating to principal cornetist at 14. Howarth furthered his musical education at Manchester University and later, the Royal Manchester College of Music, majoring in composition at the latter. There he met fellow student and kindred spirit Peter Maxwell Davies, with whom he formed the Manchester New Music Group. Upon graduation, he began his career in earnest as trumpeter at the Royal Opera House and moved through a number of ensembles, some very worthy, among them the Royal Air Force Band, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, and conductorship of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. The latter was notable for Howarth's expanding the repertoire beyond the traditional band fare. An appearance with the London Sinfonietta in Italy drew the attention of Ligeti, who engaged Howarth to conduct the Stockholm premiere of the former's Le grande macabre. Howarth's predilection for the less-trodden path may be seen through the succession of his projects: Harrison Birtwistle's Mask of Orpheus (1986), Gawain (1991), The Second Mrs. Kong (1994); the major British premiere of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade (1990); and numerous orchestral and instrumental works by Ligeti, Birtwistle, Previn, Keuris, Gloria Coates, and Lumsdaine to name but a few from his broad repertoire that ranges from these composers back to Haydn and Mozart.

As a bandsman, Howarth's interest is truly catholic, his acclaimed recordings ranging from Sousa to band works by the above mentioned composers to the "discovery" of early twentieth century British band-composer William Rimmer. Howarth's arrangements for band include numerous Wagner adaptations and a remarkable transcription of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Although it is as an interpreter that he is best-known, Howarth is a prolific composer and exhibits the versatility and tonal inclination that marks the English school. As may be expected, his brass band works are extensive, including the Copland-esque Legends, the reflective, Satie-like American Dream, as well as the more extrovert Fireworks and Concerto for Trumpet and Brass Band. Among his orchestral works are concerti for trumpet and trombone. Many of his compositions appear under the pseudonym of W. Hogarth Lear. It is also worth noting that Howarth, with a few others, provided the trumpet parts to the Beatles' 1967 recording Magical Mystery Tour. ~ Wayne Reisig, All Music Guide. [Back to Top]

A Highland Rhapsody - Ardnamurchan

After Israel (Rikudim), Hungary (Puszta) and France (Suite Provencale) it was Scotland, with its famous highlands, that was to be a source of inspiration for Jan Van der Roost. In a musically impressive way the composer combines the characteristics of Scottish folk-music with his own creativity. As may be expected from Jan Van der Roost ‘A Highland Rhapsody’ developed into a gripping concert piece, which will be appreciated by both players and audiences. [Back to Top]

Jan Van der Roost - Composer

Jan Van der Roost was born in Duffel , Belgium, in 1956. At a very young age he was introduced to the prominent names in the wind, fanfare and brass band repertoire and very soon Van der Roost felt the urge to put something on paper himself. At the Lemmens Institute he received a thorough musical education and he received a triple laureate

diploma for trombone, music history and music education. In 1979 he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatoires of Ghent and Antwerp, culminating in a diploma for composition.

At the moment he teaches at the Lemmens Institute and conducts the wind-band at this college Besides being an arranger and composer, he conducts a mixed choir and the "Midden Brabant brass band and is a much asked for adjudicator.

Van der Roost's works for wind band follow the American example paying a lot of attention to the woodwinds and percussion. Van der Roost is a very versatile composer. Alongside pieces for wind band, his list of works include items for brass quintet, choir, piano, guitar, string orchestra, solo instruments and symphony orchestra. Many of his compositions have been performed on radio and t.v. or have been recorded on C.D. by renowned performers in many countries. Jan Van der Roost only composes commissioned works. [Back to Top]

"A Londoner in New York "

Notes by the Composer:

"A Londoner in New York " was commissioned by Philip Jones for his Brass Ensemble, and was written in 1983. It was first performed by the P.J.B.E. on January 29th, 1984 at the Hexagon Theatre, Reading.

I had for some time been considering how to express in music the impressions made on me by New York . My general feeling was that here was a city which prided itself on being modern and progressive but which, nevertheless, retained a delightful old-fashioned quality. The suite is intended to reflect these impressions.

Central Park

A languid waltz reflecting the rural atmosphere to be found in much of the park. The trumpet solos at letters Band D, however, should have a bright and optimistic quality .

