The early part of this month has already seen the release of several new recordings; Highlights from the Norwegian Brass Band Championships 2008, National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2007, Trailblazers and Boscombe and Foden’s LIVE and this update brings news of several more.
May 17th saw the launch of Daystar, the 2008 recording from The International Staff Band of The Salvation Army, on the occasion of their sell-out Epic Brass II concert with Black Dyke Band. Last weekend saw the release of The Incredible Polysteel Band from the band of that name and this weekend we have available for the first time new recordings from two of the UK’s foremost Salvation Army bands; Kettering Citadel Band with Endless Praise and Boscombe Band with Sanctuary.

All of the recordings mentioned so far will be available from our music download store World of Brass Tunes in due course.

As well as our own new releases, World of Brass is always on the look-out for other recordings from around the world that we think you might be interested in. Pasadena Tabernacle Band from Los Angeles has recently completed a tour of Southern USA and we have managed to secure a quantity of their tour CD Proclamation. Chris Houlding has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as principal trombone of the Orchestra of Opera North and has recently released his first solo CD. Houlding His Own features standard trombone repertoire in the form of the sonatas of Hindemith and Sulek along with new and lesser-known repertoire for trombone alone and with piano accompaniment.

Sales of our Regionals 2008 recording have been particularly strong and many of you have taken the opportunity to buy it, or individual tracks from it, from our World of Brass Tunes download store. In fact, it’s our best-selling downloaded album to date.

As world-wide distributors for Prima Vista Musikk we have been delighted to have had the responsibility of delivering the test pieces for the 3rd and 4th sections; The Dark Side of the Moon (Paul Lovatt-Cooper) and Four Cities Symphony (Rodney Newton).  The Prima Vista Musikk catalogue contains many other works by these composers and that number has been added to recently with the publication of some new titles.

The Pilgrim’s Progress (Rodney Newton) was written for The International Staff Band who recorded it on their 2007 offering, Supremacy, and are currently featuring it in their Saturday evening concert programme while the composer has now produced a brass band accompaniment version of his popular solo for tenor horn, Tenor Toccata. Also for tenor horn and brass band is a technically demanding new solo by Paul Lovatt-Cooper called The Spellbinding Jewel which provides a welcome addition to the serious repertoire for the instrument.

A new CD from Black Dyke Band always provokes a lot of interest and Music for Battle Creek is already selling well. Featuring the music of Philip Sparke, the recording includes first studio recordings of his two most recent test pieces; Music for Battle Creek and Dances and Alleluias.

Last month, we told you about the latest solo CD from tuba impresario Oystein Baadsvik. It seems solo tuba CDs are like the old joke about London buses (you wait ages for one then three arrive together!) as this month we have recordings featuring Leslie Neish and Steve Sykes. Leslie Neish has been making a big impression recently with live solo performances of the highest order. Last year he teamed up with his old college friend Jonathan Corry to feature as soloist with Fuoco Brass on their second CD, Badinage. Steve Sykes has a huge presence in the brass band scene and his second solo CD, Basso Bravissimo! has been eagerly anticipated. Both Les and Steve demonstrate just what is possible on the tuba but, more than that, display a high level musical artistry in spite of the obstacles of the instrument.

Arguably an even more unsung solo instrument is the baritone. Baritones to the Fore! seeks to do something about that and Brass Band of Columbus enlisted the help of three British stars of the instrument (Katrina Marzella, Helen Tyler and Rob Richardson) plus their own Diana Herak in what must be the first ever solo baritone album. Look out for Katrina’s own solo album, with Leyland Band, later in the year.

World of Brass Radio continues to receive favourable comment from listeners around the world and has built up a dedicated and loyal audience since its launch just over a year ago. A new programme is added every Friday and you can also catch up on the previous three programmes if you happen to miss any of them. To listen to John Maines presenting World of Brass Radio follow the link on the World of Brass home page or save this link to your favourites; www.worldofbrass.com/wobradio.

Now World of Brass further embraces the digital age with perhaps our most exciting venture so far, the launch of World of Brass Tunes (www.worldofbrasstunes.com), the world’s first music download store dedicated to brass bands!

