Launchpad Prize Winner's Profile No.1: Elysium Brass

Ollie Haines - trumpet

Kaitlin Wild - trumpet

Alex Willett - horn

Ian Sankey - trombone

Chris Claxton - tuba

BIOGRAPHY

Elysium Brass is a brass quintet formed from students currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Formed in 2013 the individual players have a vast amount of experience in many different genres and styles of music and have played in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Bridgewater Hall as well abroad in France, Hong Kong, Germany, India, Luxembourg to name a few.

As well as concerts, Elysium Brass have performed in a number of interactive educational workshops to primary schools in and outside of London inspired by our participation in the 'Decoda Project' 2014.

Elysium Brass were the Guildhall's winner of the June Emerson Wind Music Launchpad Competition 2015 and have since been fortunate to be guest artists at Festival de Torella de Montrí in Girona, Spain and guest artists at the Stogumber Festival 2015.

THE PLAYERS

Ollie Haines is a trumpeter, pianist, composer, arranger and teacher based in the South West but living in the heart of central London. In 2012 he was awarded a DfE scholarship to study at specialist music school Wells Cathedral School. After two fruitful years studying all styles of music he was awarded a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and now studies with Anne McAneney (LPO), Noel Langley (Jazz Freelance), Stephen Keavy (Natural trumpet and historical performance).

Kaitlin Wild started learning the cornet age 5, and went on to study the trumpet aged 11, when she was awarded a music scholarship to Rugby School. She gained entry into the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain aged 13, during which she was awarded the McCann cornet award in 2012, and gained a scholarship to study at The Guildhall in 2013 where she studies with Anne McAneney (LPO) and Paul Beniston (LPO). Kaitlin currently plays with many London Orchestras, including Arch Sinfonia and Orion Orchestra.

Alex Willett started playing the horn aged 16 and quickly progressed gaining a place at Guildhall in 2013. Alex now studies with Jonathon Lipton (LSO) and is a busy performer with some of London's top student orchestras including the London International Orchestra and Arch Sinfonia.

Ian Sankey studied trombone at St. Marys Music School in Edinburgh with John Kenny where his passion for music grew. After deciding to pursue a career in music he auditioned to music college and began his studies at Guildhall where he now a student of Eric Crees and Simon Wills.

Chris Claxton started playing tuba at the age of 12 and after progressing quickly went to study at Wells Cathedral School under the tuition of Sam Elliot (BBC SO) and Alan Hutt. While at Wells he performed with the National Youth Wind Orchestra and European Union Youth Wind Orchestra both in the principal tuba seat. In 2013 Chris was awarded a full scholarship to  Guildhall School of Music and Drama and currently studies with Patrick Harrild (LSO).

LINKS

Listen to Elysium Brass on Youtube playing 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2GFM4XUd7w

Tickets for Elysium Brass at Stogumber Festival

Saturday 12 September, St Mary’s Church, TA4 3TA at 11am

http://www.stogumberfestival.com/elysium-brass

Elysium Brass at Open House London,

the capital's largest annual festival of architecture and design.

Sunday 20th September, Milton Court, EC2Y 9BH at 12:15pm

(a free, open rehearsal in Milton Court concert hall)

Milton Court concert

June Emerson Wind Music would like to thank Richard Benjafield for organising the 

awarding of the Launchpad Prize at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Guildhall School of Music & Drama
www.gsmd.ac.uk

Jess Gillam's World - Part 1

Jess Gillam - Welcome to my world!

“One of the best young saxophonists in the UK” 

-Snake Davis

Hello everybody, I am delighted to have been asked to write a blog for June Emerson Wind Music about music from a young person's perspective! I am a 17 year old saxophonist from Ulverston in Cumbria and I study at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Each month, I will write a little about performances and musical events I have been involved with and my life as a young musician.

July has been an exciting month and I have had some musical experiences I will never forget. One of these was performing a solo recital at SaxOpen (the World Saxophone Congress) in Strasbourg. I was the youngest of 2,600 delegates and performing to a room of saxophonists was a challenging task. Usually, I know that most of the audience will be unaware of details about saxophone technique and simply want to hear good music, but when performing to a room of people who know everything about the saxophone, it is quite nerve-wracking! However, I think emotions that music can convey and the power that music has is the most important thing to capture in a performance, so I tried to play just as I would if I was in front of a typical concert audience. 

