Onyx Brass ensemble to play a new commissioned work by Andrew Hamilton
Andrew Hamilton
The Onyx Brass ensemble are a UK-based quintet that aims to elevate the status of the brass chamber group within both classical and contemporary performance, and to bring contemporary brass music to a new audience. With high praise following their performances around the world, the quintet are this week embarking on a tour of Ireland, with Bach and Shotakovich sharing the programme with Copland Ives and Broadway songs.
The tour will feature a brand new work by Andrew Hamilton, commissioned especially for Onyx Brass, called slow phrases piece. Hamilton was guest curator at Crash Ensemble's recent Free State 7 concert and has in the past been commissioned by Crash, as well as having works performed by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic, among others.
“Often it takes months to find material that resonates,” says Hamilton of slow phrase piece, “but with this piece it came in a sudden moment and I wrote it immediately down. I wanted to keep the clarity of this initial idea going so there is a very straightforward structure, nothing is hidden.”
Programme:
Maynard – Fanfare
Shostakovich – G major fugue
Bach – G major Fugue "The Great"
MacRae – Two Cairns
Bach – Fugue in A flat major
Shostakovich – Fugue in A flat major
Copland – Rodeo (Three Dance Episodes), arr. Joseph Hollings
Ives – Variations on "America", arr. Howey
Andrew Hamilton – slow phrase piece
Jackson – Anything But
Mick Foster – Hamlet Stories
Various Songs from the Shows
Onyx Brass' Irish tour is presented by Music Network, and visits Dublin's The Coach House on the 17th, Letterkenny on the 18th, Dundalk on the 20th, New Ross, Wexford on the 21st, Birr, Co. Offaly on the 22nd, Clifden in Galway on the 23rd, Navan on the 24th, and finally Mullingar on the 25th.
Further information