Echoes of Harlem

As the title implies, this is a piece about Harlem as it was in the heyday of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and other jazzmen. The style of playing should be relaxed but rhythmic.

Radio City

The main auditorium of Radio City Music Hall is huge and the entertainment provided is lavish and varied. A show there would probably include routines by the Rockette dancing girls, two organists moving and playing in unison and a large orchestra changing position on stage during numbers. There might also be fill-ins and ballets. The mood should be vivacious, dynamic and extrovert. The can-can at bar 108 should be as fast as is comfortable and the maestoso at bar 162 which depicts the girls performing high kicks should be loud and rhythmic. Although there were no horses on stage during the performance which I attended, it would not have surprised me if there had been, so I have put them in the score, regardless, at bars 59 and 76. [Back to Top]

Jim Parker - Composer

Jim Parker was born in Hartlepool in 1934. He started his musical career in an army band, and subsequently studied the oboe with Edward Selwyn at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London . In 1959 he became an oboist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and later joined the Barrow Poets in the same capacity.

He is now a full-time composer and has recorded his own music with Sir John Betjeman, Keith Michell, the Barrow Poets and many others. Works for the Stage include Follow the Star (with Wally K. Daly), Captain Beaky (with Jeremy Lloyd) and Mayhew's London (with Cicely Herbert). He has written a great deal of television music including " Ground Force" - Music from the TV programme (played by the Black Dyke Band), "THE HOUSE OF ELIOTT", "TOM JONES" - winning the1997 BAFTA award for Best Television Music", "MOLL FLANDERS" (1996 BAFTA), "A RATHER ENGLISH MARRIAGE" - winning the 1998 BAFTA award for Best Television Music", "Mapp and Lucia", "Credo" and "Six English Towns". He has won several other BAFTA awards over the years. Concert work includes commissions for the Nash, Hilliard and Philip Jones Ensembles and for music Festivals. He has written a Clarinet Concerto and much music for the education sector including several musicals written for or at any rate suitable for children: Blast-off, Mr Jones Goes to Jupiter, described as 'a space musical for middle schools', All Aboard: A Musical Voyage with Captain Cook, the Christmas musical, Follow the Star and The Shepherd King, a musical in eight scenes. [Back to Top]

Frigyes Hidas - Composer

"Frigyes Hidas was born in Budapest in 1928. He studied composition at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music with János Visky. For fifteen years he was music director of the National Theatre (1951 - 1966) and between 1974 and 1979 he performed the same function at the municipal Operetta Theatre.

Since leaving that institution, he has been a free-lance composer. Hidas is a highly prolific composer who firmly believes in tunes and harmonies in a traditional sense of those terms and always writes in an easily accessible idiom.

His oeuvre covers the entire gamut of genres: operas, ballets, concertos, orchestral, chamber, solo and choral music.

He is particularly well known in the world for his woodwind and brass chamber music and for his works for wind-orchestra. Hidas has received an important number of commissions by Ballet Companies, the State Opera House, Radio stations, Universities and various musical societies." [Back to Top]

Homage to the Noble Grape

The movements are named after five beverages. The piece is a musical tour around the vineyards of Europe , each movement suggesting the nationality and character of the wine. Thus, Champagne is a bubbly can-can. Chablis is rather cool and sophisticated. Chianti is a very lively Italian tarantella. Hock seems to be enjoyed in the atmosphere of a German beer-hall and the Spanish derivation of Fundadore, a type of brandy, is clearly evident. To celebrate the end of the suite and of the whole entertainment, we crack open just one more bottle of Champagne . Cheers! [Adapted from Roger Harvey’s liner notes for the London Brass CD "Clowning Around"]

Brazzissimo will perform Movements 1 " Champagne ," 4 "Hock"(featuring John Taylor on Tuba), and 5 "Fundador (and more Champagne)”. [Back to Top]

Goff Richards - Composer

Goff Richards was born in Cornwall and after studying at the Royal College of Music and Reading University, embarked on a career as a Composer, Arranger and Conductor.

His works have been performed by the King’s Singers, the Swingle Singers, various BBC Orchestras, Huddersfield Choral Society, London Brass, Evelyn Glennie, Benjamin Luxon and all leading Brass and Military Bands.

