Saturday 18th January 2025 saw the first Dorset Brass Day take place in Dorchester. Working in partnership with the Octagon Music Hub, a team of brass students from the Royal College of Music provided Dorset pupils with a wonderful day of brass music activities through their quintet ‘Stately Brass’.
Young people enjoyed trying lots of different brass instruments such as cornets, trumpets, French horns, trombones, tenor horns and baritones – all under the expert guidance and tuition of experienced musicians.
Following the ‘have-a-go’ session, pupils were treated to a fantastic performance by the Stately Brass group who covered a wide range of music to showcase the many varied groups that brass instruments can play in. The team also answered questions about life at the Royal College of Music and what it takes to get to that level of playing, as well as telling us about their favourite performances – including at famous venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Abbey Road Studios.
During the afternoon, 34 young brass players were invited to join in a brass workshop to further their playing experience and enable them to play with other brass students. Stately Brass led beginner and advanced workshops where pupils were supported to play music together. For some pupils, this was the first time they had played their instrument in a group situation and it was wonderful to see so many of them playing at the same time. Parents were invited back to hear the progress that had been made in the sessions through a short performance.
Comments from the day included:
“It is so rare to have an event like this for brass instruments”.
“Thank you very much for organising such an excellent event”
“My daughter had a wonderful day on Saturday attending the Brass day at Thomas Hardye School. I was so pleased to see so many young players in the area”