The Yiddish word ‘Klezmer’ has been derived from the Old Hebrew words ‘Kley’ (tool instrument) and ‘Zemer’ (song singing making music).Klezmer is the traditional music of Jews from Eastern Europe.Yiddish musicians (Klezmorim) were regularly invited to come and play at Yiddish weddings as well as several other Jewish celebrations and festive occasions. Despite its close connection with traditional Eastern European folk music Klezmer music has succeeded in preserving its distinctive Jewish character. ‘Klezmer Discovery’ is a voyage of discovery through the richly varied music of the Jewish people from Eastern Europe.The introduction consists of a number of motives from differenttraditional melodies (a Mitzve Tenzel and L’cha Dodi) followed by a melody in 3/8th time (Kandel’s Hora). This dance melody originally came from Bessarabia (present-day Moldavia) and was taken along to America by Jewish musicians round 1900. Subsequently ‘Der Terk in Amerika’ a composition by famous clarinet player Naftule Brandwein can be heard. A number of fast cheerful dance melodies (bulgars) form the finale of ‘Klezmer Discovery’ (Lebedyk un Freylekh Lomir sich iberbetn and Sherele).

Music of the Spheres was commissioned by the Yorkshire Building Society Band and first performed by them at the European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow May 2004.The piece reflects the composers fascination with the origins of the universe and deep space in general. The title comes from a theory formulated by Pythagoras that the cosmos was ruled by the same laws he had discovered that govern the ratios of note frequencies of the musical scale. (‘Harmonia’ in Ancient Greek which means scale or tuning rather than harmony - Greek music was monophonic). He also believed that these ratios corresponded to the distances of the sixknown planets from the sun and thatthe planets each produced a musical note which combined to weave a continuous heavenly melody (which unfortunately we humans cannot hear). In this work these six notes form the basis of the sections Music of the Spheres and Harmonia.The pieces opens with a horn solo called t = 0 a name given by some scientists to the moment of the Big Bangwhen time and space were created and this is followed by a depiction of the Big Bangitself as the entire universe bursts out from a single point. A slower section follows called The Lonely Planet which is a meditation on the incredible and unlikely set of circumstances which led to the creation of the Earth as a planet that can support life and the constant search for other civilizations elsewhere in the universe. Asteroids and Shooting Stars depicts both the benign and dangerous objects that are flying through space and which constantly threaten our planet and the piece ends with The Unknown leaving in question whether our continually expanding exploration of the universe will eventually lead to enlightenment or destruction.

Concerto for Brass Band-Perihelion was commissioned by the Cory Band as their own-choice piece for the 2013 European Brass Band Championships held in Oslo Norway. Winning the set piece section of the contest and coming second to Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag with their own choice selection Cory went on to become European Champions for the fifth time.Cory MD Philip Harper had asked for a ‘Concerto for Band’ to fully exploit his outstanding band of virtuosi and composer Philip Sparke created a one-movement work with contiguous sections first featuring horns and flugel then trombones followed by cornets and a slower central section for percussion and baritones euphonium andbasses.The piece is abstract in nature without a specific programme and the title merely reflects the fact that the piece was begun on January 2nd 2013 the day of Earth’s perihelion - the point in its orbit when it is closest to the sun. It could also be argued that the piece weaves between moments of brilliant optimism and dark shadow both of which can be the result of bright sunshine.

En 1998 Bertrand Moren compose cette oeuvre festive pour le Concours de Composition de l?Association Européenne des Brass Bands. Le jury et le public lui décerneront le Premier Prix. La structure unique de cette oeuvre permet de décliner toutes les possibilités d?un Orchestre d?Harmonie au travers d?un ensemble de passages contrastants et contrastés. Riche en couleurs sonores European Overture (?Ouverture Européenne?) offre aux auditeurs un grand plaisir d?écoute.

L??uvre Or?genes (Origines) a ?t? command?e par l?European Brass Band Association pour servir de morceau impos? en cat?gorie Challenge ? l?occasion de la 38e ?dition du Championnat europ?en de Brass Band qui se tiendra ? Freibourg (Allemagne)en 2015. La pi?ce est bas?e sur un motif rythmique clave qui est originaire de la musique africaine. Cette cellule rythmique a grandement influenc? la musique latino-am?ricaine et est encore de nos jours un ?l?ment important dans la structurede la musique afro-cubaine. Source intarissable d?inspiration tous les motifs et les structures rythmiques de ce morceau en sont des d?riv?s. Or?genes se compose de six parties : une introduction quatre parties principales et une conclusionqui r?sume brillement les divers ?l?ments de la pi?ce.

Simon Dobson wrote his 'Four Sketches' at the request of Peter Bossano Head of Brass at the Royal College of Music in recognition of the 25th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s death. The first movement 'Fanfare' quotes directly from the opening violin melody from Britten’s song cycle Les Illuminations. This melodic line is superimposed upon sonorous Lydian mode chords to project a majestic sound. The second movement 'Prayer' is a definite contrast being and much more reflective and pensive in it’s mood and featuring a dream like euphonium cadenza. The third movement 'Funeral March' builds from a soft chordal opening to a chaotic and confusedfortississimo climax with flourishes in the cornets and pounding tri-tones across the basses before plunging into silence for a flugel cadenza to finish. The final Finale movement is much more positive from the off with its jaunty melodies over a Brittenesque ostinato. The block chordal passages offer a crashing climax making for an exciting conclusion to an excellent new work for the medium. Simon Dobson’s 'Four Sketches' was the winning entry in the European Brass Band Composer Competition held in Brussels in March 2002.

Orígenes (Origins) was commissioned by the European Brass Band Association as a test piece for the challenge section of the 38th European Brass Band Championship in Freiburg Germany 2015. It is a spectacular piece from the pen of CarlosCárdenas who belongs to a new generation of composing talent. The clave a rhythmic pattern which originally comes from African music was the inspiration for this innovative piece all motifs and structures being derived from it. The six parts feature a wide spectrum of percussion instruments reveal animpressive range of new sound combinations and yet are very accessible for the audience.

A Tale as Yet Untold was commissioned by the Cory Band for the European Brass Band Championships in Linz Austria 2010 and their winning performance gave them a hattrick of victories at the competition. The theme of this impressive work which is set in three movements is one that recurs again and again throughout the music of Philip Sparke the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity and how the beauty of music can help in this respect.

The attacks in Brussels on 22 March 2016 created a shockwave throughout Belgium and the rest of the world. Equally the attacks in Paris and Nice led to great public indignation fear and disbelief.What has happened to the western world? Have our cultures grown apart to such an extent that we do not understand each other anymore? Bert Appermont’s intention was to voice certain emotions that these acts of terror have caused: particularly fear grief anger and helplessness. He uses the French children’s song Au Claire de la Lune as a connecting thread throughout the work.This piece is also about hope and faith in another world andis meant to pay homage to all victims resulting in a dignified remembrance. The musical development is presented in four through-composed parts titled Innocence  In Cold Blood  In Memoriam – We Shall Rise Again and A New Day.This work was commissioned by the Brassband Oberösterreich (Brass Band Upper Austria) to be played at the European Brass Band Championships 2017.

Bertrand Moren composed Alpine March for the Hochwaliser Musikfest in Blatten Switzerland in 2004. The march opens in a festive 6/8 time with lots of dynamic contrast and characteristic 6/8 rhythms. The Trio-section however is written in 2/4 time and is very lyrical. With a da capo this march written by the winner of last year’s European Brass Band Composition Contest is brought to a thrilling close.