Because ensemble playing is at the core of the brass player’s musical life, teamwork is at the core of the Brass Department’s activities. In each specialist area, our team of tutors has the expertise to address all areas of music making and instrumental playing.
Leading exponents of orchestral, brass band and chamber music playing come from as far afield as Manchester, Cardiff and London to join their Birmingham-based colleagues as part of our teaching team. They bring with them pedagogical and technical expertise, as well as enthusiasm for music.
Developing your skills
Our aim is to help you develop a distinct but well-rounded musical personality, with a wide experience of styles and an awareness of the vast range of professional possibilities. So brass band players are encouraged (though not obliged) to spend some time on an orchestral instrument, while orchestral players (who also often appear with the brass band) may take lessons from one of the Conservatoire’s jazz tutors. In another example of cross-fertilisation, Sue Addison and David Blackadder (our sackbut and natural trumpet teachers) will sometimes work with modern instruments to impart their specialist knowledge of period styles in a more familiar contemporary context.
Performance opportunities
Along with the various band, orchestral and chamber music activities, there is an active schedule of special brass classes covering a wide spectrum of topics, from scales to stage presentation, Baroque style to orchestral repertoire and practice technique to performance nerves. Delivered by the Conservatoire’s own teachers as well as a range of distinguished visitors, they provide opportunities for discussion, listening and, perhaps most importantly, the vital experience of playing in public. In addition to the Conservatoire’s regular concert series, occasions such as our Brass Explosion! events and frequent brass chamber music concerts (for ensembles of all shapes and sizes) give us the opportunity to show off the department’s work.
Brass quintet
Bespoke tuition is available at postgraduate level for existing brass quintets who wish to extend and consolidate their ensemble skills, while allowing each member to continue with their individual instrumental and academic study. Delivered in collaboration with the Midlands-based ensemble Fine Arts Brass (FAB) and Birmingham Music Service (BMS), the programme addresses all aspects of quintet life from repertoire development to workshop skills, and from the identification and arrangement of suitable music to the practicalities of organising an ensemble.