My recital consisted of world premières of commissions from leading saxophonists: Barbara Thompson, Rob Buckland and John Harle, as well as one of my own compositions. All the pieces were written for saxophone with backing tracks. The whole experience of commissioning new works and working with the composers was very interesting and I really enjoyed performing the premières. My concert was on Day Two of the Congress which was the perfect time as I felt truly inspired by some of the performances I had seen the night before. Barbara Thompson's Concerto for Three Saxophones was performed with the Strasbourg Symphony Orchestra and soloists Rob Buckland, Francesco Cafiso and Michael Alizon each performed a movement. The third movement was performed by Rob Buckland on soprano saxophone - the connection he had with the music was very apparent and the rapport with the orchestra made the music come alive and really sing. It was a remarkable performance and a fantastic composition - I felt proud to have pieces written for me by Barbara and Rob and lucky to know them both and be taught by Rob. 

The Congress was the perfect place to meet saxophonists from around the world and to catch up with others. I met Mr Yanagisawa and, as I am a Yanagisawa Artist, I was very pleased to be able to meet him and thank him. I also met Hidemasa Sato who made part of the new Alto WO that I play, and it was lovely to be able to thank him for his skilled craftsmanship. 

After returning home from the Congress, I performed with the National Youth Jazz Collective Creative Leadership Ensemble at the Benslow Music Centre and then started planning and practising repertoire for what promises to be a very busy Autumn! 

www.jessgillamsax.co.uk

Follow Jess Gillam on Facebook

Follow @jessgillamsax on Twitter

LINKS

Yanagisawa Saxophones UK

www.yanagisawasaxophones.co.uk

Vandoren UK

www.vandoren-en.com

June Emerson Wind Music - Launchpad Prize 2015

About the Prize

The Launchpad Prize was an idea that began as a desire to help young musicians in some significant way. With our limited financial resources it was difficult to come up with something that would make enough of a difference to make it worthwhile. The idea of sponsoring a prize at one of the UK music colleges was something we just couldn’t afford, and we also felt that we’d like to be able to offer something to more than just one college and be a little more ‘hands on’. We eventually decided that we would assist one predominantly final year wind ensemble from each of the major UK music colleges to launch themselves onto the professional circuit.

First awarded in 2009, the Launchpad Prize consists of practical help, including:

a substantial JEWM music voucher; dedicated space on the JEWM website; publicity at any time through our online media channels (JEWM blog, Twitter, Facebook etc); editorial coverage wherever possible; unlimited free advertising flyers in JEWM music orders in order to publicise themselves; exclusive access to the JEWM shop with use of all music and facilities; complimentary copies of any existing and future Emerson Edition publications which fit their instrumental line-up, and anything else we can think of.

The Winners!

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Seren Winds

Trinity College of Music

The Risatina Quintet

Royal College of Music

Hestia Saxophone Quartet

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Elysium Brass

Profiles of each of this year's winners will appear on this blog over the coming weeks...

Re-posting a JEWM Favourite!

Val’s Flapjack Recipe - A Favourite at J.E.W.M.

(this is a re-post, but well worth it!)

Our dear friend and colleague Valerie Watts, who passed away in 2010, used to make flapjacks and biscuits for the office almost every week. Her flapjacks were simply THE BEST we’ve ever tasted and we thought it would be nice to share her recipe:

photo: Rob Brewer

Val’s Flapjack

After making it for years and years, Val was a master flapjack-baker, but with such a simple recipe it’s hard to go wrong with it. To achieve the best results, it’s essential that you use jumbo oats and that you don’t overcook it – it should be gooey!

Ingredients:

• 4oz/115g butter
• 4oz/115g Demerara sugar
• 1 (generous) tbsp Golden Syrup
• 5oz/140g jumbo oats

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven/Aga (Val always used an Aga) to 170C/325F/GM3
2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan.
3. Stir in the jumbo oats.
4. Grease a baking tin and spread the mixture evenly.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. Leave to cool in the tin a little before dividing into squares.
7. Enjoy.

Superbrass Day - Saturday 18th July

Join John Packer Ltd this July for a very special one-off workshop with Superbrass's musical director Roger Argente. Superbrass have shot to fame in recent years and are now widely regarded as one of the most talented brass ensembles in the UK and around the world. This workshop will offer the rare opportunity to play with other players of a high standard in a large brass ensemble, using exciting music selected from the Superbrass repertoire, all under the direction of a top music professional! Roger will also be answering questions and giving advice on how to arrange, compose, and play music. The two sessions (morning and afternoon) have limited availability for Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn and Tuba, so book your place early!

