RNCM Wind, Brass and Percussion Festival

Chris Horkan

Visit now

RNCM Wind, Brass and Percussion Festival

22 April 2018

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Boston Brass
Book now

A building-wide event, the RNCM Wind, Brass and Percussion Festival offers 10 different events and performances over the course of almost 12 hours.

Kicking off with pop-up performances from 10.30am onwards, the day features the RNCM’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble performing John Mackey’s Concerto for Soprano Saxophone (11.30am, Concert Hall, Free), followed by Mysteries of the Macabre (11.15pm, Theatre, Free), a concert with nods to Jimi Hendrix (courtesy of David Lang’s Are You Experienced?) and Elvis Presley (via Michael Daugherty’s Dead Elvis) – with electric tuba and bassoon playing the starring roles respectively.

The RNCM’s Brass Band tackles monsters in the afternoon (4.30pm, Theatre, Free), meanwhile, with a mythical giant snake and Golem both providing the concert’s evocative subject matter.

Early in the evening (6pm, Theatre, £10), R O Blechman’s Emmy Award-winning animated film The Soldier’s Tale will be screened with a live accompaniment of Stravinsky’s famous work of the same name.

The day concludes with Boston Brass, which, together with RNCM students, will perform a wide-ranging programme featuring Bach, Piazzolla and Duke Ellington (7.30pm, Concert Hall, £12).

Where to go near RNCM Wind, Brass and Percussion Festival

Manchester
Restaurant
San Carlo Fumo

San Carlo Fumo is a sun trap on St Peter’s Square, serving up traditional Italian food at its best

Utility Gift Shop
Manchester
Shop
Utility Gift Shop

Utility Gift Shop on Oxford Road is all about products that are new, unique, quirky and cool. High street shopping at its best.

exterior of Contact Theatre building
Manchester
Theatre
Contact Theatre

Following a major redevelopment, the iconic venue on Oxford Road will be reopening its doors to welcome the public back into the building this autumn. 

The Salutation pub in Manchester
Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Salutation

This traditional boozer, surrounded by imposing flats and university buildings, was taken over by Trof (of the Deaf Institute fame). The Sally, as the regulars call it, hosts an energetic, arty crowd – and its recently expanded outside area is another good reason to visit.

What's on: Families

Summer at Aviva Studios
Until
ActivityManchester
Summer at Aviva Studios

From global dance and live music to storytelling, skateboarding and football, get ready for a dream summer on the banks of the River Irwell.

Free entry
Image of a performer dressed as a creepy moon, wearing a beige suit jacket, grinning in front of a lamp
EducationCity Centre
British Science Festival

Enjoy comedy shows to art installations, dynamic performances and more at this amazing celebration of all things science.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.

Literature Events in the North

The autumn leaves might be falling already, but the harvest is plentiful as the live literature scene gets back into the swing of things after a summer break...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.