I’d like to wish everybody a happy Xmas and a wonderful new year.
I have had a superb year with lots of great concerts. Without the trust people have in me it wouldn’t happen. So I’d like to thank all concert organizers, sponsors, my parents, my girlfriend, my sister,… everybody involved with my life a big thank.
And I hope that 2013 can give me the same pleasure!!
Glenn
On the first weekend of October I had the wonderful opportunity to be the guest soloist at the Brasswind Festival. This annual festival is hosted by one of Norways leading bands, Manger Musikklag and was held in the very nice Logen theatre in Bergen.
Having been asked to play a solo with the great Manger Musikklag band I chatted with young English composer, Paul McGhee. I knew the players of Manger were fans of his works so I commissioned a new Euphonium Concerto from Paul which later turned out to be a dialogue for Euphonium and Brass Band.
The work is extremely challanging for both soloist and band and was really appreciated by the audience. The performance of Kjeden was a world premiere and I hope there will be many other performance opportunities for this wonderful work, because it is a work that has to be heard!!
The other concert I did was together with the brass band of the Manger Folkhighschool ( I was going to write this on Norwegian but already forgot how)
It was great to work with one of the worlds finest euphonium players Tormod Flaten, the conductor of this brilliant band. I have known Tormod for a few years now and this was a great collaboration, it is always a pleasure to work with people who I have listend to when I was young.
Together with the band I played Peter Meechans Three Stories Three Worlds, it was an honour to work with the band. I had the chance during the week to work with the euphonium students in the school and give a masterclass for the brass band.
It is great to see that Norwegian banding and music has such a bright future.
I’m busy making a new webdesign with my big friend Bert. Hope you enjoy it and it will make me post more in the future 😉
Cheers,
Glenn
I’m very happy to announce that I’ve just won the Jeju International Brass Competition for euphonium on the very nice island of Jeju in South-Korea. This competition has grown into one of the biggest solo competitions over the world and I guess it’s even the biggest one for euphonium.
The trip started really well with a very nice travel experience. When I arrived at Amsterdam airport they told me the flight to Seoul was fully booked and offered me an upgrade to business class. The trip couldn’t start better, with excellent food and a comfy chair.
Korea was really hot and humid, no ideal circumstances to play. It took me two days to adjust, exactly the time I had before the first round began. 56 euphonium players tried their luck there, so I felt sorry for the adjudicators. After this round the players who made it to the second round were announced by head of Jury Steven Mead.
We had to play the second round two days later. In this round they had cut the number of young players to 16. So it was a very tough competition indeed. I really liked the repertoire of the second round. I had to play Soliloquy XI by Wiggins and Concerto per Flicornobasso by Ponchielli. I have a lot of great memories about that last piece. All the players knew the adjudicators were only allowed to let 3 or 4 players through to the final so you could feel the tension when Steven Mead came out to announce the results. I was very nervous too. It’s very strange but I’m always more nervous for results than for playing. Even with band competitions.
I was very happy to go to the final together with Misa and Corentin which are both good friends from previous competitions. That’s the nice thing about competitions. You get to know young players from all over the world and there is no rivalry at all. We all become very good friends and listen to each other’s rehearsals and even comment and help a little bit where we can.
The final is a special thing. They give you the opportunity to play with Symphony Orchestra which is very special for a euphonium player. You don’t often get the chance to play with a full orchestra. Symphonic Variants by James Curnow was the piece for the final. A great challenging piece for euphonium and orchestra. I had to play number 3 cause we keep the same order throughout the competition. The orchestra did a very good job and I was happy with the performance so what can you expect more?
