Thursday 4th July – 19.30
Brown Shipley Concert Hall
Concert 4
“4th July Celebration Concert”
RNCM Wind Orchestra – conductor - Clark Rundell
Boston Brass
Richard Carson Steuart, Rich Illman - Trumpet
Russell Gray, Patricia Backhaus - Cornet

Neville Young. Reporter
If any innocent non-US citizen wandered into this concert unaware of the significance of the date, they received a couple of hours of intensive education and went home with their ears ringing with good things.

What an evening. I enjoyed it in so many ways and at so many different levels that it almost defies description: we had some great playing, a wonderful celebratory atmosphere, a chance to hear again some artists who had made a big impact earlier in the week, some old music, and some new. What more could you want?

RNCM Wind Orchestra

The concert was topped and tailed with Sousa, as is right and proper. Appropriately enough for such an international gathering we started with Hands Across the Sea which received a bouncy, confident performance from the RNCM Wind Orchestra under their ebullient conductor Clark Rundell. Next we had the UK (possibly European), premiere of Greg Pascuzzi's American Celebration Overture, a wonderful work based on Shenandoah but with sections ranging in style from Wagnerian splendour (a good moment for the Wind Orchestra's powerful horn section)

Richard Carson Steuart

through to layered, delicate woodwind writing. We had moments of Barn Dance - a rather jolly one it seemed - and bits of bugle calls in a military cameo, before turning round through a hymnlike section to a rousing flourish at the end. A piece I'd very much like to hear again.

Next we were treated to a stunning performance of a Mendez tune, Jota, with Richard Carson Steuart as the soloist. He positively floated through its busy beginning before opening out into the more lyrical middle section and taking us on to a terrific cadenza, accompanied with style and precision by the Wind Orchestra. Some real fireworks were heard in the triple-tonguing section before the big finish. Next we heard Tongue Twister by Willi Liebe, with Russell Gray as the most impressive soloist. But Gray's tongue doesn't twist - it just keeps going and going. What a player.

I'm not proposing to report the Boston Brass all over again except to say: wow. Another fabulous set. The other day they announced that they'd never been to the UK before, which is frankly ridiculous. We want them back here, and we want them back here soon please. And the only other thing I want to say about this is that watching some of the RNCM horns watching J.D.Shaw was a performance in itself. They know what I mean!

Boston Brass

The first half concluded with Peter Lawrence's Dialogue, also a UK premiere. This is an unusual and interesting piece based on the Tongue Twister tune we heard earlier, though it takes a while to make its presence clearly felt. The piece is an extended duet - as you might think from the title - for two players, both moving between cornet and trumpet. It boasts a wide variety of rhythmic styles and some fantastic variation in tone colour. Dialogue has a really nice, complex and plangent cadenza leading to a huge symphonic ending.

Patricia Backhaus

After the overture from Gazebo Dances (see below) we heard another performance from cornet soloist and American cornet repertoire researcher Patricia Backhaus. This artist's Tuesday lecture recital is reviewed elsewhere but I should just add that it's nice to hear this kind of music with a big backing and on a stage. I particularly liked the interplay in Buglione's Evening Star between the soloist and individual instruments in the band, especially the euphonium.

John Corigliano was here in 2000 as guest composer for the RNCM's American Reflections festival. Tonight we heard four movements from his Gazebo Dances which started life as a piano duet but now has cleverly layered orchestration for this ensemble, giving us much tonal contrast and interest. This was an intriguingly complex group of pieces which not only sounded great but seemed to be a lot of fun to play.

Next, trumpet soloist Rich Illman joined the Wind Orchestra for Frank Simon's Willow Echoes, a charming and lyrical piece which nevertheless manages to pack in a good range of technical variety and a nice frothy ending. Bugler's Holiday then pretty thoroughly

Rich Illman

brought the house down, the Wind Orchestra providing solid support to three trumpet players from the Boston Brass. I could have sworn that J.D.Shaw was a horn player when I last saw him but I'm sticking to my story - there were three trumpet players and they did a very fine job on this popular Leroy Anderson tune.

The Ithaca Trumpet Crew are also reviewed elsewhere, and again did a great job. This time their America The Beautiful started as before but they then gave way to a lovely seamless join, handcrafted for us by Jim Olcott, so that the seven Ithaca players were smoothly met then replaced by the sixteen players of the ITG Board of Directors, supported by the Wind Orchestra timpanist. What a great moment this was. And if you don't know these people, and were vaguely wondering if maybe a Board of Directors might be, you know, a bunch of old guys who don't really play much - well, another misconception bites the dust. They can play. Oh yes.

Ithaca Trumpet Crew

Finally, as you might hope, The Stars and Stripes Forever. This was a wonderful climax to the evening and when all the evenings participants - soloists, the directors, everyone - spread out round the hall, it was just one of those moments you know you're going to remember. A special mention must go to the RNCM piccolo player - not only did she re-educate those of us who just sort of assumed that "piccolo" in the context of this solo meant one with four valves, but she did it so well that you could almost believe Sousa intended it! It was pleasing that she got a special cheer.

And that wraps it up more or less. I wish I could capture more of this great event for you. We had such a good time. The audience was warm, cheerful and deeply involved, the performers were great, the whole atmosphere was just terrific. I know from speaking after the concert to some nice Americans (for there is no other sort here at ITG2002) that people had enjoyed the concert, and appreciated the effort that had gone into making this a special 4th of July for people a long way from home. OK, so Manchester's not Boston and I didn't see any tea, but believe me, we had one fine party!

ITG Board of Directors

Trumpet Prelude
Royal College of Music Trumpet Ensemble – director : Melanie McClaughlin
Stanhope – Australian Fanfare
Traditional arr. Harvey – Down by the Riversdide

Royal College of Music Trumpet Ensemble

J.P. Sousa – March - Hands Across the Sea
Greg Pascuzzi – American Celebration Overture
Rafael Mendez – Jota – soloist : Richard Carson Steuart
Peter Lawrence – Dialogue – soloists : Richard Carson Steuart and Russell Gray
Willi Liebe – Tongue Twister – soloist : Russell Gray
Boston Brass
Sammy Nestico arr. J.D. Shaw Ya Gotta Try
Sid Wyche arr. J.D. Shaw Alright, OK, You Win
Duke Ellington arr. J.D. Shaw Caravan
Interval
John Corigliano – Overture from ‘Gazebo Dances’
Louis F. Boos - The Charmer – soloist : Patricia Backhaus
A. Buglione - Evening Star – soloist : Patricia Backhaus T.H. Rollinson - Columbia Fantasia (1893) – soloist : Patricia Backhaus
John Corigliano – Waltz, Adagio and Tarantella from ‘Gazebo Dances’
Frank Simon – Willow Echoes – soloist Rich Illman
Leroy Anderson – Buglers Holiday (
Augustus Ward / Carmon Dragon / James Olcott – America the Beautiful
J.P. Sousa – The Stars and Stripes Forever