RNCM Festival of Brass, 2023

The band were delighted to close this year’s Festival of Brass in fine style on the Sunday evening of January 29th.

The festival is always a musical delight in our calendar giving a chance for the bands to give light to more serious programmes of Brass Band music. This year was no exception.

We were joined by guest soloist Isobel Daws who needs no introduction at this time to the musical world. She wowed the audience with the ease in which she performed such a major work in ‘Lincoln Tunnel’ then she returned later to pay homage to her Salvationist roots with the beautiful ‘Walk with Me’. What a musician.

Russell Gray lead the band in a variety of work from Bantock’s ‘King Lear’ to the premiere of Gregson’s ‘Song for Bram’. And what an evening of music making it was.

The festival’s director, Paul Hindmarsh, said of the bands performance:

‘It was a pedigree concert from start to finish… I was thrilled with the Eric Basil items, especially Resurgam, which I have rarely heard played with as much intensity as that… The band is in superb form, with that trademark warmth of sound well in evidence… It was a genuine privilege to be able to wave my hands at out as you played Praise so well.’

These are humbling words from the artistic director who has bought so much to our movement and this festival. It was with much sadness that we all drew a breath to realise this was Paul’s last festival, but we, as does he, hope it goes on from strength to strength.

Paul, thank you for your professionalism, creative drive, stoic resilience to stick with your musical vision and friendship to B&R in particular.

So, here’s to next year. We hope the RNCM continue with Paul’s brass musical vision.