Belgian cornet star Harmen Vanhoorne has just given the USA premiere of Nigel Clarke's fearsome cornet concerto, 'Mysteries of the Horizon' with the University of St Thomas Wind Ensemble under the baton of Matthew J George.

The concert took place in St. Paul, Minnesota, with the work now set for a further CD recording.

Masterclasses

It was the first time Harmen has appeared as soloist in the USA, with the Besson artist joined by the composer in providing a week-long series of masterclasses and composition seminars at the prestigious University of St Thomas.

Thrilling

Nigel, who has just taken up his as Composer in Association with Grimethorpe Colliery Band told 4BR: "It was a thrilling experience for us both. Harmen was on sublime form for the premiere and was also a wonderful lead in giving tuition and masterclasses at the University.

It was also a wonderful experience for me — listening to a world class performer with a quite outstanding wind ensemble give a performance that sent shivers down the spine."

New orchestration

To date, Nigel has written three works for conductor and friend Matthew George ('Mata Hari', 'Gagarin' and 'Tilbury Point') and was delighted to be able to produce a new orchestration of `Mysteries of the Horizon' for wind orchestra.