Starting with recently released titles on the Doyen and SP&S labels, the site will grow to include many recordings on these specialist labels. Recordings previously deleted from our catalogue, and no longer available on CD, will now become available once again. Of course, we will still be producing and selling CDs and DVDs for the foreseeable future and these will continue to be available at www.worldofbrass.com.

The combination of Black Dyke Band and James Morrison has proved irresistible in recent years. Earlier this year, they teamed up once again to give two more sell-out concerts. Fortunately, our cameras were present at the Bridgewater Hall concert so we can now bring you our latest DVD Black Dyke Band LIVE! We feel sure that this product will prove as popular as their previous concert recording, Black Dyke Band 150th Anniversary Concert.

Black Dyke Band principal cornet Richard Marshall leads the band with distinction. Eminence is his first solo CD with the band and is sure to follow the success of his two previous albums that he made with his previous band Grimethorpe Colliery.

Chris Thomas is the principal trombone of Cory Band and has just released his first solo CD. The Noble Trombone is a recording of mostly major works for trombone on which he is accompanied by his band and Harvey Davies on piano.

Enfield Citadel Band are currently on tour in the United States and the band’s latest recording American Anthology celebrates the compositions of four well-known North American composers.

It’s Not Unusual from The Fairey Band celebrates the compositions and arrangements of just one person, Phil Lawrence. Contrary to the title, this release is a bit out of the ordinary and well worth further investigation.
The final recording we want to tell you about is the latest in our series,

Now That’s What I Call Brass. Volume 5 sees a return to the double CD format and contains 22 of our favourite tracks from our previous twelve months releases. We’ve managed to hold the price of this compilation to £13.95 but will send you a FREE copy when you order CDs and DVDs to the value of £50 or more (not including postage).

The New Releases section of our website contains several more new and interesting recordings that we don’t have space to include in this update. They include recordings from current European Brass Band Champions Brass Band Willebroek and the principal trumpet player of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Frits Damrow.

This weekend also sees the launch of our Regionals CD of the five test pieces for next years round of UK Regional contests. The test pieces have already been announced in British Bandsman so we can now reveal the track list for Regionals 2008. The 3rd and 4th section test pieces have been published by Prima Vista Musikk and are available to purchase from World of Brass now.

Earlier this month, the magnificent Cory Band managed to end their sequence of second places at the British Open Brass Band Championship by securing victory and in the process prevented arch rivals Black Dyke Band from achieving the rare and elusive hat-trick. As if on cue, the same day saw the release of a new solo CD from the band’s conductor, Robert Childs. Appropriately called Celebration, this CD of concertos was recorded by Robert to celebrate his 50th birthday year.

Philip Cobb also celebrated a birthday recently and launched his first ever solo CD Life Abundant. Philip is a former Principal Cornet of the National Youth Brass Band and was the first person to win the coveted Harry Mortimer Soloist Prize three years in succession. Philip is now studying trumpet at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and receives tuition from Paul Beniston and Alison Balsom. We’re sure to hear much more from Philip in the years to come.

Philippe Schartz is a young trumpeter who is already firmly established in the music profession, holding the position of Principal Trumpet in the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. De Lux Trumpet is his second solo CD on the Doyen label and is made up of premiere recordings of new music for trumpet and wind band.
The latest volume in our series The History of Brass Band Music is now available. This selection demonstrates the great variety of styles which have attracted the attention of arrangers over the years.
After a year’s break, the Doyen microphones were back in Delph in June to record Whit Friday Marches 2007. Included are many old favourites, played by bands like Black Dyke and Fodens, along with some less familiar marches played by Salvo Brass and MG Root Band.

Recently we reached agreement with Band Press VOF to become their only UK-based distributor. Over 50 titles are already available so we’ve added a specific Band Press category to our website. Some of the excellent compositions and arrangements are already in use, most notably by Grimethorpe Colliery Band at Brass in Concert 2006. To request a printed catalogue, send an email with your address details to worldofbrass@sp-s.co.uk

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.

