News » World champions perform at Lancaster
World champions perform at Lancaster
On Saturday 7th November, the reigning School Brass Band World Champions, Smithills School Senior Brass Band, performed a concert at Lancaster. This concert was to start the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of ULMS. The Band has won countless titles, including National Festival of Music for Youth Outstanding Performance Awards, the National Youth Brass Band Champions of Great Britain, the French Open, and Tameside Youth Brass Championships. They have also performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The band regularly embarks on foreign tours, including New Zealand, Japan, France and America. They have won Gold at the World Music Contest, held every four years in Kerkrade, Holland four times, most recently in 2009.
The Band was delighted to see many former players who are now studying at Lancaster in the audience. They were equally delighted with the recording done by ULMS technician Duncan Taylor and the video by LUTube which will soon be released as a DVD. In addition to the four cameras filming and recording the concert from multiple angles, the Great Hall at Lancaster University features two, huge video screens high up on either side of the stage, so the audience could watch a variety of player close-ups throughout the evening.
Once again, the Senior Brass Band and all its principal players in particular were in outstanding form throughout the entire concert featured soloists at Lancaster were Elizabeth Tonge (13, Principal Cornet, Have I Told You Lately?), Robin Upham (16, Principal Horn, Afton Water), Sam Hindley-Birchall (16, Principal Trombone, It’s Not Unusual), Akil Thompson (15, Principal Euphonium, Where Is Love?) and Matthew Hardman (16, Principal Bass, Nellie The Elephant), all of whom once again played to perfection and the programme featured a host of other new and exclusive arrangements including Africa (Toto), Rule The World (Take That) and I’m Still Standing (Elton John). The concert was once again a great success for the Smithills School Senior Brass Band.
