‘UniBrass’ is the annual university brass band contest for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Each year over 20 university bands compete between two highly competitive sections to win the coveted top prize, with additional prizes given for individuals and special features. This year the competition returned to University of Warwick, with performances and workshops taking place throughout the day at Warwick Arts Centre.
Conducted by Stuart Birnie, the band performed their ‘Legends of Brass’ set - a twenty-minute programme which celebrated legends from the history of brass banding, with a nod to those who are shaping its future. The programme featured works from canonical composers William Rimmer, Goff Richards, and Percy Code, and finished with the new piece Private Limited Company by student composer, Charlie Whelan.
The band placed an impressive third place and boasted the highest marks for musicality across the whole Shield Section. Not only that, but the band also came home with the prize for the ‘Best March’ for their performance of William Rimmer’s The Cossack, and principal cornet Luke Barker was awarded ‘Best Soloist’ for his rendition of the classic cornet solo ‘Zelda’. Overall, adjudicators concluded they were a “fantastic sounding band” with a “very classy soloist” and the band’s success will be a highlight of the academic year for University Music.