USA East Music NYSB BULLETIN - WINTER 2019/20 | Page 12

Philip Harper, is a polished communicator both verbally
and more importantly with his ability to elicit sound colors
of every hue from his masters of brass performance.
— Ronald Waiksnoris
the world. Together as massed bands they
made a glorious sound not to be forgotten
any time soon.
Cory’s conductor, Philip Harper, is a
polished communicator both verbally and
more importantly with his ability to elicit
sound colors of every hue from his masters
of brass performance.
I was pleased to hear Cory’s performance
of “Titan’s Progress” the recent test piece
from the National Championships of Great
Britain. Their controlled, confident and
powerful performance showed me the
secret to winning…Great players!!
Their Romeo and Juliet segment featured
those great players. Most notable to me
were Hellen Williams on flugel and Chris
Thomas on trombone. Just incredible
exponents all around.
It was good to see friends from the UK
and Amsterdam and around the USA had
made the trip to hear the concert.
A special night for sure. What’s next?
ROBERT MILLER
BESSON EUPHONIUM ARTIST, CANADA
You know how they say, “never meet your
heroes...”? Well, this concert proves the
exception to the rule.
Being a superfan of the NYSB, how
could I miss the opportunity to hear them
in concert with the world’s #1-ranked Cory
Band? We scooped up tickets as soon as
they were available, and made the trip
to New York for the weekend. We came
with some friends, but were absolutely
astonished by the number of fellow
Canadians in the audience who also
made the trek.
NYSB was simply awesome. I have great
admiration for the band and what they
do. And BM Derek Lance especially, for
his ability to put together an accessible
program for all in the audience... and the
band aced it like the pros they are. We were
treated to some truly brilliant performances
of outstanding new works, including one
from the pen of Cory’s own Philip Harper!
For SA banding, I believe this is vital: for this
brass band medium to be sustainable in
our organization, we need to ensure we’re
meeting the audience on their level, and BM
Lance and the band crafted the perfectly
balanced show, with literally something for
everyone. Much respect to you all!
For the second half, Cory Band put on a
showcase, starting with the test from their
latest victory, “Titan’s Progress”. For me, being
a “band nerd”, they could have simply played
it and I’d have been thrilled... but MD Harper
took the time to explain the origin of the
work, and it made it come alive, almost as a
soundtrack to the story he shared. That level
of care about sharing the music is rare, but
it’s so worth it to the audience. The band
then presented a version of their Band of
the Year-winning “Romeo & Juliet”-themed
concert, and spared absolutely nothing. This
was peak banding on display, and despite
the rigors of international travel and touring,
STEPHEN ALLEN
CONDUCTOR, PRINCETON BRASS BAND
The NYSB were on vital form with some
great musical offerings by Andrew
Wainwright. The Cory Band were
everything you would expect from the
World’s #1 brass band. A prize-winning
performance of “Titan’s Progress” - with
which they had just won the UK Nationals
- and a spellbinding set based on Romeo
& Juliet in the concert style perfected by
Philip Harper. What bands! What a night!
Bravo to all concerned.
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