10 Major Works for Brass Band Composed By Women

Liv Appleton
Sep 25
12 min read

Updated: Sep 26

An Exploration of Major Works Written for Brass Band By Women

Brass banding has a rich history spanning almost 200 years and has offered the arena for many composers to showcase their works. However, despite our long history and the many major works that have been created for brass bands, the spotlight has rarely fallen on those written by women, particularly when it comes to major works commissioned or picked for contests.

In this article, I want to shine a light on some of these works, celebrate the women who wrote them, and hopefully introduce you to a few new favourites along the way.

This is a long one - and it could have been so much longer; there were so many pieces I had the joy of discovering or delving deeper into during my research and it was a joy to discover new musical idols included in this list. So, I would recommend sitting somewhere comfy and grabbing a large brew and more than one biscuit before diving in.

All references from my research are included at the end for further reading!

1) The Unfortunate Traveller (1929) by Imogen Holst

Imogen Holst is an icon and I have to mention her first, as one of the many blessings that came from researching this article was learning about her and her incredible contributions to music. Not only was she an outstanding musician, composer, teacher and writer, she was a huge advocate and hero for championing musical activities for local people and set up her own music school during a time when the country was torn apart by war.

Inspired by the success of A Moorside Suite written by her father, Gustav Holst, for the 1928 National Brass Band Championships, Imogen Holst wrote The Unfortunate Traveller in 1929 and submitted it as part of her 1930 portfolio whilst studying at the Royal College of Music. This work is the first major work for a brass band written by a woman. In addition, in 1933, her father was conducting a concert in Carlisle with the St Stephen Band and he chose to not only include his daughter’s work, but invited her up to conduct the band. By her own account, she became the first woman to conduct a brass band at a public concert.

The title and suite is based on the romantic novel of the same name by Thomas Nashe and is made up of four movements: an introduction, scherzo, interlude and march. It is an absolute delight with its jaunty melody lines, exciting and driven scherzo and gorgeous lyrical moments, it really does paint a picture of the adventurous protagonist, Jack Wilton from the novel and his various escapades.

Following its debut at the 1933 concert, it sadly wasn’t performed in the years that followed until it was revived through an adaptation by Paul Hindmarsh that was performed by Zone One Brass in 2011. The piece has since been a set work for contests in Australia and the USA and has been chosen by two bands competing at Unibrass in the last two years - The University of Bristol in 2025 and Oxford University Brass Band in 2024.

It would be great to see this work be chosen for a UK contest as a set work - it really is a gorgeous piece.

2) Carnival (1957) by Helen Perkin

Helen Perkin is and should be revered as a pioneer, as although she wasn’t the first woman to write a major work for brass band, she certainly was the first to write a piece for a major UK contest - and, so far has been the only woman to have a piece commissioned for the British Open.

Perkin was a talented pianist and composer, who was commissioned to write the set work for the 1957 British Open Brass Band Championships. However, her connection with the contest and how she came to be the composer tasked with writing the set work has been seen as something of a mystery. However, from the 1930s, Perkin had gained a plethora of awards, prestigious performance opportunities and was in demand as a composer, including commissions from the BBC in 1956, so, it’s a reasonable assumption (although it assumes the organisers of the time were rather progressive) that Perkins’ was asked as a result of her talent and acclaim being recognised. The real mystery is why there hasn't been another commission from another woman composer since at the contest.

Carnival is a piece written in three movements:

Cavalcade: a rousing opening that moves through jolly and stately moods with just a touch of pomp, conjuring up images of horses trotting through the streets as the carnival heads into town.
Pavane: a gorgeous yet melancholic pavane that features some beautiful melodic writing
Burlesque: A lilting, fun-loving finale with lively rhythms and a big, definitive ending.

It is an absolute GEM of a work that is so illustrative of the subject matter, a great listen for the audience and isn’t as simple to play as it appears. It’s absolutely marvellous.

3) Prague (1991) by Judith Bingham

Judith Bingham OBE is one of the UK’s leading and most respected composers. Alongside her esteemed portfolio of music for choir, orchestras and church music, in the 1980s Bingham started writing music for brass bands. It was the work selected for 2003 Regional Championships that is still tinged (unfairly, in my opinion) with controversy to this day and I think a reassessment of this darkly descriptive work is long overdue.

Prague was inspired by Bingham’s trip to the eponymous city and influenced by folktales of the Golem and a cursed crown that was said to depose anyone who wasn’t entitled to wear it - a fate that came true for a high-ranking SS officer during World War Two. The piece works around the number seven, as there were seven locks on the vault to the crown.

Once you understand the story behind the work, you are able to look beyond the (in my opinion, ignorantly condemned) harsh dissonance and complex musical elements to see a city torn, plagued with political disruption and steeped in history and folklore. To me, it’s like a work of classic gothic literature - such,as Dracula or Frankenstein: dark, complex and filled with hidden meanings.

