Euphonium Concerto (wind band version)
The Euphonium Concerto was commissioned by the Euphonium Foundation UK and was written for, and dedicated to, David Childs. Lasting some 22 minutes, it is a large-scale symphonic work in both its structure and scale. Its three movements, subtitled Dialogues, Song without Words, and A Celtic Bacchanal, explore the full range of the technical, musical, and emotional scope of the euphonium.
This version for symphonic wind band was transcribed by Jack Stamp, one of the leading composers and arrangers for the genre in the USA. It was first performed by David Childs and the University of North Texas Wind …
Read MoreA Song for Bram
A Song for Bram is a short work for piano and brass band, and is dedicated to the memory of Bramwell Tovey, a close friend and colleague of the composer, and a conductor, composer, pianist and musician of huge talent, who sadly passed away before his time in the summer of 2022. In this short piece I’ve tried to imagine what kind of tune Bram would have improvised at the piano, something he frequently engaged in. No doubt it would have been a mixture of bluesy jazz, hymn tune, and love song, and this is how the solo piano takes …
Read MorePostcard to Grimethorpe
I composed the original version of Postcard to Grimethorpe in 1993 at the request of Elgar Howarth, for a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, given by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. This was at a time when after the Grimethorpe Colliery pit closed the future of the band was in severe jeopardy. The concert was given in aid of the band, both through publicity and funding.
Then in late 2022 Jack Stamp, the American composer, conductor and educator, and at that time international composer-in-association with Grimethorpe, contacted me to say that he had discovered my short piece in the …
Read MoreHorn Concerto (symphonic wind band version)
Originally written in 1971 to a commission from the British Brass Band Federation and premiered that year by Ifor James (to whom the work is dedicated) and the Black Dyke Mills Band conducted by Geoffrey Brand, this new version for symphonic wind band was premiered in 2008 by Frank Lloyd and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts Symphonic Wind Band in Denver USA. The composer is grateful to Roger Harvey for his invaluable assistance in the preparation of this score.
The concerto is in three movements, following the usual pattern of fast, slow, fast. The first movement is structured …
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