On Friday 13 August 1982, the first concert of the National Youth Brass Band of Wales took place in the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea. Since then the band has built a reputation for fine performances of both new and established repertoire, and a strong history of new commissions from leading composers within Wales and further afield. Many of the country’s finest brass players are NYBBW alumni, and the list of musical directors includes Edward Gregson, James Watson, Robert Childs, Arthur Kenney, Bramwell Tovey, Howard Snell, Frank Renton, Ray Farr, Nicholas Childs, Ian Porthouse and the current director, Philip Harper.

This year, to mark the band’s 40th anniversary, a reunion band of NYBBW alumni will perform a concert on Saturday 22 October at the Dora Stoutzker Hall of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. We are delighted that the band’s founding musical director, Edward Gregson, has agreed to join Dr Robert Childs on the podium to direct a band made up of some of Wales’s most outstanding amateur brass musicians. More details on the programme will be announced shortly (including our superb lineup of soloists) but we can confirm that in a nod to the band’s first programme we will be including Connotations by Edward Gregson. We will also include Vivat Regina by William Mathias,  another work that was featured in the first NYBBW concert, as a tribute to Her late Majesty.

Tickets for this fantastic celebration of brass music in Wales can be purchased in advance here or on the night. We hope to see you there!