No Strings Attached Brass Concert

One may say that the use of the piano during the evening somewhat falsified the claim that absolutely no strings were attached, but one has to make allowances for such things. We requested a small selection of finger food before the concert, but some fortunate crossed wires resulted in a rather magnificent spread of nibbles in the Undercroft, which the audience enjoyed before the concert.

With a large degree of artistic freedom, the concert was thoughtfully planned by Mr Tonks. The concert opened with Britten's Fanfare for St Edmundsbury being played by three senior trumpeters from the gallery of the Great Hall. This was followed by the band of the Combined Cadet Force, under the baton of Bandmaster Panav Goyal. Bedecked in their splendid uniforms, and led by Drum Major Ciaran Davies, the presence of Larry the Leopard (who, at 112 years old must surely rank as the oldest member of the audience) was particularly marvellous. The band began on the balcony outside the Great Hall playing The British Grenadiers, marching as they played. Followed by some relatively slick manoeuvres, the band played the march from Scipio before marching out again. Hugh S (Divs), one of our music scholars in the Divisions, then played two pieces on the French Horn; the first, Hunter's Moon, accompanied by piano; and the second, a horn duo by Mozart, played with his teacher, Mr Wainwright.

Wind Band, our junior wind and brass group, played a jolly arrangement of You've got a friend in me, before the Wind Quintet played Denes Agay's Five Easy Dances, a name which does not accurately convey the intricacy of playing required. The Dixieland Band then played two old jazz numbers, Skeleton Jangle and Fred Fisher. This was followed by Taylors' Brass playing the Prince of Denmark's March, in an arrangement which made varied use of antiphony. The Saxophone Ensemble played Welcome Dance by Karen Street, though the rather melancholic character of the piece led some of the staff to wonder exactly what was being welcomed. Ben C (Divs) then took to the stage to play the first movement of Arnold's Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano, opening a window into a slightly unusual sound world, but delighting the audience with a warm, rich tone.

What other way to end a concert of wind and brass music is there than to call upon the forces of our award-winning Concert Band? The nearly 60-strong band showed their mettle in two works: firstly, music from Stranger Things, and secondly, excerpts from de Meij's programmatic Symphony No. 1: The Lord of the Rings. These were the longest items in the concert, and gave the musicians an opportunity to work on more extended pieces of music.

We look forward to Music Week at the end of this term, culminating in the Twenty-Seventh Summer Serenade, which takes place on Tuesday 2nd July. The last Summer Serenade took place in 2016, although the Platinum Jubilee Concert in 2022 followed a similar shape. The concert will be in the Inner Quad, and will include fireworks. Tickets may be purchased here: development.mtsn.org.uk/events