The BBC Concert Orchestra under the baton of Bramwell Tovey is due to record Volume 3 of Edward Gregson’s concertos for the Chandos label at the beginning of March. Works to be recorded include his cello concerto, A Song for Chris, written in 2007 for the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival, with Guy Johnston as soloist for the recording. The other concerto is the Trombone Concerto of 1979, with Peter Moore as soloist.
Both Guy Johnston and Peter Moore are previous winners of BBC Television’s Young Musician of the Year competition, in 2000 and 2008 respectively; furthermore, Gregson’s Trombone Concerto was specially commissioned for Michael Hext, the inaugural winner of the competition in 1978. The other connection is that Guy Johnston is an alumnus of Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, whilst Peter Moore is a current student there. Edward Gregson has been a Governor of the School since 1996.
The other works on the CD will be Gregson’s early Music for Chamber Orchestra, commissioned by the English Chamber Orchestra in 1968, and Two Pictures for string orchestra (2009). The CD will be released later this year.