He writes extensively for BBC Radio and Television. Recent commissions have been for BBC’s ‘Festival of Cornish Bands’; TV’s ‘Songs of Praise’ including special Orchestral arrangements for the 40th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.; ‘Manchester 2002’ Commonwealth Games; ‘Mythic Trevithick’ for the ‘Trevithick Day’ celebrations in Cornwall; ‘Counting the Days to Christmas’ for Huddersfield Choral Society; ‘Sweet Thames Suite’ for Reading Pheonix Choir; ‘Vivid Colours’ for Vivid Brass, Tokyo; ‘Intrada’ for the opening concert at the new Hall for Cornwall (Bournemouth Sinfonietta); arrangements for Grimethorpe Colliery Band and, in the Pop music field, Tori Amos and the Albion Band.

BNFL, Brighouse & Rastrick and the Fodens (Courtois) Band have each produced a CD featuring his music, and a new recording of Goffs ensemble THE ARCADIANS, with singers Margaret Richardson and Paul Whelan has recently been released.

From 1976 – 1989, he lectured in Arranging and directed the Jazz Orchestra at Salford College of Technology. For his contribution to band music throughout the world, the College, in 1990, awarded him an Honorary GDBM and the title Director Big Band Laureate. Since 1992, he has been directing the Jazz Orchestra at Chetham School of Music, Manchester .

As an Educational Composer he has composed large-scale works for Barnsley Schools (The River of Time) and for the East Ayrshire Schools Brass Band and Choir (A String O;Blethers), both produced in the year 2000. [Back to Top]

Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo

LITTLE SUITE NO. 1 for BRASS BAND, Op. 80 (1965) was commissioned by the Scottish Amateur Music Association for the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland and is one of three suites written for brass band. The Little Suites for Brass Band are not to be confused with either of the works entitled Little Suite for orchestra (Opus 53 and Opus 78). It is in three movements entitled Prelude (Allegro ma non troppo), Siciliano (Andantino), and Rondo (Allegro Vivace ‑ presto), and was published in the wind band transcription by John Paynter under the title Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo. Arnold biographer Piers Burton‑Page noted: "it shows the composer entirely at home with the problems of brass band texture and scoring .... it shares something of the haunting pathos which results from the wonderful marriage of sound and style in Elgar's Severn Suite." [Back to Top]

Malcolm Arnold - Composer

Malcolm Arnold was born in 1921 in Northampton , where his father was a well-to-do shoe manufacturer. There was music in the family, both from his father and from his mother, a descendant of a former Master of the Chapel Royal. Instead of the usual period at a public school, he was educated privately at home. As a twelve-year-old he found a new interest in the trumpet and in jazz after hearing Louis Armstrong, and three years later he was able to study the instrument in London under Ernest Hall, subsequently winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where his composition teacher was Gordon Jacob. Two years later he left the College to join the London Philharmonic Orchestra as second trumpet. Meanwhile he had won a composition prize for a one-movement string quartet. It was as an orchestral player that he was able to explore the wider orchestral repertoire, in particular the symphonies of Mahler.

Early in the 1939-45 war Arnold was a conscientious objector, in common with a number of other leading musicians. He was allowed to continue his work as an orchestral player, taking the position of first trumpet in the London Philharmonic in 1943. In the same year, however, he volunteered for military service, but was discharged after shooting himself in the foot, playing, thereafter, second trumpet to his teacher Ernest Hall in the BBC Symphony Orchestra and then rejoining the London Philharmonic, where he served as principal trumpet until 1948. During these years he had continued to work as a composer, with a series of successful orchestral compositions, as well as a variety of chamber music.

Since 1948 Malcolm Arnold has earned his living as a composer. In the 1960s he settled in Cornwall , where he became closely involved with the musical activities of the county. In 1972 he moved to Dublin , his home for the next five years, and then, in 1977, to Norfolk . Over the years his work has been much in demand for film scores, of which he has written some eighty. [He won an Oscar for his original score for "The Bridge on the River Kwai".]

He has written concertos for an amazing variety of instruments, nine numbered symphonies, sinfoniettas, concert overtures and other orchestral works. His chamber music is equally varied and there is a set of works for solo wind and other instruments, aptly meeting the demands of competitive as of solo recital performance.

