RNCM Brass Band Festival 2020 celebrates Edward Gregson’s 75th birthday
RNCM Brass Band Festival: 24-26 January 2020
The 2020 RNCM Brass Band Festival will feature several works by Edward Gregson (see below), marking the start of his 75th birthday year. Some of the best bands and finest brass soloists in the world will perform at this popular annual event in Manchester, and the programme will also showcase the work of young musicians and composers now making their mark in the brass band world.
For details of what’s on offer and the full programme, read this article by Paul Hindmarsh, the Festival’s Artistic Director, written for 4barsrest magazine.
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Read MoreGregson’s ‘The Salamander and the Moonraker’ nominated for Ivors Composer Award
Edward Gregson’s enchanting work, The Salamander and the Moonraker (An Adventure Story in Music), has been nominated for The Ivors Composer Awards 2019 (formerly British Composer Award) in the ‘Amateur or Young Performers’ category.
The story tells of the adventures of some children caught up in the magical realms beyond Earth who are transported into space to rescue the Moonraker, and held captive by the god Thor. They enlist the help of the mythological Salamander to carry them through Thor’s barrier of fire, rescue the Moonraker and take her back to the Moon.
The work is scored for children’s …
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The world premiere of Edward Gregson’s new work, ‘A Vision in a Dream – Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra’, a BBC commission, is to take place on Saturday 8 February 2020 in Leeds Town Hall and marks the composer’s 75th birthday later in the year. It will be performed the BBC Philharmonic with Principal Oboe, Jennifer Galloway as soloist, and conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Ben Gernon.
The title of the work comes from Coleridge’s poem ‘Kubla Khan’ on which the Concerto is based – a highly dramatic piece with important subsidiary roles for Solo Percussion and Cor Anglais, …
Read MoreGregson speech strikes major chord at BBE Conference
Edward Gregson made a recent appearance as the Keynote Speaker at the first annual conference of Brass Bands England, the representative body for brass bands in England, and partly funded by Arts Council England.
Gregson has been an important advocate for brass bands throughout his career, and of course is widely regarded as one of the leading composers for the medium. He regards brass bands as one of the truly great amateur music-making traditions in the world.
However, in this quite controversial speech he suggests that brass bands need to reform urgently, so as to bring them into the 21st