Regent Brass joined the touring Santa Monica High School Wind Ensemble for a special concert at the Royal College of Music, where the American ensemble performed with guest soloist and world-renowned clarinettist Julian Bliss.
The programme opened with Peter Yarde-Martin’s Tangled Space, a vivid work inspired by the rhythmic and melodic ideas of Holst’s The Planets. This was followed by Lullaby, a lyrical and expressive euphonium duet by Philip Doe, performed by Ken Bonsar-Ward and Steve Rongaever-Boother.
Elgar Howarth’s playful Mosaic brought a change of character, before the atmospheric and striking Into the Darkness They Go, The Wise and the Lovely by Kelly-Marie Murphy added a rich sense of drama. The set concluded with Phillip Sparke’s Fugue from Graduation Day, a blend of baroque counterpoint and big band jazz energy.
The concert was warmly received, marking a memorable collaboration between Regent Brass and their visiting counterparts from Santa Monica.