In style Malcolm Arnold has a command of popular idiom and this may have suggested to some an unfavourable identification with the world of light music. He is, in fact, a composer of considerable stature, technically assured, fluent and prolific, providing music that gives pleasure, but also music that may have a more sombre side, work that may be lyrical and tuneful, or even astringent and harsh in its revelations. Donald Mitchell has compared Arnold , illuminatingly, with Dickens, both of them great entertainers but both well aware of the human predicament, unsettlingly revealed, as he points out, in the remarkable series of symphonies. [Back to Top]

Hymn of the Highlands

This piece was commissioned by David King and the Yorkshire Building Society Band for first performance at the 2002 European Brass Band Championships Gala Concert in Brussels .

David King's imaginative programming had already led to the writing of three such 'concept' pieces for brass band; Cry of the Celts, Voice of the Vikings and Windows of the World. The idea was to produce an extended and themed piece, which can act as a half concert to feature a band's soloists. We decided on a Scottish theme but didn't use any folk songs.

The entire suite in its brass band version comprises seven movements, all named after locations in the Scottish Highlands. Not all of these were considered suitable for transcription for concert band, so the composer has created Suite from Hymn of the Highlands , which comprises 3 movements: Ardross Castle , Alladale (featuring a saxophone trio) and Dundonnell. The Sword Dance, Strathcarron, is also available separately for concert band and can be added to the Suite to form a four-movement work.

Ardross Castle , (named after a small village near Ardross in Easter Ross, just north of the Cromarty Firth) starts with solos from clarinet and bassoon (or euphonium) before the bagpipe tune is introduced. A faster central section uses the opening material in a different guise but the movement ends slowly.

Alladale, (the river Alladale is a tributary of the Carron, which leads out into the Dornoch Firth on the east coast) is a saxophone trio with an accompaniment featuring the percussion. This leads to the finale, Dundonnell, (named after a charming village at the head of Little Loch Broom which leads out to the ocean near Summer Isles) which starts in martial mood but soon breaks out into a wild presto. Eventually the bagpipe tune from the first movement returns before the presto crashes to a close. [Back to Top]

Philip Sparke - Composer

Philip Sparke was born in London in 1951 and studied composition, trumpet and piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained an ARCM. It was at the College that his interest in bands arose. He played in the college wind band and formed a brass band among the students, writing several works for both ensembles. At that time, Sparke's first published works appeared Concert Prelude (brass band) and Gaudium (wind band).

A growing interest in his music led to several commissions, his first major one being for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand: The Land of the Long White Cloud. Further commissions followed from individual bands, various band associations and the BBC, for whom he three times won the EBU New Music for Band Competition (with Slipstream, Skyrider and Orient Express). Sparke has written for brass band championships in New Zealand, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Australia and the UK, twice for the National Finals at the Albert Hall, and his test pieces are constantly in use wherever brass bands can be found. A close association with banding in Japan led to a commission (Celebration) from and eventual recording of his music with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. This opened the door worldwide to his wind band music and led to several commissions, particularly from the United States.

In 1996, the US Air Force Band commissioned and recorded Dance Movements, which won the prestigious Sudler Prize in 1997. Philip Sparke's conducting and adjudicating activities have taken him to most European countries, Australia New Zealand Japan and the USA . [Back to Top]




		Autumn Concert
		Autumn Concert




	*CCWS In CONCERT* *featuring* Performed November 7, 2004, 7:30 pm Hofmann Theatre Dean Lesher Regional Center For The Arts Walnut Creek CA
Next Concert This Season About CCWS Conductor Musicians Mission History Support Contact


	Program

	(To see Program Notes or Bios click on those underlined)
	Processional Fanfare #1 ........................................................... Elgar Howarth Brazzissimo A Highland Rhapsody (Ardnamurchan) ................................. Jan Van der Roost A Londoner in New York ................................................................. Jim Parker Brazzissimo Harlem Central Park Radio City Concerto For Brass Quintet (U.S. Premiere) ................................ Frigyes Hidas 1) Allegro Energico 2) Lento 3) Moderato Scherzando Quintet members from Brazzissimo: Trumpets: Philip Shoptaugh, Dean Boysen French Horn: Bill Eich Trombone: John Monroe Tuba: John Taylor -- intermission -- Homage to the Noble Grape ........................................................ Goff Richards Brazzissimo I. Champagne IV. Hock V. Fundador (and more Champagne) Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo .................................................. Malcolm Arnold Suite From Hymn Of The Highlands ............................................. Philip Sparke 1. Ardoss Castle 2. Alladale 3. Dundonnell (Click on Title or Composer above for notes)



