Regent were delighted to take part in the annual concert series, ‘Brass on the Grass’ at Westminster Abbey gardens on Wednesday, 11th August. The popular concert series, which is hosted by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey, is an event which the band has been associated with for several years.
We performed a wide-ranging selection of repertoire ranging from classic overtures to modern offerings, and were privileged to present two world premieres. Our opening march, ‘Corfe Castle’ was composed during lockdown by our soprano cornet, Freddie Mayers, and later in the programme, we featured Harry Weir from our Euphonium bench, with his brand new composition ‘Testimony’ which is based on a number of different Russian themes. The band always welcomes opportunities to perform new and recent works, and our principal cornet, Peter Yarde-Martin’s work ‘Starry Night’ was well received by our appreciative audience.
We also featured a number of soloists, including the tenor horn solo ‘Bel Canto’ from our principal horn, Neil Rossiter, and a traditional Irish tune, ‘Carrickfergus’ played by the band’s solo baritone, Steve Rongevær-Boother. The concert finale was the suitably grand finale from ‘The New World’ suite, symphony number 9, arranged for the band by our Musical Director, Alan Duguid.
Regent are next out at Queens Park on Sunday 22nd August, starting at 3pm. We can’t promise the weather, but we can promise some good music (and the local ice-cream parlour is well worth sampling too!) – so why not join us for that!
