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The Latest News from Music House Productions
Last updated 11th June 2008
Top Brass
All the work following the recording of the British Army Brass Band in April has now been completed and 'Top Brass' will be released at the 'Concerts in the Park' season which take place at The Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall in London later this month.
The recording which features a fine mix of traditional fare with great soloists and expertly played 'swing numbers' can be obtained through The British Army Brass Band website.
Between the 29th and 31st May we were recording the Yorkshire based Old Silkstone Band in the beautiful surroundings of All Saints' Church, Silkstone. The music on the CD recording ranges from the traditional march, four featured soloists and a great selection of established and more modern brass arrangements.
The release date has been set for early September and we are particularly grateful to our friends at Silkstone for their wonderful hospitality.
Details of the band can be found on their website www.oldsilkstone.co.uk
The weekend of the 16th -18th May was taken up with a second recording of euphonium player Steven Mead, on this occasion with the Whitburn Band in Scotland.
This follows the release of his double CD 'Audacious' on the Bocchino Label which was recorded in Manchester last month.
Full details of where the recordings may be obtained can be found at www.euphonium.net
From the 23rd until the 25th April we have been recording the British Army Brass Band at the beautiful church within the Army Training Regiment's base on the outskirts of Winchester.
The band was formed last year by Captain David Barringer who is based at the Headquarters of the Corps of Army Music at Kneller Hall. The players are all existing members of bands within the Corps, many of whom have a brass band background, who meet centrally to perform the more traditional brass band repertoire.
The band performed their first concert in Aldershot in November last year and have since been in regular demand. Following these recording sessions they were scheduled to record a programme for BBC Radio2's 'Listen to the Band' at Maida Vale in London.
The CD contains a varied programme of traditional brass music with some excellent 'swing' numbers and soloists directed by David Barringer and Chris King. It is due for release in late June to coincide with the annual 'Concerts in the Park' season which takes place at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall.
Details of the CD release and the summer concert season can be found at www.army.mod.uk/music .
Audacious
The weekend of the 18th to 20th April was spent recording the world renowned euphonium soloist Steven Mead at Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music.
He recorded an album of music with piano, which included a new concerto by Peter Graham, for his forthcoming release on his own "Bocchino Music" label. It is expected that this latest CD, provisionally entitled 'Audacity', will be released as early as the end of May.
Full biographical details of Steven Mead, his itinerary and his Bocchino Music can be found at www.euphonium.net
The Amadeus Orchestra is one of the world's foremost training orchestras for young professionals and music students and on the 30th of March they presented a concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester which was recorded and also filmed for a commercial DVD.
The music featured a world premiere recording of Alan Rawsthorne's Kubla Khan Kubla Khan, written in 1940 for soloist, chorus and orchestra and which sets the well known words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s exotic poem. Also in the programme was Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Resurrection" which breaks with conventional symphonic design by including choral movements. The orchestra was conducted by Philip Mackenzie with soloists Elizabeth Atherton and Jeanette Ager'
Full details of the concert can be found on the Orchestra web site http://www.amadeusorchestra.co.uk/
Patrons'Choice
The weekend of the 12th January was spent recording the Fodens Richardson Band in Sandbach School in Cheshire. Their latest CD, 'Patrons' Choice' is a selection of music chosen by the Patrons of the band.
It features five soloists and a broad collection of favourite concert repertoire. The recording is dedicated to the memory of David Brunsdon, a baritone player with the band who tragically died in a motor accident in 1991 some three days before the band's appearance at the British Open Championships.
The CD is to be launched at the Patrons' Concert being held on the 12th of February at Sandbach School. Details of the Patrons' Concert and the availability of the CD can be found on the Fodens Richardson Band website.
Riverhead
We have completed the recording of the Marsden Silver Prize Band (Ossett Brewery) and the title of the CD, 'Riverhead' features their new march of the same name. The Yorkshire based band have enjoyed great success lately with their promotion to the elite Championship Section within British brass banding and support from the locally based micro brewery.
The band has been invited to play at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on the 8th of September and this will be the launch date of their new CD.