	Processional Fanfare No. 1 The first of two Fanfares written for the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury Cathedral on January 24, 1975 . Originally performed by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. [Back to Top] Elgar Howarth - Composer Elgar Howarth is one of the most conspicuous figures in modern English musical life, managing to maintain a multifaceted career as a conductor, composer, arranger, and instrumentalist. As such, he is a throwback to an earlier time when a musician was fluent in all facets of his craft, much like his versatile namesake, Sir Edward. Howarth was the son of a brass band conductor. Thus, his musical training was early and at ten, he joined his father's ensemble, graduating to principal cornetist at 14. Howarth furthered his musical education at Manchester University and later, the Royal Manchester College of Music, majoring in composition at the latter. There he met fellow student and kindred spirit Peter Maxwell Davies, with whom he formed the Manchester New Music Group. Upon graduation, he began his career in earnest as trumpeter at the Royal Opera House and moved through a number of ensembles, some very worthy, among them the Royal Air Force Band, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, and conductorship of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. The latter was notable for Howarth's expanding the repertoire beyond the traditional band fare. An appearance with the London Sinfonietta in Italy drew the attention of Ligeti, who engaged Howarth to conduct the Stockholm premiere of the former's Le grande macabre. Howarth's predilection for the less-trodden path may be seen through the succession of his projects: Harrison Birtwistle's Mask of Orpheus (1986), Gawain (1991), The Second Mrs. Kong (1994); the major British premiere of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade (1990); and numerous orchestral and instrumental works by Ligeti, Birtwistle, Previn, Keuris, Gloria Coates, and Lumsdaine to name but a few from his broad repertoire that ranges from these composers back to Haydn and Mozart. As a bandsman, Howarth's interest is truly catholic, his acclaimed recordings ranging from Sousa to band works by the above mentioned composers to the "discovery" of early twentieth century British band-composer William Rimmer. Howarth's arrangements for band include numerous Wagner adaptations and a remarkable transcription of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Although it is as an interpreter that he is best-known, Howarth is a prolific composer and exhibits the versatility and tonal inclination that marks the English school. As may be expected, his brass band works are extensive, including the Copland-esque Legends, the reflective, Satie-like American Dream, as well as the more extrovert Fireworks and Concerto for Trumpet and Brass Band. Among his orchestral works are concerti for trumpet and trombone. Many of his compositions appear under the pseudonym of W. Hogarth Lear. It is also worth noting that Howarth, with a few others, provided the trumpet parts to the Beatles' 1967 recording Magical Mystery Tour. ~ Wayne Reisig, All Music Guide. [Back to Top] A Highland Rhapsody - Ardnamurchan After Israel (Rikudim), Hungary (Puszta) and France (Suite Provencale) it was Scotland, with its famous highlands, that was to be a source of inspiration for Jan Van der Roost. In a musically impressive way the composer combines the characteristics of Scottish folk-music with his own creativity. As may be expected from Jan Van der Roost ‘A Highland Rhapsody’ developed into a gripping concert piece, which will be appreciated by both players and audiences. [Back to Top] Jan Van der Roost - Composer Jan Van der Roost was born in Duffel , Belgium, in 1956. At a very young age he was introduced to the prominent names in the wind, fanfare and brass band repertoire and very soon Van der Roost felt the urge to put something on paper himself. At the Lemmens Institute he received a thorough musical education and he received a triple laureate diploma for trombone, music history and music education. In 1979 he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatoires of Ghent and Antwerp, culminating in a diploma for composition. At the moment he teaches at the Lemmens Institute and conducts the wind-band at this college Besides being an arranger and composer, he conducts a mixed choir and the "Midden Brabant brass band and is a much asked for adjudicator. Van der Roost's works for wind band follow the American example paying a lot of attention to the woodwinds and percussion. Van der Roost is a very versatile composer. Alongside pieces for wind band, his list of works include items for brass quintet, choir, piano, guitar, string orchestra, solo instruments and symphony orchestra. Many of his compositions have been performed on radio and t.v. or have been recorded on C.D. by renowned