I couldn’t believe when I won this competition. By a mark of 21.8 out of 22 which I really didn’t expect. Here is a little quote from head of jury Steven Mead:
“Congratulations Glenn on your success at the recent solo competition in Jeju, South Korea. This is a very important and prestigious event in the world brass calendar and you won this in fine style, receiving universal praise from the large jury. Your musicianship, coolness on stage and outstanding technique made this a great occasion for you, and one I’m sure you’ll remember for years to come. You deserve this success as you work so hard, and I’m so pleased I was there in Jeju to witness all these events. Bravo and keep up the great work for the euphonium. “
Steven Mead Head of Jury, Euphonium Solo Competition, 7th International Solo Competition, Jeju, South- Korea. (end of quote)
I would like to thank my parents for all the support through the years. Without them I wouldn’t be able to undertake such trips and perform like this or do anything of the playing I do now.
Glenn
Stay tuned on my website and facebook group. And don’t forget Twitter of course.
Glenn
I’m very happy that I can announce that I’ve been chosen as ‘player of the year’. I was already very happy to be nominated amongst superb soloists by the famous website 4barsrest. I would like to thank everybody for voting. 2011 has been a fantastic year for me. And I’m very happy that you all supported me!
Hope I can make you all happy with my playing in 2012 too.
Keep an eye on the event calendar for some great events this year.
Glenn
I’m very happy to announce you that Beaumaris band came 4th in the National Finals at the RAH (Royal Albert Hall)
An early morning it was with a number 4 draw. The band was at breakfast around 7 o’clock to rehearse at 8.
Warming up the lips with a few hymn tunes, after fridays heavy rehearsal when we ran trough the piece 2 times, the band sounded really good. A nice morning walk to the RAH and then in the changing rooms. You could feel the incredible atmosphere from the Nationals. It was the 100th jubileum of the competition and my debute. The band played really well on the stage and I’m sure they have put a lot of effort in the piece.
I’m very proud to announce you that the adjudicators chose me for the ‘best instrumentalist’ prize.
Full coverage can be found on www.4barsrest.com
Round up with Chris Thomas here
Hi friends,
Just to keep you informed…I’m currently in France. I’m playing a concert with the brass band Mediterrannee conducted by Roy Terry. The band is based in Antibes, where we had a rehearsal last night. The concert will be in the church of Nice. I forgot to send Tom Boonen an invitation. Monaco is very close though. At the concert I’ll play the Golland No1 concerto and after that I’ll join the band as they don’t have a solo euphonium at the moment. After the break I’ll play Lament by Karl Jenkins and the famous Bravura by Peter Graham. I’m looking forward to this concert. Second time in france as a guest artist for Buffet-Crampon.
After this concert I’ll be back in Belgium for one busy day. Playing the very nice solo Fantasy for euphonium with wind orchestra conducted by the composer himself, Francois Glorieux. This will be in Antwerp in ‘de Zuiderkroon’ at 15.00
I wont be there for long as I have a regional competition with my band Brass Band Heist. We will play on sunday night in Turnhout. Battle Creek and Bello Gallico is on the program. Should be a busy but very good day.
On monday I’ll fly to my friends in Beaumaris again, to put the last bits together to go to the Royal Albert Hall for the weekend. I already did one weekend of rehearsals with them and the band sounded great. Will be interesting to see them a few weeks after that again. I believe the band even sound much better. I’m looking forward to perform Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s Breath Of Souls in the Albert Hall.
Just to keep you informed about my CD project… He will be there very soon! So stay tuned on all my media channels.
At the moment I’m spending the weekend in Beaumaris, Wales with Beaumaris band. We are preparing for the National Finals in the royal albert hall in London. Doing a weekend of rehearsals on the test piece Breath of Souls by Paul Loovatt-Cooper. I’m having the chance to meet a few friends and banders aswell. It’s always a very nice time here in Wales! Looking forward to the rehearsal tonight and of course the royal albert hall in October
Dear friends,
Besson is doing a contest about this years British Open Championships. As the main sponsor the launch a competition where you can win several nice prizes. Like Steven Meads latest CD Fandango and David Childs CD Celtic Charm. You also can win FREE tickets for concerts by besson artist and can you can experience the European Championships with Besson next year in Holland.
What do you have to do? Just go to the besson link below and guess who the top 3 bands will be in this years competition. The competition will close on Saturday 3th of September at 8 am so be quick!!