This exciting and energetic 10-piece brass ensemble has been working together since 2001, and in February 2004 they won the prestigious Royal Over-Seas League ensemble prize. Brass¹⁰ performs standard dectet repertoire, commissioned works, light music and jazz. Successes include appearances at major music festivals and concert venues throughout the UK and numerous live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.

The individual members of Brass¹⁰ enjoy varied professional lives. Some of the performers are regular players with London’s top orchestras and some are also accomplished Jazz musicians as well as enjoying Early Music.

Brass¹⁰ has composers and arrangers both within, and associated with the ensemble. These include Simon Dobson, whose ‘Three Scenes for Brass’ Brass¹⁰ premiered in 2001, Maxwell Davies, who wrote ‘Slow Motion Slide Show’ for double brass dectet, premiered by Brass¹⁰ and the Royal College of Music J.D. Brass Dectet in July 2002 and Edwin McClarty’s ‘Sinfonietta for Brass’, which was premiered by Brass¹⁰ in St Martin-in-the-Fields in February 2003.

During the year 2002-2003, Brass¹⁰ has performed at Buckingham Palace, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Lincoln’s Inn Chapel, the Royal College of Music and made their Purcell Room debut in January 2002. They have also played as part of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations, The Cheltenham Festival, the Two Moors Festival in Devon, the Philip Biggs Brass Festival and the Waterperry House Arts Festival in Oxford.

Concerts and Recitals form the basis of Brass¹⁰’s regular work; however, they are also very dedicated to education workshops and ‘taster’ sessions to allow school children to experience how brass instruments work and sound. Workshops can be for all levels, from nursery rhymes in kindergartens to performance and composition coaching with GCSE and ‘A’ level students. Members of Brass¹⁰ have substantial experience in educational work, having participated in projects such as ‘LPO Playerlink Scheme’, ‘RPO Thames Festival Projects’, ‘Britten Sinfonia’ and the ‘London Sinfonietta’.

The members of Brass 10 are:

In February 2003 Brass¹⁰ became Appointed Artists to South East Music Schemes allowing them to work extensively in the south and south east. They are looking forward to recitals, workshops and partnerships with choirs during their tenure on the scheme over the next two years.

They have their own website at www.brass10.co.uk

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