performers in many countries. Jan Van der Roost only composes commissioned works. [Back to Top] "A Londoner in New York " Notes by the Composer: "A Londoner in New York " was commissioned by Philip Jones for his Brass Ensemble, and was written in 1983. It was first performed by the P.J.B.E. on January 29th, 1984 at the Hexagon Theatre, Reading. I had for some time been considering how to express in music the impressions made on me by New York . My general feeling was that here was a city which prided itself on being modern and progressive but which, nevertheless, retained a delightful old-fashioned quality. The suite is intended to reflect these impressions. Central Park A languid waltz reflecting the rural atmosphere to be found in much of the park. The trumpet solos at letters Band D, however, should have a bright and optimistic quality . Echoes of Harlem As the title implies, this is a piece about Harlem as it was in the heyday of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and other jazzmen. The style of playing should be relaxed but rhythmic. Radio City The main auditorium of Radio City Music Hall is huge and the entertainment provided is lavish and varied. A show there would probably include routines by the Rockette dancing girls, two organists moving and playing in unison and a large orchestra changing position on stage during numbers. There might also be fill-ins and ballets. The mood should be vivacious, dynamic and extrovert. The can-can at bar 108 should be as fast as is comfortable and the maestoso at bar 162 which depicts the girls performing high kicks should be loud and rhythmic. Although there were no horses on stage during the performance which I attended, it would not have surprised me if there had been, so I have put them in the score, regardless, at bars 59 and 76. [Back to Top] Jim Parker - Composer Jim Parker was born in Hartlepool in 1934. He started his musical career in an army band, and subsequently studied the oboe with Edward Selwyn at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London . In 1959 he became an oboist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and later joined the Barrow Poets in the same capacity. He is now a full-time composer and has recorded his own music with Sir John Betjeman, Keith Michell, the Barrow Poets and many others. Works for the Stage include Follow the Star (with Wally K. Daly), Captain Beaky (with Jeremy Lloyd) and Mayhew's London (with Cicely Herbert). He has written a great deal of television music including " Ground Force" - Music from the TV programme (played by the Black Dyke Band), "THE HOUSE OF ELIOTT", "TOM JONES" - winning the1997 BAFTA award for Best Television Music", "MOLL FLANDERS" (1996 BAFTA), "A RATHER ENGLISH MARRIAGE" - winning the 1998 BAFTA award for Best Television Music", "Mapp and Lucia", "Credo" and "Six English Towns". He has won several other BAFTA awards over the years. Concert work includes commissions for the Nash, Hilliard and Philip Jones Ensembles and for music Festivals. He has written a Clarinet Concerto and much music for the education sector including several musicals written for or at any rate suitable for children: Blast-off, Mr Jones Goes to Jupiter, described as 'a space musical for middle schools', All Aboard: A Musical Voyage with Captain Cook, the Christmas musical, Follow the Star and The Shepherd King, a musical in eight scenes. [Back to Top] Frigyes Hidas - Composer "Frigyes Hidas was born in Budapest in 1928. He studied composition at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music with János Visky. For fifteen years he was music director of the National Theatre (1951 - 1966) and between 1974 and 1979 he performed the same function at the municipal Operetta Theatre. Since leaving that institution, he has been a free-lance composer. Hidas is a highly prolific composer who firmly believes in tunes and harmonies in a traditional sense of those terms and always writes in an easily accessible idiom. His oeuvre covers the entire gamut of genres: operas, ballets, concertos, orchestral, chamber, solo and choral music. He is particularly well known in the world for his woodwind and brass chamber music and for his works for wind-orchestra. Hidas has received an important number of commissions by Ballet Companies, the State Opera House, Radio stations, Universities and various musical societies." [Back to Top] Homage to the Noble Grape The movements are named after five beverages. The piece is a musical tour around the vineyards of Europe , each movement suggesting the nationality and character of the wine. Thus, Champagne is a bubbly can-can. Chablis is rather cool and sophisticated. Chianti is a very lively Italian tarantella. Hock seems to be enjoyed in the atmosphere of a German beer-hall and the Spanish derivation of Fundadore, a type of brandy, is clearly evident. To celebrate the end of the suite and of the whole entertainment, we crack