Richard Marshall | cornet and trumpet virtuoso

Starting in Repton, Derbyshire, Richard tutored and appeared as soloist for the first time with the National Childrens Brass Band of Great Britain.  Following the final concert in Nottingham, he then travelled to Swansea to tutor at the annual International Brass Band Summer School.

Both courses were a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all.  Before Black Dyke started back on Tueday 17th August, Richard managed to spend a week in Gran Canaria, relaxing before the busy months ahead.

On the morning of the concert Richard was invited to present a masterclass to many cornet, trumpet and flugel horn players from around the area.  Covering a vast area of topics, Richard concentrated and delivered the importance of having a set practice schedule that covered all the basic areas and how to improve them. 

After the masterclass, which was widely appreciated by all,  the evenings concert was staged at the beautiful Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.  Richard performed a host of popular cornet solos to a full house.  An enjoyable concert was had by all and Richard stated his appreciation to the band and Gareth for their hospitality and good preparation.

At the recent Black Dyke Brass Festival, Richard Marshall presented a Cornet Spotlight that included 68 delegates!

Commenting about the Spotlight Richard said “It was a great thrill to see all the cornet and soprano players sat in the Albert Room at Leeds Town Hall.  The sound was well balanced and an enjoyable time was had by all”.

The morning’s activities consisted of a massed warm up, in which Richard provided a prepared warm up sheet for each delegate.  Listening very carefully to the expert knowledge of the Black Dyke cornet ace, Richard began to introduce his ideas and techniques on how to improve sound, lip flexibility, articulation, and finger flexibility.

Following the warm up session there was a small rehearsal and performance of Ronald Binge’s Cornet Carillon before Richard introduced James Shepherd and Peter Roberts to speak and answer questions asked by the delegates.  This part of the morning was entitled “Meet the Legends” and it was a real thrill to hear both James and Peter speaking about their own personal banding highlights and giving their encouragement to the many admiring cornet players.

To finish the session there was a final rehearsal and performance of a brand new piece entitled Espana Cornetta.  The music was composed especially for the festival by a rising star of the Junior RNCM, Toby Butt.  The work itself was originally written for a quartet but Richard couldn’t wait to hear it with all delegates playing.  What a sound and good musical understanding!  The piece was recorded as part of the Composer’s collective and it finished the 2010 Cornet Spotlight with a true sense of improvement throughout.

Commenting on his achievment Richard said "to win an award such as this is an honour, as there are many fine soloists performing throughout the competing bands.  The weekend was fantastic and the two performances Black Dyke gave were great and its a pleasure to be involved with a band that work so hard and perform even greater".

Arriving at Manchester airport at 7am and due to weather conditions, Richards flight was rescheduled to land in Geneva at 16.30.  Plenty of time to relax and rehearse before the concert.  Wrong!  With the concert starting at 20.15, Richard arrived at 20.00! 

After a very short rehearsal and a quick change, Richard took to the stage and performed solos by Curnow, Golland, Catherall and Clarke.  His usual immaculate presentation and performance was on display - despite not having a warm up!

A successful concert was enjoyed and Richard arrived back home on Monday afternoon, 24 hours late and just in time for Black Dyke's first rehearsal of 2010.