I must admit, I like to break tradition. A March can be a great concert opener, but it's nothing new.
Fanfare can be fantastic pieces, like Philip Sparkes Concert Prelude (not sure if he made a BB version though!)
If it were me adjudicating, I'd be wanting to see a well structured and thought-out programme, something with spice, something that's different.
I guess you should play music which the band feel comfortable with, but in my humble opinion, there's far too much of the same music being played. Vitae Lux been done to death, it's a good piece, but does everybody have to play it.
Why does a band not invent a new for of the entertainment contest programme?
There's a hell of a lot of cracking music out there by unknowns (soon to be knowns, remember) that never gets played, or at least hardly ever which is damn shame.
One thing I would love to see is less-square hymns. A lot of hymn have a steady pace and meter to them, which although nice, don't lend the most emotional performance, IMHO. Stuff like one of my compositions, 'In Search of the Little Rainbow People' may be technicaly easy-peasy but demands emotion like u've never imagine not to mention a cracking conductor!!
I like Marches, I am gonna write quite a few of them, but to me don't represent modern Brass Band writing and I think bands have to move with the times. We're seeing a lot of broadway stuff and film stuff now, some of it a bit bland and clinical for my liking, but to most can be really enjoyable.
What about a specially-commissioned piece!!? Something new and inspiring, of course u'll need money to do that and commissions don't come cheep! :wink: Especially from me :wink: :wink:
There are so many variations of what would be deemed as accpetable, but in my humble, humble opinion, the whole Brass Band industry needs a damn good shake!
I'm not a non-conformist or anything like that, but I got in the music biz to be creative and innovative - sadly the real world just ain't like that. :cry:
