The Euphony Quartet from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff has won the 'Small Ensemble Prize' at the prestigious International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Linz.

Compositions

The quartet is made up euphonium students Ben Wright, James McLeod, Frances Wilson and Stephen Kane, and performed several works composed by college students including Chris Bond and James Flight, as well compositions and arrangements by members of the quartet themselves.

The group battled through two rounds against 11 ensembles from all over the world before claiming the 500 Euro first prize, plus 250 euros worth of Denis Wick vouchers.

Great playing

Composer Hermann Pallhuber, who was one of the judges, wrote in his remarks: "Great playing, Great ensemble, Very entertaining. BRAVO!"

We are looking to carry on from on this success by developing our repertoire and profile as an ensembleEuphony Quartet

Fantastic experience

Meanwhile, Euphony Quartet member Ben Wright told 4BR: "We’re delighted to have won such a prestigious award and received the opportunity to play in the Gala concert at the BrucknerHaus which was a fantastic experience."

He added: "We’d like to thank all the composers whose works we’ve played, particularly Chris Bond as we played two of his pieces and gave a world premiere to his ‘Islands in the Sky’ in the final. We’d like to also thank our teacher David Childs, the RWCMD, and the Musicians Benevolent Fund for their support towards this event."

Ben concluded: "We are looking to carry on from on this success by developing our repertoire and profile as an ensemble."

Childs award

There was further good news for the college as tutor David Childs was presented with the 'Roger Bobo Excellence in Recording' Award.