The Great Northern Brass Arts Festival is being held at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall tomorrow and, as in previous years, the World of Brass trade stand will be in attendance. You may like to take the opportunity of obtaining a study score of the test piece for next Saturday’s British Open Brass Band Championship, Visions of Gerontius by Kenneth Downie. Also available are study scores for Music for Battle Creek by Philip Sparke, the test piece for the Championship Section of the National Brass Band Championships being held next month. There’s n! ever been a better opportunity to come prepared for the two major UK contests!

Also available in Manchester tomorrow, and from our website now, are several new and exciting recordings of live events held earlier in the year. Our Double CD and Double DVD of Highlights from the European Brass Band Championships 2007 are now both in stock. Also available is the Double CD of Highlights from the Norwegian Brass Band Championships 2007, one of the most intriguing national championships in the calendar. Our recording of The Present Age - The Salvation Arm! y Gospel Arts Concert 2007 is also now available as a Double DualDisc product, that is CD one side and DVD the other.

At the 2006 Brass in Concert Championship, visitors from North America in the shape of Brass Band of Central Florida made a huge impact carrying off the awards for Best Percussion Section and Most Entertaining Performance. Sing Sang Sung is a CD made up of tracks that they recorded while in the UK combined with some live performances which together capture the essence of their trip to the UK.

While on the subject of the 2006 Brass in Concert Championship, our Triple DVD of highlights is now available in NTSC (North American) format. Also now available in this format is Tribute, highlights from the Norman Bearcroft tribute concert held at Regent Hall last year. Another new DVD is a recording of New York Staff Band’s 120th Anniversary Concert with guest trombone soloist Brett Baker. This is a Region 1 (North American format) ONLY product but will play on PCs, lap-tops and DVD players ! with ‘multi-region’ capability.

Solo Trombone - French Connection is a new CD of classical repertoire for trombone and piano by a variety of French composers played by Ian Bousfield. Ian is recognised as one of the finest symphonic trombonists of his generation and is currently Principal Trombone of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Also available from Ian is Pryor Engagement which showcases music made famous by that legend of the trombone, Arthur Pryor.

While on a trombone theme, New Trombone Collective has released the last CD in a trilogy of recordings based on their name. New consists of music specially written for and dedicated to the group and includes a composition by eminent jazz trombonist Mark Nightingale on which he also features as a player.

Finally, we have news of new recordings from Salvation Army bands. Towards the end of the 19th century, Salvation Army bands were being formed the world over. Therefore, the first decade of the 21st century sees many of these groups celebrating their 125th anniversaries. Earlier this year, Coventry City Band celebrated this milestone with the release of their latest CD In Christ Alone while Norwich Citadel Band have marked their special anniversary with a tribute to four recent bandmasters in the shape of the compilation CD Fine City Gold. Two American Salvation Army bands have also released new recordings; Southern Territorial Band with Crown of Heaven and National Capital Band with The Words of the Amen.

RSA 85
Plans are now well advanced for the RSA 85 concert being given by The International Staff Band and The International Staff Songsters at Fairfield Halls, Croydon on Saturday 22nd September. Bramwell Tovey will be the special guest soloist in Fantasia for Piano and Band on ‘Christ is the Answer’ while Susan Turner (vocal) and Derick Kane (euphonium) will be performing solos written for them by Ray Steadman-Allen. Tickets are selling fast and more information about the concert can be found on this link to facebook (you need to be registered with and logged onto facebook for this link to work).

Our next update will be at the end of September when we will bring you details of new solo recordings from Robert Childs, Philippe Schartz and Philip Cobb, the latest instalment in our series The History of Brass Band Music and confirmation of the test pieces for the Regionals 2008.

As ever, we’d like to hear from you if you think there’s anything we could do better. Please call our Mail Order department on +44 (0)1933 445 445, email us at worldofbrass@sp-s.co.uk or write to us at World of Brass, Salvationist Publishing and Supplies Ltd., 66 -78 Denington Road, Wellingborough, Northants., NN8 2QH.

