A Midwest Fanfare

A Midwest Fanfare was commissioned by the Brass Band of Battle Creek and premiered by them during their appearance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago on 20th December 2017 where this fanfare was the opening piece of the entire event. This piece is designed to be played with the cornets split into two teams either side of the band. It opens with the two groups answering each other antiphonally over a repeated figure in the lower band. A calmer central section introduces a euphonium solo which is then taken up by the whole ensemble. This leads back to a repeat of the opening fanfares over a rhythmic accompaniment and a short coda which brings the work to a close.A Midwest Fanfare was commissioned by the Brass Band of Battle Creek and premiered by them during their appearance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago on 20th December 2017 where this fanfare was the opening piece of the entire event. This piece is designed to be played with the cornets split into two teams either side of the band. It opens with the two groups answering each other antiphonally over a repeated figure in the lower band. A calmer central section introduces a euphonium solo which is then taken up by the whole ensemble. This leads back to a repeat of the opening fanfares over a rhythmic accompaniment and a short coda which brings the work to a close.

A Midwest Fanfare

A Midwest Fanfare was commissioned by the Brass Band of Battle Creek and premiered by them during their appearance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago on 20th December 2017 where this fanfare was the opening piece of the entire event. This piece is designed to be played with the cornets split into two teams either side of the band. It opens with the two groups answering each other antiphonally over a repeated figure in the lower band. A calmer central section introduces a euphonium solo which is then taken up by the whole ensemble. This leads back to a repeat of the opening fanfares over a rhythmic accompaniment and a short coda which brings the work to a close.A Midwest Fanfare was commissioned by the Brass Band of Battle Creek and premiered by them during their appearance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago on 20th December 2017 where this fanfare was the opening piece of the entire event. This piece is designed to be played with the cornets split into two teams either side of the band. It opens with the two groups answering each other antiphonally over a repeated figure in the lower band. A calmer central section introduces a euphonium solo which is then taken up by the whole ensemble. This leads back to a repeat of the opening fanfares over a rhythmic accompaniment and a short coda which brings the work to a close.

A Road Less Travelled By

A Road Less Travelled By was commissioned by Palangos Orkestras for the Championship Section of the 2020 European Brass Band Championships held in Palanga, Lithuania. The title alludes to a poem by American author, Robert Frost, which appeared in his 1916 collection, Mountain Intervals. In common with most of the composer’s larger works, the piece is not programmatic, but purely abstract. The choice of title shares Sparke’s view of how composers can often develop. There can be no ‘destination’ in a composer’s career, but rather a continuing journey to an unknown place. Set in three movements, which play without a break, A Road Less Travelled By opens with a Moto Perpetuo firmly rooted in classical language, form and syntax. A continuous river of semiquavers, veering from melody to accompaniment and back again, adds drive, energy and motion. The second movement, Nocturne, is in the form of a free fantasia; solos for vibraphone, flugel horn and euphonium set the stage for a central cornet solo, quietly echoed by the full band. A triumphal climax is reached before the movement dissolves into a Scherzo Finale. A brief coda based on earlier material drives the piece to a close.

A Song for Susie

Harlequin was commissioned by, and is dedicated to, euphonium virtuoso David Childs. The piece takes as its inspiration the happy and sad masks which symbolise the Commedia dell'Arte (which features Harlequin as one of its main characters) and comprises two movements, a slow modal ballad followed by a frenetic faster movement. A fantastic showpiece for any euphonium player.

A Sevenoaks Suite

A Sevenoaks Suite was commissioned by the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Concert Band from Kent in the south-east of England. The suite describes 3 famous landmarks in the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge area: ‘Knole Park’, situated to the south-east of Sevenoaks. ‘The Chapel - Tonbridge School’: This movement centres around a hymn-like chorale, depicting the years of worship that have taken place within the chapel, and ‘The Vine Bandstand’ suggesting the type of music often played in bandstands. It is in march form, but is not actually a march throughout, veering off into other styles before ending emphatically.A Sevenoaks Suite was commissioned by the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Concert Band from Kent in the south-east of England. The suite describes 3 famous landmarks in the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge area: ‘Knole Park’, situated to the south-east of Sevenoaks. ‘The Chapel - Tonbridge School’: This movement centres around a hymn-like chorale, depicting the years of worship that have taken place within the chapel, and ‘The Vine Bandstand’ suggesting the type of music often played in bandstands. It is in march form, but is not actually a march throughout, veering off into other styles before ending emphatically.

A Little Klezmer Suite

A Little Klezmer Suite was commissioned by Rushton Park High School to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their band programme. They gave the premiere in a virtual online concert in October 2020. Klezmer music originated inthe ‘shtetl’ (villages) and the ghettos of Eastern Europe, where itinerant Jewish troubadours, known as ‘klezmorim’, had performed at celebrations, particularly weddings, since the early Middle Ages. 'Klezmer' is a Yiddish termcombining the Hebrew words ‘kley’ (instrument) and ‘zemer’ (song). The roots of the style are found in secular melodies, popular dances, Jewish ‘hazanut’ (cantorial music) and also the ‘nigunim’, the wordless melodies intoned bythe ‘Hasidim’ (orthodox Jews). The melodies used in the four movements of A Little Klezmer Suite have traditionally been used in Jewish wedding ceremonies and celebrations.

