The Castle, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5DG. Doors open 7.00pm. Bar.
A warm welcome back to A4 Brass who gave us such a memorable concert in 2022.
Tickets: tba
Jamie Smith Chris Robertson Mike Cavanagh Jonathan Bates
Programme
Richard Strauss (arr. Bates): Overture - Die Fledermaus
Béla Bartók (arr. Robertson): Six Romanian Folk Dances
John Rutter (arr. Bates): A Gaelic Blessing
Matthew Sergeant: Luder’s Dreams of a Castle
Edward Elgar (arr. Bates): Salut d’Amour
Gavin Higgins: Two Courtley Dances and a Rave
Callum Au: Crown and Spectre
Oliver Waespi: South Uist Variations
Joseph Kosma (arr. Bates): Autumn Leaves
Percy Grainger (arr. Robertson): Shepherd’s Hey
Kentaro Sato (arr. Bates): Mae-e
Bramwell Tovey: Street Songs
A4 Brass Quartet is comprised of principal players from some of the UK’s top brass bands, including Black Dyke, Brighouse and Rastrick and Foden’s. Formed in 2013 at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), A4 Brass Quartet has gone on to become a multi-award-winning chamber ensemble and to establish itself at the forefront of British brass chamber music.
The Quartet has a unique blend of instruments, with a cornet, tenor horn, baritone and euphonium creating an exclusive sound that stands out from the standard brass quartet. With this unusual instrumentation, members of A4 Brass have actively developed their repertoire, commissioning new music, composing and arranging music themselves.
The Quartet has performed widely throughout the UK appearing at major venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, Purcell Room, St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey (for Park Lane Group), Battersea Arts Centre (RPS Awards 2019), St Martin-in-the-Fields and St James’ Piccadilly (for ROSL), Lake District Summer Music, Northern Aldborough, Wimbledon International and King’s Lynn Festivals. Overseas engagements include a residency at the Lieksa Brass Week (Finland), Ceresio Estate Festival (Switzerland), Sibelius Academy (Finland) and two appearances at the Trakai Fanfare Week (Lithuania).
In June 2018 the Quartet completed the prestigious International Artist Diploma (IAD) in Chamber Music at the RNCM as John Fewkes scholars and in September of that year they were selected to become City Music Foundation Artists. The following month they were the first brass ensemble to win the Royal Philharmonic Society Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award. They regularly work with Live Music Now and Music in Hospitals and Care and are committed to expanding and diversifying their work. Furthermore, in December 2020 A4 Brass Quartet became the first ensemble to be awarded Associate Membership of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM) in recognition of the Quartet’s success in the music profession.