Arrangement: Parson Ted. Par PARSON TED. / Niveau : Difficile / Répertoire / Brass Band

To some the tragic story of the Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne would need no introduction and to some the pain felt is still very much a reality. The composer born just a few weeks before that fateful night on the 19th December 1981 has created this work as a musical homage to the bravery of the souls who lost their lives and has dedicated it to their memory. Penlee was commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band using funds bequeathed by Michael Pickett. The first performance was given by the Cornish Youth Brass Band conducted by Ian Porthouse at St. Michael’s Church Newquay on 30th December 2008. Penleehas been voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2011 at No.106. Not only is it the first time a brass work has been featured in the Hall of Fame but it was also the highest new entry. The work has subsequently been recorded by the Leyland Band conducted by Jason Katsikaris on the CD entitled Penlee .Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rd Section Duration: 13 minutes

Shackleton s Cross was inspired by a painting created in 1957 by the English artist Edward Seago (1910 1974). The title refers to a cross which was erected to the memory of Sir Ernest Shackleton who led a number of explorations to the Antarctic. Shackleton died in 1922 whilst on a Polar expedition and the cross can be found on a promontory at the entrance to the bay at Grytviken Whaling Station in South Georgia. The painting is owned by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and was part of an exhibition at Buckingham Palace from October 2011 to April 2012. Originally scored for oboe trumpet and small orchestra Daniel Hall s sensitive arrangement fortrumpet or cornet and brass band follows the composer s alternative version for solo trumpet and organ created for Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet) and David Goode (organ).

Smoke Sketches is Daniel Hall’s first original work to be published in the Faber Music Brass Band Series. Daniel is one of the most gifted of the rising generation of composers writing for brass bands. Smoke Sketches was composed at the invitation of Brass Bands England for the Intermediate Section of the 2017 National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. This colourful jazzy suite draws inspiration from the ancient art of gazing into smoke from fire to find stories through the act of divination. Into the Blaze suggests someone briskly fire-walking barefoot with unexpected sparks fizzling from the ground. A Lonesome Ember capturesthe fleeting life of a small ember beginning insignificantly and gradually evolving into a larger being before disappearing into ash while Spark of Light bristles with life and energy. Band Grade 3/4 duration 8 minutes.

The Tuba Concerto was composed in 1953/4 after the London Symphony Orchestra invited Vaughan Williams to write a work for inclusion in the Orchestra’s fiftieth anniversary concert. The first performance was given by Philip Catelinet in the Royal Festival Hall London on 13th June 1954 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. The brass band arrangement is by Phillip Littlemore and is a welcome addition to the brass band repertoire.

Gavin Higgins wrote Ivory Ghosts in 2006 for brass ensemble as one of a collection of short pieces composed in support of the charity Brass Band Aid. It is a haunting miniature created in response to the horrors of the illegal trade in African elephant ivory. This definitive version for brass band and percussion was prepared for the Tredegar Town Band.

Malcolm Arnold's ballet Sweeney Todd was first staged in 1959 by The Royal Ballet Company with choreography by John Cranko. The music was later adapted as a concert work and it is from this version that this brass band arrangement is made. The original concert suite lasts some 20 minutes but this version has been shortened to a more manageable eight minutes. The first performance of this arrangement was given on the 22nd October 2006 at the Malcolm Arnold Festival Derngate Northampton by the Rushden Windmill Band conducted by Richard Graves. Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rd Section. Duration 8 minutes.

Fanfares and Love Songs was commissioned by the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain for performance on 25th July 2009. Its three movements contrast the extrovert and lyrical qualities of the traditional brass band. The fanfare with which the work opens involves the whole cornet section. The second movement is reflective in mood beginning somewhat pensively on muted brass and building to an emotional climax before subsiding back to a distant pianissimo chord. The finale is a fast dance which with a final recapitulation of the opening fanfare drives on to a breathless close. Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rd SectionDuration: 12 minutes

It is often thought that this melody came from the Victorian era when Irish songs were very popular however this Air was first published in 1813 and has been adapted and arranged by many composers and arrangers over the years. This arrangement as a Flugel Horn solo by Gary Westwood is a new treatment and shows off this tender and wistful love song.

Shelter Island is a small island situated near the end of Long Island a few hours drive east of New York. In the summer it becomes a crowded tourist trap but in the winter it is gloriously deserted and bravely faces the onslaught of the turbulent Atlantic shrouded in sea mists and driving rain. This brass band transcription by Phillip Littlemore is of the first movement of East Coast Pictures originally written for wind band and was commissioned in 1985 by the British Youth Wind Orchestra with funds from National Westminster Bank plc. These three short ‘pictures’ were inspired by several visits by the composer to a small part of the USA’sEast Coast an area that provides great extremes in the geography and the people.