Works for Brass Band

Grading: 1 = very easy  2 = easy  3 = moderately easy  4 = moderately difficult  5 = difficult  6 = very difficult
Alu
for solo baritone or euphonium with brass band
£25.00

Grade: band 2 / soloist 4

Alu was commissioned by Pat Herak for his wife Diana, for their 10th wedding anniversary. It was premiered by Diana and the Brass Band of Columbus, USA.

A reflective solo, Alu is suitable for players grade 6 upwards. All sets of music come complete with score, parts, with the soloists part in both bass clef concert and Bb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with piano
Apex
for solo cornet/trumpet/flugel with brass band
£25.00

Grade: band 2 / soloist 4

Apex was commissioned by Mark Bousie and David Armitage (President of Sellers International Ltd.) for the Sellers International Youth Band to perform at the Action Research Entertainment Contest in Blackpool, 2007. It also features the percussion section, as well as singing from the band!

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with wind band
Apophenia
Concerto for trumpet with brass band
£55.00
£12.00 (extra score)

Grade: band 4.5 / soloist 6

"Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data."

Apophenia is a trumpet concerto in three movements written for American trumpet virtuoso Rex Richardson. Each of the three movements features a different instrument; Movement 1 is for the Bb trumpet, the second is for flugel horn and trumpet, and the third is for trumpet and piccolo trumpet.

Each of the three movements of Apophenia relate to the phenomenon of viewing Dark Side of the Rainbow - a name used to refer to the act of listening to the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon whilst watching the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with wind band and piano
B of the Bang
for brass band
£25.00

Grade: 4

B of the Bang is a fast and furious concert opener commissioned by Luc Vertommen and Brass Band Buizingen, Belgium, for the Kerkrade World Brass Band Championships.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!
Curtain Call
for brass band
£25.00

Grade: 2.5

Curtain Call is a pastiche work, written in the style of Hollywood film music. This 4 minute work was designed as a "finisher" or an encore to a concert program. It was written for Sellers Youth Band to be performed as part of their National Youth Brass Band Championship 2008 program.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!
Devil's Duel
for solo euphonium with brass band
£30.00

Grade: band 4 / soloist 6

Devil's Duel was commissioned by David Thornton. It was premiered by David Thornton at Leeds Town Hall in May 2006, accompanied by the Black Dyke Band, conducted by Dr. Nicholas Childs, and was the title track of David Thornton's second solo CD.

It comes with 2 versions - the original, as well as an easier alternative. All sets of music come complete with score, parts, with the soloists part in both bass clef concert and Bb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with wind band or piano
Elegie
for solo trombone or euphonium with brass band
£25.00

Grade: band 3 / soloist 4

Elegie opens with an unaccompanied passage, originally written as a short memorial piece, but later adapted as the basis of this more developed work for euphonium or trombone and brass quintet.

The work uses a variation structure, with both the soloist and the accompaniment changing throughout the piece; the harmony, rhythm and melodic lines leading somewhere new and different each time they are heard.

All sets of music come complete with the solo part in both bass clef concert and Bb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with brass ensemble, wind band or piano
Episodes and Echoes
concerto for tuba with brass band
£50.00

Grade: band 4 / soloist 6

Episodes and Echoes is a concerto in three movements for tuba. The title of the work relates directly to the way the composer approached writing the piece.

"Although the work is scored with piano and wind band accompaniments, Episodes and Echoes was originally written for tuba and brass band. I had several problems to overcome - the brass band contains 4 tubas, and 2 euphoniums, all of which could obscure the solo line, so I decided to write for the soloist in a manner that meant they were either playing alone, in episodes, or repeating/echoing phrases."

In addition to this, the composer combined the characteristics of the tuba with other instruments: in the second movement the tuba is similar to a singer performing an aria and a recitative, and third movement a bass guitar.

Episodes and Echoes was commissioned by, and dedicated to, Les Neish who premiered the work in 2005, accompanied by the Beaumaris Brass Band, conducted by Gwyn Evans.

The concerto has received many performances throughout the UK, as well as the rest of Europe. All sets of music come complete with the solo part in both bass clef concert and Eb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with wind band or piano
Epitaph (for Hillsborough)
for brass band
£30.00


Grade: band 4

Epitaph (for Hillsborough) was written on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster, April 15 1989, in memory of the 96 victims. All of the victims were fans of Liverpool Football Club, the club I have supported since I was a young child.

The disaster unfolded in front of the BBC television cameras, and due to the importance of the match (FA Cup semi final), millions, including myself, witnessed it first hand, leaving a lasting impression in the public psyche.

Several features of the piece were determined by the tragedy. The length of the piece, 6 and a half minutes, represents the minutes of the game that were played that day (The match was abandoned after 6 minutes), and the final thirty seconds of the work, where the band gently applaud, is a reference to the first match played after the tragedy, a European Cup semi final between AC Milan and Real Madrid.

After 6 minutes, the referee blew his whistle and all the players stood still where they were, both sets of fans applauded in memory of the perished, and the fans of AC Milan began singing You'll Never Walk Alone, the anthem of Liverpool Football Club.

The work also features 96 strikes of the tubular bells, in memory of each person who lost their life.

Epitaph is dedicated to the 96 people who died that day, and to their families whose fight for justice is an inspiration to all.
Fanfare for a Festival
fanfare for brass band
£20.00

Grade: 2

Written for Mark Bousie and the Sellers International Youth Band, this short fanfare has been used as part of their contest successes.