Our highlights products are already in their initial stages of preparation and, due to the amount of quality material available, the plan is that the CD and DVD content will differ quite significantly. Pre-orders for the CD and DVD can be placed at the special prices of £15.95 and £17.95 respectively if ordered before 1st July. The CD is due for release in August with the DVD planned for launch at the British Open Brass Band Championship in September.

Talking of the British Open, it was announced recently that the test piece will be a new composition called Visions of Gerontius by Kenneth Downie. In a ‘first’ for the British Open, we are pleased to have study scores available for sale ahead of the contest so that you can come fully prepared for the day, and avoid the inevitable queues! As is usual for the sale of British Open study scores, we will be donating 10% (£1 per score) to the Mortimer Trust for each study score sold prior to and at the event.

Brass Band Willebroek will be making a quick return to England this weekend as they attempt to add the Cambridge International Masters title to the European title they retained last month. As always, the World of Brass trade stand will be present and we’ll be launching the second solo CD from Black Dyke Band principal euphonium, David Thornton. Called Devil’s Duel this is a hugely impressive follow-up to his first CD, Three Worlds, which was named British Bandsman Solo CD of the Year 2004. David will be at the World of Brass trade stand during the course of the day to sign copies of the CD.

Also available for the first time will be the first six titles in the Owen Farr Solo Series of music for Tenor Horn and Piano, published by Prima Vista Musikk.

Those of you who visit the World of Brass website regularly will have noticed the makeover that we have given the site, we hope you like it! All the existing features and facilities have been retained and we’ve added the opportunity for you to ‘tell a friend’ about a particular product.

We have also added the facility to pay via PayPal onto our own website and some of you have already used this alternative option to pay for your purchases.

Our next update in June will include details about the latest recording from The International Staff Band, with guest trombone soloist Dudley Bright, and also a stunning debut CD from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Brass which includes a recording of the original 10-piece version of Derek Bourgeois’ virtuosic Concerto Grosso.

This year’s championships represent a significant milestone for us as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of World of Brass.

As a sponsor of the European Brass Band Championships, World of Brass will have a prominent trade stand in a prime location inside the Symphony Hall complex on Friday and Saturday so be sure to search us out.

In Birmingham, three brand new recordings will be available for the first time.

Vienna Nights is the latest CD from Black Dyke Band and features the first studio recording of Philip Wilby’s popular test piece of the same name, the playing of which gained the band the title of British Open Brass Band Champions 2006. The CD also includes a long overdue studio recording of Wilby’s Dove Descending.

Incidentally, Dove Descending will be one of the featured works played during a special brass day at this year’s BBC Promenade concerts. The two participating brass bands will be Black Dyke Band and Grimethorpe Colliery Band and you can read more about this special brass day, Saturday 28th July, by following this link to the BBC Promenade concerts website.

In our last update we advised you of a delay in the launch of Grimethorpe in Concert Volume III from Grimethorpe Colliery Band. We are pleased to say that this project is now safely in production and will be available to purchase from World of Brass in Birmingham.

It is some years since Sheona White released what many regard as the definitive tenor horn solo album, The Voice of the Tenor Horn. Although seven years old, the recording continues to sell steadily such is its enduring quality. Untold Stories is the latest tenor horn solo album, played by Owen Farr and accompanied by his band, Cory. This recording is complimentary to Sheona’s and introduces further new and exciting repertoire for the instrument. We are pleased that Owen has agreed to sign copies of his CD at the World of Brass trade stand on Saturday. He’ll be there as soon as possible after his band have playe d their own-choice test piece! Next month we will tell you about the launch of the Owen Farr Solo Series of music for Tenor Horn and Piano, to be published by Prima Vista Musikk.

Don’t worry if you can’t get to Birmingham this weekend as these recordings are available to pre-order on the World of Brass website now. They are also available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk if you prefer.

The Salvation Army’s Favourite Band Journal No.3 is almost universally known as the ‘Blue Favourites’ and contains a large number of hugely popular marches and hymn settings. The Household Troops Band has recently recorded a selection from the ‘Blue Favourites’ on a CD called Blue Book Favourites. The ‘Blue Favourites’ journal itself is long since out of print but the good news is that much of the music on the CD has been re-originated and re-published in our Judd Street Collection format making them available for purchase once again.

