‘An Age of Kings’ in Manchester

The RNCM Brass Band, conducted by Nicholas Childs, will perform Edward Gregson’s large-scale, Shakespearean-inspired work, An Age of Kings, in the RNCM Concert Hall on 7 June at 6pm.

This dramatic work is scored for augmented brass band, with the addition of harp, piano, mezzo-soprano solo, male chorus, as well as two off-stage trumpets. The Concert Hall at the RNCM is ideally suited for the antiphonal effect of the off-stage trumpets in the first movement, and the atmospheric trumpet fanfares and horn calls in the final movement, depicting Henry IV’s defeat of the rebellious forces, will bring the performance to …

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Edward Gregson – out and about

March was a busy month in Edward Gregson’s diary.  He travelled to Trondheim, Norway, to adjudicate the Norwegian National Wind Band Championships, commenting that:

“The standard of wind playing in Norway is extraordinarily high, and in the Elite section the quality of both performance and programming was of a professional standard.  The winning ensemble, the Christiania Blåseenemble from Oslo, conducted by Rolf Gupta, played four movements from Messiaen’s demanding Et Expecto Ressurectionem, as well as John Adam’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine, to an extremely high level, and were worthy winners.  I gather the ensemble is made up of

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Hallé commission

In 2017 the Hallé Concerts Society commissioned Edward Gregson to write a new work for the Hallé Children’s Choir.  The premiere of this new work will take place  on 1 July 2018 at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.  The Hallé Children’s choir will be joined by two narrators from the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Drama and the Hallé Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Bell.

The Salamander and the Moonraker (An Adventure Story in Music) is based on a cantata commissioned in 1980 by the Croydon Schools’ Music Association with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. However, the work …

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Premiere of Euphonium Concerto

It has taken many years to come to fruition, but Edward Gregson’s new Euphonium Concerto, commissioned by international euphonium soloist David Childs, will receive its premiere in its incarnation for brass band on 16th June in Kawasaki, Japan. Further performances will take place in the Autumn in Belgium and Switzerland. The orchestral version will be recorded next January by David Childs and the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, for the second volume of ‘The Symphonic Euphonium’. It will be released on the Chandos label later in 2019.

The three-movement concerto, lasting some 22 minutes, is a truly symphonic work …

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