Fanfare for a festival features the cornet section, splitting them into two groups, each stood across from each other behind the band.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available for wind band
Lament (from Macbeth)
for brass band
£25.00

Grade: band 4.5

Macbeth was commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2007 Scottish Open Championship, and takes its' inspiration from the Shakespeare play of the same name.

The Lament is the central, emotional core to the work. Although the play tells of Macbeth not feeling the pain of his wife's death, this lament ponders not only her death, but the tale as a whole.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available for wind band
Macbeth
for brass band
£65.00
£12.00 (Extra score)

Grade: 5

Commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2007 Scottish Open Championship, Macbeth takes its' inspiration from the Shakespeare play of the same name. Character portraits (Of the three witches as well as Macbeth himself), abstractions (The lament), and scenes (Macbeth's final battle with Macduff) make up the 9 interconnected movements:

i: Witches, ii: Dagger, iii: General Macbeth, iv: Contemplations of Lady Macbeth, v: Lament, vi: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, vii: A spell still cast, viii: Final Battle, ix: Not of woman born

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available for wind band
Match Day
for brass band
£25.00

Grade: 4

Match Day takes its inspiration from a night in May 2005, when the team the composer supported from his childhood, Liverpool FC, won the European Cup in what was considered by many to be one of the greatest football matches of all time.

The piece is not only inspired by a football match, but also takes its musical material from chants and songs that you will hear at 3PM on a Saturday afternoon at any football ground in the country.

Match Day was written as a result of a commission from the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, and their Musical Director, Bramwell Tovey, to whom the piece is dedicated.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!
Moz!
for solo euphonium with brass band
£22.00

Grade: band 2 / soloist 4

Moz! is a short (3 minute) solo, and was written as part of the 250 year celebrations of Mozart's birth. Moz! is a fun work, treating the listener to a collage of some of Mozart's most famous tunes.

A humorous, light hearted piece of music, Moz! is ideal for any concert programme, or as an encore to Requiem Paraphrases. All sets of music come complete with score, parts, with the soloists part in both bass clef concert and Bb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with brass ensemble or piano
Red Flame
for solo euphonium or baritone with brass band
£30.00

Grade: band 3 / soloist 5

Red Flame was commissioned by Katrina Marzella, and premiered by Katrina with the Fariey Band.

A reflective opening makes way for a fast funk fuelled ending, which is sure to keep the audiences foot tapping! All sets of music come complete with score and parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with piano
Requiem Paraphrases - On a Theme by Mozart
for solo euphonium with brass band
£50.00

Grade: band 4 / soloist 6

Written as part of the 250 year celebrations of Mozart's birth (1756), this is a solo guaranteed to please an audience, and be an enjoyable challenge to perform. Originally commissioned by and dedicated to Steven Mead, he described the work as "...Requiem Paraphrases will probably turn out to be regarded as perhaps the most important work for euph and brass ensemble ever composed...simply magnificent and if Mozart were alive today he would have enjoyed the funky middle section, I'm sure."

This effective 10 minute work is now also available with a brass band accompaniment that is sure to take any audience by storm. All sets of music come complete with score, parts, with the soloists part in both bass clef concert and Bb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available with brass ensemble, wind band or piano
Scene from the Silver Plate
for solo trombone with brass band
£30.00

Grade: band 3.5 / soloist 4.5

Scene From the Silver Plate takes it's title from the Rio de la Plata, the literal translation being Silver River.

This piece, using some of the traditional music from the region (Variants on the tango etc.), is quasi-incidental music from a fictional film, involving some kind of chase from the silver mountains to the estuary. Our fictional hero also has a romantic interest - will he make it away with his silver, and his lady?

The trombone duets with various members of the band, including solo horn, euphonium and cornet.

All sets of music come complete with score, parts, with the soloists part in both bass clef concert and Bb treble clef parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!

Also available as a trombone duet with piano
These Mist Covered Mountains
for solo soprano cornet with brass band
£25.00

Grade: band 2 / soloist 4

These Mist Covered Mountains was commissioned by Keith Johnson (KMJ Recordings) for soprano cornetist, Mandy Crowther, to whom the piece is dedicated.

In an age where we seem to be inundated with endless news cycles of various wars that we as a nation are involved in, and also those that we are not, it seems that war is now a constant, and we are in a never ending state.

This short piece is intended to represent the cyclic nature of war, and the way that war never seems to have a true conclusion.

All sets of music come complete with score and parts.

Sound clip and sample page: Click here!
Triptych (on a theme by Handel)
for tenor horn and brass band
£30.00


Grade: band 3 / soloist: 5

Triptych (on a Theme by Handel) was commissioned by horn soloist Lesley Howie for a premiere performance at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. In three broad sections, the work is a modern take on the traditional “theme and variations” concept, used in many brass band solos.

The three sections of the piece are:

  • fanfare and theme – a fanfare sounded by the soloist at the opening is taken on by the band, leading to a setting of Handel’s Sarabande (from his 6th Suite for keyboard) and a recapitulation of the fanfare
  • slow song - a simple melody, becoming more elaborate throughout the section
  • finale – a quasi-tango featuring some fiendish technique from the soloist
Triptych (on a Theme by Handel) is dedicated to Lesley Howie.