4) Drumming the Plain, The Horseman is Coming (1992) by Dr Kelly-Marie Murphy

Dr Kelly-Marie Murphy is a Canadian composer whose works have been performed around the world by a range of soloists and ensembles. Following her studies at the University of Calgary with William Jordan and Allan Bell, she later received a PhD in composition from the University of Leeds, studying with Philip Wilby.

Whilst completing her studies at the University of Leeds, she was encouraged by Wilby to learn more about the culture of Northern England and the tradition of brass banding in the UK. So, during her time studying, Murphy wrote Drumming the Plain, The Horseman is Coming; an 11 minute work that was completed in 1992.

The title comes from a poem by Federico Garcia Lorca, called Romance De La Luna, Luna Luna and is reminiscent of the composer’s home in Calgary. It is quite a cinematic work with plenty to entertain a listener whilst offering technical and melodic tests for the band. Although it has not yet been used as a test piece - I think it would work quite well.

5) Chrome (1997) by Errollyn Wallen

Errollyn Wallen CBE is a multi award-winning Belize-born British composer who has been named as one of the world’s top twenty most performed living classical composers. Alongside holding the position of Master of the King’s Music since August 2024, Wallen has composed for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in 2012, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees and a reimagining of Jerusalem for the Last Night of the Proms in 2020. Her works span over twenty operas and an expansive catalogue of orchestral, chamber and vocal works. Recordings of her works have even travelled 7.84m km in space - completing 186 orbits around the Earth on NASA’s STS-115 mission!

In 1997, Wallen was commissioned to write a work for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain which she entitled, Chrome. The work received its world premiere at a NYBBGB Summer concert in August 1997 under the baton of MD Roy Newsome and guest conductor, Elgar Howarth.

The 16 minute work is written in one continuous movement, and is quite dark in nature. Chrome is definitely a work that sits outside of the typical compositional elements of brass band writing and I love it for it. It blends together different tonal colours and utilises dissonance and dynamics to create different moods - it’s like looking at an abstract painting and letting your brain connect the dots or create its own story.

It reminds me of the type of tension-building soundtracks in old Hollywood thrillers or action movies. Speaking on the work in the concert’s programme notes, Wallen said:

“Before I wrote this piece, I had in my mind the picture of a huge American car, lumbering slowly and seductively across a camera shot. Although once into writing the piece I become more preoccupied with the notes themselves rather than any other pictorial idea, there is a transatlantic flavour to the work - so I decided to keep the title.”

6) The Cosomographic Mystery (2023) by Ingebjørg Vilhelmsen

Ingebjørg Vilhelmsen is a Norwegian composer and cornet player who specialises in test pieces and other major works for brass band, concert band and orchestra. Vilhelmsen currently has seven test pieces to her name, although none of them have been selected for UK brass band contests at the time of writing.

The Cosmographic Mystery was written in 2023 and has been used as a set work in:

2024 West Australian State Band Festival - A Grade
Victorian State Championships - A Grade
Tasmanian Band Championships - A Grade
French National Brass Band Championship - First Division

The piece’s title is taken from a book by the German astronomer, Joseph Kepler and outlines the great mysteries and secrets of the universe. The Cosmographic Mystery plays tribute to Gustav Holst and his suite The Planets, with each movement from the suite being quoted throughout the course of the piece.

This was a work that I was introduced to during Athena Brass Band’s performance at the RNCM International Brass Band Festival and I was blown away. It features a driving adventurous energy and gorgeous solo moments.

This NEEDS to come to the UK contest circuit!

7) Ghosts of Industry (2024) by Lucy Pankhurst

Lucy Pankhurst is a composer, educator and multi-instrumentalist from the North West of England. Her work has received many accolades over the years, most notably in 2011 when she became the first female artist to be presented with a British Composer Award in the Brass/Wind Ensemble category.

Commissioned by the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) for the first section at the 2025 North American Championships, Ghosts of Industry, musically illustrates the local industrial history and landmarks of Pankhurst’s hometown and the sadness when she returned to her hometown to find that many of these local landmarks have been demolished. In her programme notes the composer writes:

“Growing up in an industrial town, there was so much working history hidden in plain sight that it became part of the landscape. Buildings and structures that we pass every day become almost invisible. That is, until they actually do disappear – THEN, their absence becomes deafening.”

It’s an incredibly evocative work that utilises inventive sound effects, intricately structured textures, dark moods and emotive melody lines to both illustrate the subject matter and tell the story of architecture lost to the ever-turning wheel of progress. It also manages to achieve the balance between offering a challenge for the bands whilst being an incredible piece to listen to.

I was privileged to have watched the world premiere of Ghosts of Industry by the mighty Athena Brass Band (America’s first all-female brass band) at the RNCM International Brass Band Festival back in January - it is absolutely brilliant.