open just one more bottle of Champagne . Cheers! [Adapted from Roger Harvey’s liner notes for the London Brass CD "Clowning Around"] Brazzissimo will perform Movements 1 " Champagne ," 4 "Hock"(featuring John Taylor on Tuba), and 5 "Fundador (and more Champagne)”. [Back to Top] Goff Richards - Composer Goff Richards was born in Cornwall and after studying at the Royal College of Music and Reading University, embarked on a career as a Composer, Arranger and Conductor. His works have been performed by the King’s Singers, the Swingle Singers, various BBC Orchestras, Huddersfield Choral Society, London Brass, Evelyn Glennie, Benjamin Luxon and all leading Brass and Military Bands. He writes extensively for BBC Radio and Television. Recent commissions have been for BBC’s ‘Festival of Cornish Bands’; TV’s ‘Songs of Praise’ including special Orchestral arrangements for the 40th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.; ‘Manchester 2002’ Commonwealth Games; ‘Mythic Trevithick’ for the ‘Trevithick Day’ celebrations in Cornwall; ‘Counting the Days to Christmas’ for Huddersfield Choral Society; ‘Sweet Thames Suite’ for Reading Pheonix Choir; ‘Vivid Colours’ for Vivid Brass, Tokyo; ‘Intrada’ for the opening concert at the new Hall for Cornwall (Bournemouth Sinfonietta); arrangements for Grimethorpe Colliery Band and, in the Pop music field, Tori Amos and the Albion Band. BNFL, Brighouse & Rastrick and the Fodens (Courtois) Band have each produced a CD featuring his music, and a new recording of Goffs ensemble THE ARCADIANS, with singers Margaret Richardson and Paul Whelan has recently been released. From 1976 – 1989, he lectured in Arranging and directed the Jazz Orchestra at Salford College of Technology. For his contribution to band music throughout the world, the College, in 1990, awarded him an Honorary GDBM and the title Director Big Band Laureate. Since 1992, he has been directing the Jazz Orchestra at Chetham School of Music, Manchester . As an Educational Composer he has composed large-scale works for Barnsley Schools (The River of Time) and for the East Ayrshire Schools Brass Band and Choir (A String O;Blethers), both produced in the year 2000. [Back to Top] Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo LITTLE SUITE NO. 1 for BRASS BAND, Op. 80 (1965) was commissioned by the Scottish Amateur Music Association for the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland and is one of three suites written for brass band. The Little Suites for Brass Band are not to be confused with either of the works entitled Little Suite for orchestra (Opus 53 and Opus 78). It is in three movements entitled Prelude (Allegro ma non troppo), Siciliano (Andantino), and Rondo (Allegro Vivace ‑ presto), and was published in the wind band transcription by John Paynter under the title Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo. Arnold biographer Piers Burton‑Page noted: "it shows the composer entirely at home with the problems of brass band texture and scoring .... it shares something of the haunting pathos which results from the wonderful marriage of sound and style in Elgar's Severn Suite." [Back to Top] Malcolm Arnold - Composer Malcolm Arnold was born in 1921 in Northampton , where his father was a well-to-do shoe manufacturer. There was music in the family, both from his father and from his mother, a descendant of a former Master of the Chapel Royal. Instead of the usual period at a public school, he was educated privately at home. As a twelve-year-old he found a new interest in the trumpet and in jazz after hearing Louis Armstrong, and three years later he was able to study the instrument in London under Ernest Hall, subsequently winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where his composition teacher was Gordon Jacob. Two years later he left the College to join the London Philharmonic Orchestra as second trumpet. Meanwhile he had won a composition prize for a one-movement string quartet. It was as an orchestral player that he was able to explore the wider orchestral repertoire, in particular the symphonies of Mahler. Early in the 1939-45 war Arnold was a conscientious objector, in common with a number of other leading musicians. He was allowed to continue his work as an orchestral player, taking the position of first trumpet in the London Philharmonic in 1943. In the same year, however, he volunteered for military service, but was discharged after shooting himself in the foot, playing, thereafter, second trumpet to his teacher Ernest Hall in the BBC Symphony Orchestra and then rejoining the London Philharmonic, where he served as principal trumpet until 1948. During these years he had continued to work as a composer, with a series of successful orchestral compositions, as well as a variety of chamber music. Since 1948 Malcolm Arnold has earned his living as a composer. In the 1960s he settled in Cornwall , where he became closely involved with