The test piece for this year’s British Open Brass Band Championship is Kenneth Downie’s brand new work Visions of Gerontius. Study scores are now available exclusively from World of Brass so why not purchase yours now and avoid the queues at the contest?
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 to be held at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 20th October.
World of Brass is the only place where you can buy BOTH of the study scores for the two major UK contests of the year.

Chris Jaudes is one of the most sought-after lead trumpeters on Broadway and has performed with stars like Celine Dion, Bob Hope, Barry Manilow and Liza Minnelli to name just a few. His solo CD, simply called Chris Jaudes, on which he is accompanied by the New York Staff Band, is now available. An added bonus is the appearance of Joe Alessi (Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) who joins Chris on two tracks. This recording is sure to cement Chris’ reputation as an outstanding trumpeter further still.

Brass Partout are a virtuoso brass ensemble from Germany and their latest CD Black Castles is now available. The CD features music from six English composers in a timeline commencing with Edward Elgar and finishing with Mark-Anthony Turnage. Of particular interest is Derek Bourgeois’ suite for ten-piece brass, William and Mary.

Bourgeois’ other major work for ten-piece brass, Concerto Grosso, can be heard on BRASS from the fantastic brass section of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Writing in British Bandsman, Dudley Bright (Principal Trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra) said ‘I can’t help but to enthuse about this CD. From first to last, it exudes a quality to satisfy the most discerning of brass enthusiasts’. Click here to read his full review.

Arrangements for the RSA 85 concert to celebrate the 85th birthday of Ray Steadman-Allen are now racing ahead. The concert will take place on Saturday 22nd September at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. In addition to The International Staff Band and The International Staff Songsters, we are pleased to announce that Bramwell Tovey will be the piano soloist in Fantasia for Piano and Band on ‘Christ is the Answer’. We are thrilled that such a distinguished musician as Mr Tovey is able to take part in this event. Other soloists will include Susan Turner (vocal) and Derick Kane (euphonium) who will both be performing solos especially written for them by Ray Steadman-Allen.

In recent weeks, the Facebook phenomenon has even reached the World of Brass office. Not wishing to feel left out of the latest social networking trend, we started the official World of Brass Facebook group. We invite you to join the World of Brass group to learn a little bit more about us and who we are.

Our next update will be in September when we will inform you of new recordings from Brass Band of Central Florida, Ian Bousfield, Robert Childs and Philip Cobb and also the latest instalment in our History of Brass Band Music series from Grimethorpe Colliery Band.

We’re also taking pre-orders for The Present Age – The Salvation Army Gospel Arts Concert 2007. For the last two years our recording of the Gospel Arts Concert has been presented on a double Dual Disc (DVD on one side and CD on the other). This year we will again be producing a two-disc set but this time these will be separate DVD and CD discs. The planned launch date of The Present Age is 1st September.

At the Gospel Arts Concert, the latest recording from The International Staff Band was launched. Called Supremacy, the title track is the latest large scale work by Dean Jones of Glorifico Aeternum fame. Also included is a new composition by Rodney Newton. Based on the famous book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, this large scale work was especially written for the band. Completing the quality line-up is guest trombone soloist Dudley Bright who plays his own n! ew composition, Life’s Command.

Another recent arrival is the stunning debut CD from the Brass of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is one of the most celebrated in the world and has been conducted by some of the great conductors, like Bernhard Haitink and now Mariss Janssons. In recent years, the Orchestra’s brass section has established itself as one of the leading groups of its type and this CD, simply called BRASS, is already being acclaimed as one of the most exciting brass recordings of the past few years. Of particular interest to brass band aficionados is a recording Derek Bourgeois’ virtuosic Concerto Grosso in its original version for 10-piece brass. This has often been featured in the brass band version by YBS Band and Eikanger-Bjorsvik in own-choice contests. Don’t miss it!

RSA 85

The celebrated Salvationist composer, Ray Steadman-Allen, celebrates his milestone 85th birthday on 18 September. To mark this auspicious occasion, The International Staff Band and The International Staff Songsters will join forces on 22 September, at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, to present an evening that represents the rich, creative legacy of the composer’s lifetime dedicated to music and The Salvation Army. Further details will be announced in due course and tickets are already on sale from www.fairfield.co.uk .

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.