Nottingham Band Members Mingle in Manchester

29 Oct 2009

Members of the West Bridgford-based Nottingham Concert Band (Robert Parker) mingled with symphonic wind ensembles from around the UK to stage the world premiere of Cedar, a new two-movement piece by Mark Francis.

Performed by some 120 musicians, the premiere was the opening event in the first Wind Band Festival run at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester by BASBWE (the British Association of Symphonic Bands & Wind Ensembles). Later in the day, the Nottingham Concert Band was invited to present a programme of five pieces from its own repertoire, which was followed by a workshop with the RNCM’s Director of Contemporary Music and Head of Conducting Clark Rundell.

Afterwards, Robert Parker expressed the band"s thanks to Nottinghamshire County Councillors Barrie Cooper and Gordon Wheeler, who had approved funding to enable the band to travel to the event. "As a self-financing organisation, we rely on support like this to extend the range of playing opportunities we offer to our members," Parker explained. "We were proud and delighted to represent the county at this prestigious event."