Roger Argente - Superbrass Musical Director

A previous JP Brass workshop with Robert Childs

Roger Argente started playing Trombone at age 12 and is enjoying a spectacular career. He has travelled the world with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and has recorded film scores with composers such as John Williams and Hans Zimmer, working on big screen classics such as Harry Potter, Gladiator and Lord of the Rings. As an educator, Roger coaches brass at Trinity College of Music and is involved with the National Youth Orchestras and Brass Bands.

'Soul Bossa Nova' composed by Quincy Jones, arranged by Andy Duncan for Superbrass. A live performance by Superbrass performed as part of an outreach programme delivered to the Hampshire Youth Bands. Solo Flugel Horn - Nigel Gomm. For more information or to book, contact:  Steve Herbert on 01823 282386 or steve@johnpacker.co.uk

Rarescale Flute News...

rarescale at the Forge Our next concert at the Forge is on 15th April 2015. We'll be presenting the formidable Rees/Roche/Pestova trio, performing with Michael Oliva in a programme of music by Harvey, Fox, Norman, Kwiatkowska, Oliva, Bennett and the premiere of a new work for flute and electronics by Sungji Hong. BOOK NOW! Philip Bates Trust Bursary We are delighted to be able to offer a bursary for the summer school from the Phillip Bates Trust. The bursary has a value of £250 and will be awarded to a flute player or composer with a maximum age of 25 for the 2015 course. See the rarescale website for further details. Attention Composers and Flute Players! Join us for an inspirational week of music making and creativity at Harlaxton Manor from 3-8th August. Flute Course: Low flutes, new repertoire, masterclasses, flute ensembles and collaboration opportunities. Grade 6 upwards. Composition Course: Taught courses with a choice of focus on acoustic or electroacoustic composition. Opportunities for collaboration and performance. Composition Retreat: Focus on individual projects with support from rarescale players Carla Rees & Michael Oliva. Advanced composers only - ideal for university professors, young professional composers and advanced students. We currently have a limited number of places on each of the courses. Email us now for further information and to reserve your place.

2015 performances For full details of our all our concerts, see our website. Upcoming highlights include: 12 Apr       New Walk Museum, Leicester 15 Apr       Rees/Roche/Pestova Trio at The Forge, Camden 5 May        RNCM, Manchester 23 Jun       Fairfield Halls, Croydon 16 Jul        rarescale Flute Academy at Arborfield Garrison 5 Aug        Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire 20 Sept     Brixworth Festival 30 Sept     The Forge, Camden Carla will also be performing at the Canadian Flute Convention in June and the American Flute Convention in August. Look out too for the concert premiere of Michael Oliva's new opera, Singularity, at the Royal College of Music on 2nd July. As always, we are always pleased to hear from composers who are interested in collaborating with us. Feel free to get in touch to discuss your ideas! Thank you for reading our newsletter and for your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you at one of our events soon.

Copyright © 2015 rarescale, All rights reserved.

Music Education Expo

Music Education Expo

12th & 13th March

Barbican Conference Centre, London

The Music Education Expo is an essential event for anyone involved in music education.

We're delighted to announce that June Emerson Wind Music will have a small 

trade stand there this year, so if want to come and discuss possibilities, 

ask about how we work, or just come and say hello, we'd love to see you!

We'll be on stand S7.A on the upper floor.

We'll have lots of Overscore Tape on sale and we'll have a prize draw to win a fabulous music bag from Beaumont Music (free entry with every purchase of Overscore Tape).

If you haven't been before, here's the blurb:

Music Education Expo is the UK’s largest conference and exhibition for anyone
involved on music education. Whether you’re a classroom teacher or instrumental teacher, a hub leader or university lecturer, the Expo is an essential event for you! 

Spanning two days, the event will offer over 50 seminars, workshops and debates, the chance to meet and browse the services of over 100 exhibitors, and the chance to network with up to 2,500 of your peers.

FOUR reasons to come to Music Education Expo:

1.   LEARN – the conference will host over 50 sessions, including engaging debates, insightful seminars and fun and inspiring workshops

2.   BROWSE – over 100 exhibitors showcasing their best music education products and services, including some exciting new product launches

3.   NETWORK – with up to 2,500 visitors, the show is the perfect opportunity to meet new people or catch up with old friends, and to share ideas

4.   SAVE – the Expo is completely FREE to attend, meaning you get a raft of high-quality professional development sessions for absolutely nothing

Find our more and register for your FREE ticket at: www.musiceducationexpo.co.uk