A Little Klezmer Suite

A Little Klezmer Suite was commissioned by Rushton Park High School to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their band programme. They gave the premiere in a virtual online concert in October 2020. Klezmer music originated inthe ‘shtetl’ (villages) and the ghettos of Eastern Europe, where itinerant Jewish troubadours, known as ‘klezmorim’, had performed at celebrations, particularly weddings, since the early Middle Ages. 'Klezmer' is a Yiddish termcombining the Hebrew words ‘kley’ (instrument) and ‘zemer’ (song). The roots of the style are found in secular melodies, popular dances, Jewish ‘hazanut’ (cantorial music) and also the ‘nigunim’, the wordless melodies intoned bythe ‘Hasidim’ (orthodox Jews). The melodies used in the four movements of A Little Klezmer Suite have traditionally been used in Jewish wedding ceremonies and celebrations.

A Sevenoaks Suite

A Sevenoaks Suite was commissioned by the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Concert Band from Kent in the south-east of England. The suite describes 3 famous landmarks in the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge area: ‘Knole Park’, situated to the south-east of Sevenoaks. ‘The Chapel - Tonbridge School’: This movement centres around a hymn-like chorale, depicting the years of worship that have taken place within the chapel, and ‘The Vine Bandstand’ suggesting the type of music often played in bandstands. It is in march form, but is not actually a march throughout, veering off into other styles before ending emphatically.A Sevenoaks Suite was commissioned by the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Concert Band from Kent in the south-east of England. The suite describes 3 famous landmarks in the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge area: ‘Knole Park’, situated to the south-east of Sevenoaks. ‘The Chapel - Tonbridge School’: This movement centres around a hymn-like chorale, depicting the years of worship that have taken place within the chapel, and ‘The Vine Bandstand’ suggesting the type of music often played in bandstands. It is in march form, but is not actually a march throughout, veering off into other styles before ending emphatically.A Sevenoaks Suite was commissioned by the Sevenoaks and TonbridgeConcert Band from Kent in the south-east of England. The suite describes 3 famous landmarks in the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge area: ‘Knole Park’, situated to the south-east of Sevenoaks. ‘The Chapel - Tonbridge School’: This movement centres around a hymn-like chorale, depicting the years of worship that have taken place within the chapel, and ‘The Vine Bandstand’ suggesting the type of music often played in bandstands. It is in march form, but is not actually a march throughout, veering off into other styles before ending emphatically.

A Centennial Journey

A Spanish Overture

A Plymouth Pageant

A Plymouth Pageant

A Spanish Overture

A Centennial Journey

A Little Klezmer Suite

Variations on a Fourth

Variations on a Fourth

A Little Klezmer Suite

A Road Less Travelled By

A Walk by the River

A Road Less Travelled By

A Walk by the River

Fair Field Festival

Fair Field Festival opens with a brass fanfare under florid woodwind figuration. A noble chorale leads to a lively allegro vivo, which centres around a majestic horn and euphonium melody under chattering woodwinds. A second theme is first stated by trumpets and this leads to a central legato theme on horns and saxes, repeated by the trumpets. A brief allusion to the opening section leads to a full recapitulation and an energetic coda. A work filled with vitality!

March of the Robot Army

March of the Robot Army was commissioned by Linda Anzolin & Giordano-Bruno Tedeschi for Campobanda 2019, with funds made available by JUST ITALIA. Campobanda is an Italian summer music camp for 8- to 18-year-olds (held inCamposilvano in 2019) which has a different theme every year. The theme for 2019 was ‘science fiction’, so composer Philip Sparke chose to write a robot march. After a quirky introduction featuring trumpet calls and chromaticfigures, the main theme appears in a minor mode on clarinet and tenor sax and is then taken up by the full band. A change of key heralds a new theme, led by the trumpet and again repeated by the full ensemble. A further change ofkey introduces a legato ‘trio’ melody over a rather robotic accompaniment: instruments are added bit by bit until a climax is reached. Small motifs from the introduction then lead back to a full recapitulation, revisiting thefirst two themes in new guises before finishing the march with a flourish.

March of the Robot Army

March of the Robot Army was commissioned by Linda Anzolin & Giordano-Bruno Tedeschi for Campobanda 2019, with funds made available by JUST ITALIA. Campobanda is an Italian summer music camp for 8- to 18-year-olds (held inCamposilvano in 2019) which has a different theme every year. The theme for 2019 was ‘science fiction’, so composer Philip Sparke chose to write a robot march. After a quirky introduction featuring trumpet calls and chromaticfigures, the main theme appears in a minor mode on clarinet and tenor sax and is then taken up by the full band. A change of key heralds a new theme, led by the trumpet and again repeated by the full ensemble. A further change ofkey introduces a legato ‘trio’ melody over a rather robotic accompaniment: instruments are added bit by bit until a climax is reached. Small motifs from the introduction then lead back to a full recapitulation, revisiting thefirst two themes in new guises before finishing the march with a flourish.