Meet the brass quintet making waves in chamber music

Connaught Brass are a vibrant ensemble looking to redefine how brass chamber music is perceived. Despite being relative newcomers, they are already making a name for themselves having made their debut at the Lucerne Festival and played in London’s renowned Wigmore Hall. They are playing in the intimate surroundings of St Wilfrid’s Church – one of six special ‘Gigs at Gaia’ performed beneath Luke Jerram’s spectacular giant globe artwork. Here, they talk about their musical journey…

Who inspired you to first start performing? First and foremost, Connaught Brass is really just a group of friends that grew up playing together – most of the group were members of the National Youth Orchestra, and before we went to conservatoire we thought that it would be a fun idea to start a chamber group, both to continue playing with each other but also to simply spend time with our mates. That remains at the core of the ensemble and has guided how the group functions from day one.

What have been your music career highlights so far? As a group, making our debut at the Lucerne Festival in 2021 following an eight-concert tour of France and Switzerland stands out as an exciting and important experience. It was one of our earlier trips abroad to play together and the programme was incredibly intense and challenging, but the location, atmosphere and audience was incredible – it remains a core memory for the group to this day.

What advice would you give upcoming artists wanting to follow in your footsteps? Specifically to ensembles that include brass players, stick together after music college or graduating (it seems simple enough, but brass chamber music is not commonly seen as a viable career path in the same way that being in a string quartet is, which is a stereotype that we are working to overcome!), and create / chase opportunities rather than waiting for them to come to you. You would be amazed at how many people there are out there that will be willing to help.

What do you hope the audience in Harrogate takes away from your performance? We hope that the audience will take away a renewed sense of open-mindedness to brass chamber music, and perhaps even a few especially inspired new brass players!

Describe your programme in 3 words.

Re-imagined, celestial, playful

Do you have any pre-concert rituals? This varies from member to member in the group, but these include Wim-Hof breathing techniques, listening to our pre-concert playlist (curated by Harry on trumpet), and eating a good meal together.

What do you most enjoy about performing live and why is it still important in our digital age? Retaining a sense of spontaneity – rehearsal and planning is of course always important, but some of our most homogenous and fun moments playing as a group have materialised from doing something slightly differently during a performance. Not only does this keep everyone on their toes, but it has encouraged us over the years to remain present during performances and enjoy the unexpected. Alongside this, nothing can beat communicating with a live audience.

If you could collaborate with any other artist, past or present, who would it be and why? Jules Buckley – his arrangements and work with the Metropole Orkest are always mind-blowing, so this would be something very cool to explore.

What music are you listening to at the moment? Each of us picked one artist and these range from current pop icons to leading trumpet soloists: Raye, Janelle Monáe, Matthias Höfs, Tina Turner and Sabrina Carpenter…