Review: RNCM Brass Band at the 2026 International Brass Band Festival

An Explorative Musical Journey: RNCM Brass Band at the 2026 International Brass Band Festival

Under the direction from MD, Katrina Marzella-Wheeler, the RNCM Brass Band offered a programme filled with classic pieces and imaginative, contemporary writing that presented interesting concepts and musical fusions.

A London Overture by Philip Sparke

The band kicked off their concert with a classic work from Philip Sparke - A London Overture, which was written in 1984 for the Dutch National Brass Band Championships.

Gorgeously rich tones - particularly from lower brass, who shone in the cinematic opening section - warmed the RNCM Concert Hall on what quite a chilly January morning in Manchester. We were then treated to a superb romantic solo line from the band's Principal Cornet followed by declarative cadenzas from solo trombone, horn, principal cornet and euphonium.

A roll of the snare, threw us into a lively dance section with fantastic pace across the band as they flew through flashy, rhythmic, technical runs. Principal cornet introduced a syncopated motif that is then handed over the band to run with, which they did with enthusiastic energy.

If there is anyone who can write an emotive slow melody section that tugs at your heart strings, it's Sparke, and this work is no exception. Backrow led us into this wondrous melodic moment with beautiful sounds before a stunning lyrical cornet solo followed with sympathetic support from the solo euphonium.

Percussion drives us on with another energetic section. It’s no surprise many of the band’s musicians hold seats in the best bands in the country, both the technical dexterity and musical heart shown in this opening work was excellent.

The Riot at the Rite by Simon Dobson

This next work featured in The Cooperation Band's winning programme in the 2026 Brass in Concert Championships, and it's a smashing work (both metaphorically and literally, given the subject matter!). The piece tells the story of the riot that kicked off at the premiere performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

As we expect from Dobson, this music is both creative and incredibly clever; taking key elements inspired by Stravinsky and his work and weaving it into an inventive piece.

The piece starts with an eerie opening with a rush of tam tam and solo baritone opening with that haunting main motif, taken from the opening of the Rite of Spring. A tense atmosphere builds under the solo voice, creating the image of the unrest unfolding in the auditorium, as the premiere takes place. The outrage turns to chaos, with menacing lower brass and panic overflowing in the cornet section.

Solo baritone then breaks up the cacophony with the return of that main motif, whilst punctuated stabs of sound from the cornets attempt to disrupt once more. The texture becomes dense with layers of semiquavers, as we head into the conclusion of the work.

Dark or Bright - Louis Kroni arr. Bertrand Moren

Louis Kronis was both the featured soloist of this concert and the composer of his chosen work, Dark or Bright, which is piece in three parts, and is a musical exploration of different moods, the duality of the world with striking melodic quotations from the tone poem, Finlandia, by Sibelius.

Under the musical direction of guest conductor, Chris Binns, the piece began with a haunting opening of sustained lower brass before the soloist entered in a muted, seamless, gliding melody line. As the title suggests, the opening mood is dark. A wild technical section followed, allowing the soloist to showcase the impressive, agile side of his musical skillset.

We shifted into a lighter, melodic moment featuring a tender, sweet solo line that grows into an impassioned ballad, sympathetically accompanied by the band. We were then plunged, once again into that darker atmosphere once more as the tonality shifts to minor and the soloist raced to the end in a whirlwind of technical ferocity.

Very creative, dramatic writing, superbly played by the soloist.

We Seven by Derek Jenkins

Also conducted by Chris Binns, was an adventurous work from American composer, Derek Jenkins, entitled We Seven. The work takes its inspiration and title from a book of the same name written by the United State's first astronauts. Originally written for wind ensemble to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of Project Mercury (the first United States human spaceflight programme), the piece utilises two main sources of material:

• The use of musical cryptograms which encodes the astronauts' names and initials

• The aria 'Un bel dì vedremo' from Puccini's opera 'Madame Butterfly' which the astronauts would listen to and unwind after a long day of training.

A peal of tubular bells opens the show, before muted ensemble create a desolate, cold musical landscape, with unmuted cornets and trombone offering short melodic interludes. A sudden rush of a crescendo and our space adventure begins.

This was my first experience of Derek Jenkins' work and I absolutely fell in love with his style of writing. There was both beauty and apprehension within the composition, perfectly representing the adventurous, but dangerous experience of the Mercury Seven. The really inventive uses of layered percussion to create a musical illustration of a star-studded, mysterious, expansive galactic frontier that was yet to be explored, was simply magical.

Tabi: The Journey by Théo Koita (World Premiere)

This work is described as a sonic journey through the instruments of the brass band. The 'Nerves of Steel' award went to the band's Repiano Cornet, who started this work alone on a single semibreve that formed the beginning of a gradual ripple of sound around the stand.

One of the best things about the RNCM International Brass Band Festival is the programming of creative and inventive works that go beyond the traditional or expected elements of brass band writing. The work was a dynamic, and atmospheric composition featuring rising solos and experimental writing that explored the different sounds, effects and timbres the brass band is capable of producing.

Gold Saturday by Errollyn Wallen

Errollyn Wallen is a critically-acclaimed composer who currently works as the Master of the King's Music. This work originally premiered in 2004 and was written as a collaboration for brass band and Bollywood ensemble.

A smaller ensemble offering the Bollywood element of this work, walked onto stage and took up their positions behind the band, with bhangra drums and a Bollywood-dance style melody performed on a solo Soprano Saxophone, before two trumpets join with the same melody.

We had a moment of call and response between the traditional rolls of snare featured in typical brass band marches and Bollywood rhythms on the bhangra drums, showcasing the two musical genres that had been brought together within this musical fusion.

Flugel then led the way with a lovely melodic solo that introduced a more typically western style of brass band writing, before the Bollywood elements started to blend in between the lines of this texture and both ensembles joined together in a triumphant and expertly-crafted musical union.

This was an exceptional work, that creatively showcased the snippets of compositional elements from each genre before weaving them together into a colourful, lively tapestry. Just brilliant!

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