Philip Sparke wrote 'Music of the Spheres' for the then Yorkshire Building Society Band at the 2004 European Championships in Glasgow. Their performance topped the own-choice section as they claimed the title for an unprecedented eighth time in nine years under MD David King.
150 plus
Although the work has only been chosen as a set-work at one other major event since then (2018 French National Championships) it has been performed 150 more times as an own-choice selection — starting with Brass Band Willebroek at the Belgian Nationals in 2004 to most recently by Parc & Dare at the SEWBBA Contest in Wales in May.
And of the 19 other own-choice table toppers at the European since that date (2005 — 2025) that are all available for to be performed as own-choice selections at contests, only 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' by Peter Graham played by Black Dyke in 2005 comes close with 112 performances since its premiere.
Karma
At the other end of the table 'Karma' which topped things in 2024 with Treize Etoiles has only been played twice so far — and both by the Swiss band. Surprisingly Philip Sparke's 'Raveling, unraveling' has only been played six times since 2016.
Tickets for the 2026 British Open:
https://bmusic.co.uk/events/the-172nd-british-open-brass-band-championship
Top 6:
1. Music of the Spheres (Philip Sparke): 151 own choice performances since 2004
2. Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Peter Graham): 112 since 2005
3. Fraternity (Thierry Deleruyelle): 78 since 2016
4. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (Peter Graham): 64 since 2009
5. A Tale As Yet Untold (Philip Sparke): 61 since 2010
6. From Ancient Times (Jan van der Roost): 45 since 2009
Bottom 6:
13= The Promised Land (Kenneth Downie): 12 since 2006
13= Explorers on the Moon (Paul Rapheal): 12 since 2019
15= Concerto No. 10 (Ludovic Neurohr): 11 since 2014
15= Turing Test (Simon Dobson): 11 since 2016
17. Antiphones (Oliver Waespi): 8 since 2023
18. Raveling, unraveling (Philip Sparke): 4 since 2016
19. Karma (Ludovic Neurohr) 2 since 2023