Copies will be available from that date on the band's website Marsden Silver Prize Band
A la Carte
The Rochdale based Debrose Choir recorded an album of their favourite songs for their latest album 'A la Carte'. The recording celebrates the twenty fifth anniversary of the choir's formation which enjoys great success both locally and at festivals throughout the United Kingdom.
The CD is due to be launched at a celebratory concert to be held on the 13th of October at Dearnley Methodist Church in Rochdale.Copies of the recording will be available through the choir's own website Debrose Choir
Asway in a Manger
The latest release from Wingates Band, 'Asway in a Manger' is now available. It is a collection of traditional carol arrangements with two new items from John Parkinson including the title track. The band is joined on the recording by the Bolton Catholic Musical and Choral Society and is produced by Adrian Morris (Benny to his friends), the bass trombonist with the Halle Orchestra.
The CD can now be obtained through the band's website http://www.wingatesband.org
Brass Band Aid CD
Whilst considering all these Christmas presents, we are told that the Brass Band Aid CD 'Into Africa', (see item dated 23rd July) is now available through Brass Band Aid or through World of Brass .
What's Christmas without a Brass Band
Earlier this year we undertook a project with Wingates Brass Band editing a multitrack recording of the band playing a miscellany of Christmas Music with some traditional arrangements along with some newer adaptations.
In addition to the band's own Christmas CD, "Asway in a Manger", (which is spelled correctly), they have teamed up with the famous Lancashire folk group 'The Houghton Weavers' to produce a Christmas single entitled 'What's Christmas without a Brass Band'. The single is scheduled for release in the first week of December.
The band and folk group both originate in Westhoughton in Bolton and they regularly team up for some most entertaining joint concerts.Details of future events can be found on both the Wingates web site and that of the Houghton Weavers
R.N.L.I. Concert in the Isle of Man
A CD has been produced of the live recording of a concert in the Villa Marina in Douglas which featured the Wingates Brass Band and the Warrington Male Voice Choir.
The sell-out concert was held on the 30th of September with the object of raising funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
One of the highlights of the recording was a stirring new arrangement by John Parkinson of John Dyke's hymn 'Eternal Father Strong to Save. This hymn is reputed to be a favourite of the late U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, and was sung at his funeral.
A link to the Wingates Band website can be found at http://www.wingatesband.org
Review from 'Down Under'
We were very pleased to receive a review earlier this week from Australia. Geoffrey McGregor is the producer/presenter of "Brass Encounters" 2NUR-FM based at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
He was reviewing a recently issued, CD 'Frolic for trombones and tuba' which features the trombone section and principal tuba from the Halle Orchestra together with the famous Wingates Band. His article details that 'much thought has gone into producing a recording that is packaged well with the added professionalism of a fine Producer in Keith Farrington and Sound Engineer Richard Scott...'. Many thanks Mr McGregor for your kind words. A link to the radio programme's website can be found at http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/2nur/programs/brass.html26th August 2006
Recording of premiere work
The Bolton Festival Choir and Orchestra, conducted by John Powell, held a "Birthday Concert" at Bolton Parish Church on Saturday 26th August 2006. The highlight of the concert was a newly commissioned work by Martin Lessons.
'The Song of the Queen's Beasts' was commissioned by the Festival Committee in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday. It is based on a poem by the English poet U.A.Fanthorpe and features a contralto soloist, choir and orchestra. The work was recorded during final rehearsals and prior to the premiere performance at the concert.
Other works included in the festival programme were Handel's 'Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne' and Mozart's 'Requiem'.
A CD of the new work will be available shortly.
18th August 2006
Recording of local folk group
Traditional folk songs were recorded at a session held in Burnley as part of a project for a commercial CD production by local group 'The Dalesmen'. The well established trio's repertoire includes many northern folk songs and some new material.
23rd July 2006
Brass Band Aid
I.P. Brass is a ten piece group led by Ian Porthouse, former principal cornet player with a number of the country's leading brass bands including Yorkshire Building Society and Black Dyke.
The group recorded two tracks for the forthcoming Brass Band Aid CD. Brass Band Aid is a charitable organization initiated by Briony Thompson, a 15 year old trombonist based in the north east of England. She has organised an exciting and unique project to help raise funds for the 'Make Poverty History' campaign.
This will be the second CD organized by the charity and it is due to be released in September or October.