Since its premiere and performances at the First Section North American Championships, Ghosts of Industry has now been chosen for the First Division of the World Music Contest in 2026. I sincerely hope it isn’t long until we see it chosen as a set work for a UK contest.

8) Rhythm of Light (2020) by Dr Liz Lane

Dr Liz Lane is an internationally renowned composer and lecturer, whose works have been performed by bands, choirs, ensembles and musicians all over the world.

Rhythm of Light is a suite of four movements celebrating the life and work of sculptor, Barbara Hepworth that was commissioned and recorded by the Hepworth band..

I: Landscape - reflects on the memories of Hepworth’s journeys throughout Yorkshire as a child

II: Shadow Cast by the Sun - a reflective movement representing the isolation of the sculptor working alone, before sharing her work with others

III: Pavan and Galliard - inspired by the iconic shapes of Hepworth’s works

IV: Rhythm and Dance and Everything - a celebration of Hepworth’s life and work including a cleverly composed rhythmic representation of her speech taken from a film, that can be heard in the timpani towards the end.

The titles of each movement are based on some of Hepworth's quotations which discuss her influences and artistic approaches, which inspired the compositional material within this work.

9) Invisible Fire by Dr Dorothy Gates

Dr Dorothy Gates is an Irish trombonist and composer who has written a range of music for brass band, soloists and brass ensembles. She is the Senior Music Producer for The Salvation Army's Eastern Territory in New York and has been the Composer in Residence for the New York Staff Band since 2002; the first woman Composer/Editor to be employed by The Salvation Army in this role.

Invisible Fire is a major work based loosely on the tune 'Blaenwern'. It was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in 2023 for their Easter Concert. Pieces of the main melody are used and developed throughout the work until the melody is presented in all of its glory at the end of the final movement. The piece is in three movements:

I: Joy of Heaven - a magical, whimsical melodic movement featuring solos around the stand before we descend into a fiery rhythmic section

II: Perfect Love - Beautiful, emotive melodic movement with lyrical solos with an air of melancholy

III: New Creation - An energetic build up to the final recapitulation of Blaenwern.

I was first introduced to this piece during Brighouse and Rastrick Band's performance at the 2024 RNCM Brass Band Festival and it brought me to tears. It is an absolute stunner of a work that shows off every facet of the brass band sound.

It is set to be the set work for the Australian Championships in 2026.

10) I, Daedalus by Andrea Price

Andrea Price is a renowned percussionist, adjudicator, composer, educator and conductor and it was great to see her work featured in the test pieces for the 2025 Regionals.

I, Daedalus, is a piece based on the Greek myth of the eponymous character and the fate of his son Icarus. The story of Daedalus explores human creativity and its consequences. After designing the labyrinth in Crete for King Minos, master craftsman, Daedalus, and his son Icarus were imprisoned in a tower. Daedalus fashioned wings out of wax and feathers in order to enable them to escape. However, despite his father’s warning not to fly too close to the sun, Icarus - so excited by the experience of flying - did not heed his father’s instructions, which resulted in his wings melting and him plunging to his death.

The work is made up of five movements:

I: Inventor in the Tower
II: Father and Son
III: Flight and Fall
IV: Lament
V: Seeker of Knowledge

It’s an incredibly evocative, cinematic work and a fantastic example of modern writing for brass bands. The tension developed in ‘Flight and Fall’ depicting the escape attempt is palpable and when Icarus falls, his demise is musically illustrated so descriptively, you feel as if you’ve fallen with him. Similarly the musical description of loss and grief in the lament is visceral, yet the underpinning of hope that drives us towards the end is like something out of a Disney soundtrack. An incredible work!

A Plea for Progression

I want to make it clear that this is not an exhaustive list, which is to say that there are more incredible major works from the pens of women that need to be, not only recognised, but revered for the fantastic compositions they are and given the opportunity to be heard on national and international stages.

It is my hope that highlighting these works, also highlights the increasing lack of commissions and selections of test pieces from women composers. You cannot be what you cannot see - so, how can we encourage women and other under-represented individuals to contribute to our musical portfolio, if existing music is continuing to be overlooked at UK contests?

It is my hope that 2026 will be the last year where a line-up of test pieces by one demographic of composers is deemed acceptable. I long to write an article where someone from this list has been commissioned to write a piece for the National Finals or the British Open.

The pieces exist. The talent is there. I’m imploring the members of the panel for test pieces in this country to please incorporate more diversity with your selections and approach women composers for commissions.

A Call to Action

As a bander, I want to see and I want the next generation of banders to be able to see more music from women on the list for chosen works. So, if you have a work that you want to be considered, the Kapitol Promotions Music Panel are welcoming submissions for both regional and national competitions.

You can submit your work by contacting Kapitol Promotions’ Music Panel Administrator - tim@kapitolpromotions.co.uk.

Find out more about the panel and the test piece selection process here.

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