Saturday November 18th 2023 saw the band head over the Severn Bridge to take part in a concert outside Wales for what is believed to be the first time!
Held at the Salvation Army Hall in Easton, Bristol, the ‘Best of Brass’ concert featured Filton Concert Brass and Pontardulais Town Band, along with guest Euphonium soloist Daniel Thomas, of the Cory Band.
Filton Concert Brass, with guest conductor Anri Adachi, opened the concert and chose to perform their recent Wychavon Festival of Brass set, before accompanying Daniel on ‘Rhapsody for Euphonium and Brass Band’.
The second part of the concert saw Pontardulais Town Band, conducted by Paul Jenkins, take to the stage to perform their own selection of pieces and to accompany Daniel on ‘In Gardens of Peace’ and ‘Fantasie Originale’.
The final part of the concert saw both bands combine to perform four pieces together, with Anri and Paul sharing conducting duties, appropriately closing with a rendition of ‘Fire in the Blood’ – a piece which was originally commissioned to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army.
All proceeds from the concert went towards the Salvation Army’s work in the Easton region of Bristol.
The full programme of music from the concert is below.
Filton Concert Brass (Anri Adachi)
| Clans Collide | Philip Harper |
| Cry Me a River Cornet Soloist: Neil Allen | Arthur Hamilton arr. TBC |
| Adagio | Samuel Barber arr. Keith Griffin |
| I Got Rhythm | George Gershwin arr. Alan Fernie |
| Thunder and Lightning | Johann Strauss arr. Frank Wright |
| Rhapsody for Euphonium and Brass Band Euphonium Soloist: Daniel Thomas | Johan Evenepoel |
Pontardulais Town Band (Paul Jenkins)
| Amazonia (from Windows of the World) | Peter Graham |
| Sosban Fach | Gareth Wood |
| In Gardens of Peace Euphonium Soloist: Daniel Thomas | Philip Harper |
| Fantasie Originale Euphonium Soloist: Daniel Thomas | Ermanno Picchi/Simone Mantia arr. Margaret Antrobus |
| Finale from Symphony No IV | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arr. William Gordon |
Massed Bands
| March – Praise | Wilfred Heaton |
| Banana Island | Etienne Crausaz |
| Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) | Edward Elgar arr. Eric Ball |
| Fire in the Blood | Paul Lovatt-Cooper |
| ENCORE – Climb Every Mountain | Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein arr. Philip Harper |
