RNCM Wind, Brass and Percussion Festival
Chris Horkan
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).
