Take Note announces winning ensemble: A4 Brass

Chiltern Arts are proud to introduce one of the first winners of this year’s Take Note competition: A4 Brass, one of the UK’s top young chamber ensembles.

Take Note is Chiltern Arts’ new competition to introduce young musical ensembles to the world, with a platform for performing at our Chiltern Arts Festival and around the country.

A4 Brass Quartet is based at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (currently studying as an ensemble for the International Artist Diploma in Chamber Music) and is comprised of principal players from some of the UK’s leading brass bands, including the world-famous Grimethorpe Colliery and Foden’s bands.

The quartet perform concerts and masterclasses all over the UK and abroad, and 2015 saw the first mainland European excursion for A4 Brass as they accepted the invitation to perform in the Trakai Fanfare Week in Lithuania. In February 2017, they toured the Channel Islands, performing in Jersey, Alderney and Guernsey and in the same month were selected for the highly respected Tillett Trust Young Artists’ Platform. A4 also were finalists in the 2017 Royal Over-Seas League Chamber Music competition, receiving the Elias Fawcett Award for an Outstanding Ensemble.

With Jamie Smith on Cornet, Jonathan Bates on Tenor Horn, Michael Cavanagh on Baritone and Chris Robertson on Euphonium, the quartet has a unique blend of instruments creating a distinctive sound that stands out from the standard brass quartet.

Naomi Taylor, Founder and Creative Director of Chiltern Arts said “A4 Brass exuded professionalism from the moment they stepped into the room at the Take Note auditions. From their carefully selected outfits and their well-prepared introductions, right through to their rousing and moving performances, the group had us hooked from beginning to end. We’re delighted to invite A4 Brass to make the journey from Manchester to bring their exceptional playing to the Chilterns.”

Christopher Glynn, Artistic Partner of Chiltern Arts commented “I very much enjoyed the distinctive sound of A4 Brass and the irresistible verve to their performance style – their Chiltern Arts concert is not to be missed!”

Michael Cavanagh of A4 Brass said “A4 Brass Quartet are delighted to be performing at the first Chiltern Arts Festival as one of the successful groups in the first Take Note competition. We are very much looking forward to sharing a platform in February 2018 with an array of international artists, and will be putting together an exciting and varied programme for the audience in the Chilterns.”

A4 Brass will be performing at the Chiltern Arts Festival on Wednesday 7th February. The full programme for this concert and the rest of the festival will be announced in September at http://www.localhost:10038/festival. To be one of the first to hear, you can sign up to receive a free brochure at http://chilternarts.com/festival/request-a-brochure/.