the musical activities of the county. In 1972 he moved to Dublin , his home for the next five years, and then, in 1977, to Norfolk . Over the years his work has been much in demand for film scores, of which he has written some eighty. [He won an Oscar for his original score for "The Bridge on the River Kwai".] He has written concertos for an amazing variety of instruments, nine numbered symphonies, sinfoniettas, concert overtures and other orchestral works. His chamber music is equally varied and there is a set of works for solo wind and other instruments, aptly meeting the demands of competitive as of solo recital performance. In style Malcolm Arnold has a command of popular idiom and this may have suggested to some an unfavourable identification with the world of light music. He is, in fact, a composer of considerable stature, technically assured, fluent and prolific, providing music that gives pleasure, but also music that may have a more sombre side, work that may be lyrical and tuneful, or even astringent and harsh in its revelations. Donald Mitchell has compared Arnold , illuminatingly, with Dickens, both of them great entertainers but both well aware of the human predicament, unsettlingly revealed, as he points out, in the remarkable series of symphonies. [Back to Top] Hymn of the Highlands This piece was commissioned by David King and the Yorkshire Building Society Band for first performance at the 2002 European Brass Band Championships Gala Concert in Brussels . David King's imaginative programming had already led to the writing of three such 'concept' pieces for brass band; Cry of the Celts, Voice of the Vikings and Windows of the World. The idea was to produce an extended and themed piece, which can act as a half concert to feature a band's soloists. We decided on a Scottish theme but didn't use any folk songs. The entire suite in its brass band version comprises seven movements, all named after locations in the Scottish Highlands. Not all of these were considered suitable for transcription for concert band, so the composer has created Suite from Hymn of the Highlands , which comprises 3 movements: Ardross Castle , Alladale (featuring a saxophone trio) and Dundonnell. The Sword Dance, Strathcarron, is also available separately for concert band and can be added to the Suite to form a four-movement work. Ardross Castle , (named after a small village near Ardross in Easter Ross, just north of the Cromarty Firth) starts with solos from clarinet and bassoon (or euphonium) before the bagpipe tune is introduced. A faster central section uses the opening material in a different guise but the movement ends slowly. Alladale, (the river Alladale is a tributary of the Carron, which leads out into the Dornoch Firth on the east coast) is a saxophone trio with an accompaniment featuring the percussion. This leads to the finale, Dundonnell, (named after a charming village at the head of Little Loch Broom which leads out to the ocean near Summer Isles) which starts in martial mood but soon breaks out into a wild presto. Eventually the bagpipe tune from the first movement returns before the presto crashes to a close. [Back to Top] Philip Sparke - Composer Philip Sparke was born in London in 1951 and studied composition, trumpet and piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained an ARCM. It was at the College that his interest in bands arose. He played in the college wind band and formed a brass band among the students, writing several works for both ensembles. At that time, Sparke's first published works appeared Concert Prelude (brass band) and Gaudium (wind band). A growing interest in his music led to several commissions, his first major one being for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand: The Land of the Long White Cloud. Further commissions followed from individual bands, various band associations and the BBC, for whom he three times won the EBU New Music for Band Competition (with Slipstream, Skyrider and Orient Express). Sparke has written for brass band championships in New Zealand, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Australia and the UK, twice for the National Finals at the Albert Hall, and his test pieces are constantly in use wherever brass bands can be found. A close association with banding in Japan led to a commission (Celebration) from and eventual recording of his music with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. This opened the door worldwide to his wind band music and led to several commissions, particularly from the United States. In 1996, the US Air Force Band commissioned and recorded Dance Movements, which won the prestigious Sudler Prize in 1997. Philip Sparke's conducting and adjudicating activities have taken him to most European countries, Australia New Zealand Japan and the USA . 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Elgar Howarth - Composer

Jan Van der Roost - Composer