RNCM ensemble A4 Brass undertook a tour of the Channel Islands last month, performing in Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney.
Jamie Smith (cornet), Jonathan Bates (tenor horn), Michael Cavanagh (baritone) and Chris Robertson (euphonium) presented a series of public and school concerts on each island to showcase the work of the College.
‘The tour was a great success with six concerts in five days,’ they said. ‘We performed a public concert on each island to very receptive audiences in a variety of venues, including Jersey Arts Centre and St Anne’s Church, Alderney. Our favourite venue was the wonderful St James Concert Hall in Guernsey (pictured below) – Bruckner’s Locus Iste went down particularly well here!
‘We also performed in schools to children aged four to 16, and it was great talking to them about the multitude of opportunities that being a musician can offer. We provided a wide variety of music for them to enjoy, from film and pop to classical and they all had lots of questions and seemed to learn a lot from us.’
Mervyn Grand, Head of Guernsey Music Service, said: ‘The school and public audiences in the Channel Islands all enjoyed the varied programmes that A4 Brass presented and they were great ambassadors for the RNCM.’