Bellshill Band of The Salvation Army have a busy programme of events throughout the year as well as taking part in each and every Sunday service at their corps. Their latest CD recording Musical Aspects brings together a selection from the musicals of The Salvation Army’s John Gowans and John Larsson with tunes from some of the blockbusters by Andrew Lloyd-Webber in a unique combination.

Oslo Temple Band of The Salvation Army have a significant profile in their own country and beyond and over the years have hosted some of the most well-known soloists from around the world. In recent years, their guests have included David Daws and Aaron VanderWeele and you can now hear their live concert performances on Live in Oslo.

This weekend also sees a significant milestone in the history of British Bandsman magazine. Recognising the considerable postage costs in delivering the magazine to overseas subscribers, British Bandsman is now available as a pdf download to all overseas subscribers. Visit www.britishbandsman.com to find out more.
This weekend also sees the release of six new titles from Prima Vista Musikk from respected composers like Rodney Newton, Gareth Wood and Paul Lovatt-Cooper. These new titles, along with many other Prima Vista Musikk publications, will be available for inspection and purchase from World of Brass in Birmingham.

Central Ohio Brass Band to host new festival The Central Ohio Brass Band will be hosting the first Ohio Brass Arts Festival on Sunday, April 1st, 2007.

The Inaugural Ohio Brass Arts Festival, hosted by the Central Ohio Brass Band, will be held on Sunday, April 1, 2007, at Westerville South High School and is supported by the North American Brass Band Association.

The purpose of the festival is to help promote the musical growth of the many bands in Ohio and surrounding states and to build comradary between bandsmen. Ohio has more non-Salvation Army brass bands and NABBA member bands than any other State. Additionally, more NABBA titles have been won by bands from Ohio then by bands in any other State.

This year’s festival will feature three guest clinicians: Helen Tyler, solo baritone with Fodens Brass Band (the 2006 English Champions), Dan King, principal cornet and concertmaster of the Brass Band of Columbus (the 2006 North American Champions) and Dr. Paul Droste, former director of the Ohio State University Marching Band, Brass Band of Columbus and Central Ohio Brass Band (10 time North American Champion Conductor).

OhioBrassBands.com Festival Information

BUFFET CRAMPON is proud to announce that the new production of BESSON instruments is now fully underway in both Germany and in France.

To guarantee the new quality standards insisted upon by both our loyal customers and the new owners Buffet Crampon, new tooling has been built by the laser measuring of Prototype BESSON instruments including the Imperial, New standard, early Sovereign and new Prestige models. This precise measuring will ensure the exact dimensions of each component part and guarantee that the exact, original design of each model has been respected fully.

Bells are again to be hand-hammered and hand-spun, as was the case prior to the early nineties. This method avoids over-tensioning the metal and ultimately produces more sonorous instruments; the historic trademark of Besson. All of the Monel valves are numbered and lapped-in individually into every valve case, giving perfect fitting and action.

Modern precision tooling, and superior craftsmanship during the whole process of assembling and finishing assures perfect fitting of all the parts, slides and valves, giving better leak-test results, felt by the player as more resonance requiring less energy.

To guarantee exact replication of quality, precision drawings have been made of every tool and form to allow us to replace them more frequently to ensure a much higher and consistent quality standard.

Every instrument is play-tested by musicians who have been involved with BESSON R&D for several decades, such as Roger Webster, Steven Mead, James Gourlay, Steve Sykes, Lesley Howie and others, in order to absolutely guarantee that the right sound and playing characteristics are respected.

We can now confidently invite you to rediscover the original BESSON spirit in the NEW BESSON INSTRUMENTS.

“These instruments are fantastic! The feeling of total quality takes me back to the 70’s and 80’s when the only instrument worth having was a Besson….well in my opinion…it is once again.” — Roger Webster

“I never thought that I could find an instrument better than my Prestige …well I have! It is the new Besson Prestige…looks about the same, feels about the same…plays like an absolute dream! Without doubt, the best instrument I have ever played.” — Steven Mead

“I couldn’t believe the sound and responsiveness of the new Besson Tenor horn. It feels and plays like my original ‘Globe stamped’ Sovereign…” — Lesley Howie

Buffet Crampon, woodwind instruments : clarinets, professional clarinet, oboe, bassoon.

The Black Dyke Christmas Carol is more than just a brass band CD. This inspired project, put together by Alan Jenkins, includes an abridged version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol which is juxtaposed with appropriate Christmas music reflecting the mood of the text from the band.

‘Tis A Gift is brought to you by the 2006 U.S. Open Champion Brass Band, Brass Band of Central Florida. The band visited the U.K. recently and competed in the Brass in Concert (www.brassinconcert.com) Championship where it carried off the awards for Most Entertaining Performance and Best Percussion Section.

Christmas Tidings is the latest release from The International Staff Band of The Salvation Army and includes repertoire that they will be performing at the Celebrating Christmas concert in London’s Royal Albert Hall next Thursday.

The Twelve Days of Christmas captures a festive pre-Christmas concert that was given to a capacity audience in the Floral Hall of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden by The Royal Opera House Brass Soloists and sixteen members of the chorus.

The Festive Season played by London Citadel Band from Ontario, Canada and the compilation CD Christmas in Brass 2006 complete our list of new Christmas releases. If you missed out on Christmas in Brass 2005 last year, why not catch up by buying 2005 and 2006 at a special combined price of £6.99?

Bones Apart are an all-female trombone quartet who have made a big impact in the world of brass since their formation in 1999. The group has been featured in national newspapers and international magazines and have established themselves as one of the foremost brass chamber groups. Their latest CD Enigma has just been released on the Egon label and we are delighted to add their name to the impressive list of artists contained in our catalogue.

Christmas is often a time when we catch up on our reading and a new book by Ronald W. Holz is sure to hold your attention for many an hour. Brass Bands of The Salvation Army is an impressive publication which has been extensively researched and painstakingly put together and is packed full of information including around 200 photographs and illustrations.

Podcasting involves the creation of radio-style programs on a wide range of topics, including music and audio commentary, which are posted on the Internet for downloading to a listener’s own iPod or MP3 player. The basic idea is that instead of listening to radio shows over the airwaves, a listener can download the shows that they are really interested in, and listen to them when they want. Brasscast music is licensed through The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Musical numbers played by the bands include

* Batman by Elman and Prince arranged by T. Sahashi
* Oregon by J. De Haan

These numbers are interspersed with banding snippets and news about brass bands.

Brass Band podcast from Britain Ireland USA Canada Australia New Zealand Japan Belgium

Brasscast, the weekly brass band podcast from the USA is this week featuring the the St Dennis Band from the UK.

Podcasting involves the creation of radio-style programs on a wide range of topics, including music and audio commentary, which are posted on the Internet for downloading to a listener’s own iPod or MP3 player. The basic idea is that instead of listening to radio shows over the airwaves, a listener can download the shows that they are really interested in, and listen to them when they want. Brasscast music is licensed through The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Musical numbers played by the bands include

* THE COSSACK Rimmer
* THE IRISH BLESSING arranged by Bradnum
* MEMORY arranged by Alan Catherall Soprano Cornet Solo Andrew Julian
* Glasnost Composed by Dizzy Stratford By St Dennis Youth Band Live from Exmouth Entertainments Contest 2005

These numbers are interspersed with banding snippets and news about brass bands.

Brass Band podcast from Britain Ireland USA Canada Australia New Zealand Japan Belgium

Scripture-Based Songs Volume 7

Salvationist.ca » Blog Archive » New Resources For Brass

…Bandmaster Kevin Hayward and the Canadian Staff Band as they took the stage to present their 37th annual anniversary concert, held at Scarborough Citadel in Toronto , May 27th.

Salvationist.ca » Blog Archive » CSB Anniversary Concert