The National Concert Band Festival has launched its latest 'Big Band Young Composers' project that will create what they call "imaginative, original charts"for school big band ensembles.
It involves six composers from the Royal Academy of Music, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Northern College of Music, each working with an existing school big band.
World premieres
The composers will be working with the bands through Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025, with the aim that the world premieres of the works will be given at the NCBF National Festival at the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music) on the weekend of the 12th &13th May 2025.
It is envisaged that each new work aimed at Grade 3-3.5 (US level) will be around 5 minutes in duration and will be included on the NCBF Big Band Repertoire List for the following season.
Writers and schools
The young writers, Ollie Canham, Ted Ford, Ben Partridge, Kamea Nemeth, Donovan Haffner and Chris Diamond will work with jazz professionals Nikki Iles, Ed Puddick, Callum Au, Andy Scott and Iain Dixon
The participating schools are: Northampton School for Boys Big Band; Altrincham Grammar School for Boys Big Band; Wrekin College Jazz Band; Stafford Grammar School Big Band; The Barry Graham Big Band at Kingsdale Foundation School, Dulwich and Trinity School Big Band.
The composers will be working with the bands through Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025, with the aim that the world premieres of the works will be given at the NCBF National Festival at the RNCM in 20254BR
Largest
Established almost 40 years ago, NCBF (National Concert Band Festival) is now recognised as the largest, most active, enterprising festival for wind, brass and percussion instrumentalists who play in wind bands or big bands throughout the UK.
