The Norwegian Armed Forces Staff Band [Forsvarets Stabsmusikkorps] is hosting a mini-festival celebrating the music of Edward Gregson on April 9 at the Ridehuset, Akershus Fortress, Oslo. Three concerts of the Novello composer’s work will be presented by the Armed Forces Staff Band, the Oslo Brass Band and students from the Norwegian Academy of Music, directed by the highly distinguished Swedish conductor Andreas Hanson. Gregson, who in July celebrated his seventieth birthday and was recently appointed as composer in residence to the multi-award winning Black Dyke Band, will join the Forsvarets Stabsmusikkorps to conduct one of his works and later sit down with Hanson to discuss his life and works ahead of the festival’s closing concert.
The works chosen by Hanson and his forces represent every part of Gregson’s career, from the 1971 Horn Concerto to his String Quartet, composed in 2014. Other works featuring across the day include Aztec Dances, Symphony in two movements, Connotations and the widely performed Tuba Concerto.
The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces is, with its 39 permanent musicians, Norway’s largest professional wind orchestra. The band was established in 1818 (then 2nd Brigades Band) and has since been the musical representatives of the Norwegian Armed Forces performing regularly for royal occasions and on tours abroad.