CELEBRATED BY THE NATIONAL YOUTH BRASS BAND OF GREAT BRITAIN

2022 sees another important jubilee: The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain are celebrating 70 years of music education!

Marking the significant anniversary will be a season of concerts along the theme of ‘Celebration’, looking at traditions of the brass band movement as well as recognising diverse voices within the banding community and throughout history.

There are a host of exciting guests and specially commissioned music as part of these celebrations, and the Youth Band in Concert at Huddersfield Town Hall on 16th April will be a fantastic showcase of them. The guest Conductor for the evening will be Irene Anda, who was the first woman to lead the European Youth Brass Band during the European Championships for Brass Bands in Oslo in May 2013. Today, she trains conductors at the University of Augsburg’s Leopold Mozart Center and is Chief Conductor of the Stadtbergen Symphony Orchestra in Augsburg, and the Rheinische Bläserphilharmonie.

The guest Soloist for the concert is Grethe Tonheim, a trombonist from Norway. Grethe has played principal trombone with the famous Eikanger-Bjørsvik band for more than twenty years and is a legendary teacher at Manger Folkehogskuleand a freelance professional musician, performing with both the Bergen Philharmonic and the Oslo Symphony Orchestra. She will perform several solos with the band, including a significant piece by the Norwegian composer Anne-Grete Preus called ‘Icicles’.

The evening will feature ‘In Memoriam by William Grant Still’, especially arranged by The NYBBGB Artistic Director Dr. Robert Childs, and The Royal Marines Band Service Paul Saggers commission ‘In Many Lands – The Adventures of Mary Seacole.’ ‘Flight by Australian composer Louisa Trewartha will also be performed, celebrating the story of Lores Bonney, who in 1933 single-handedly piloted here biplane from Australia to England.

In a nod to tradition The NYBBGB performance will also celebrate composers Ray Steadman-Allen, Gilbert Vinter, and Peter Graham.

Tickets for the Huddersfield concert can be purchased via the Huddersfield Town Hall Box Office – https://tickets.kirklees.gov.uk/calendar/2022-04-16. Anyone who purchases a standard ticket will be eligible to request a FREE ticket for a child or young person (under sixteen).