Brass Tracks
Brass Tracks was the first in a series of partnership projects Craig undertook in conjunction with Judi Hughes and Rhondda Cynon Taf Cultural Services.
A truly unique evening of film and live music the project was the product of the combined skills of Craig, silent film composer / pianist Paul Shallcross and composer / orchestrator Leigh Phillips. The project was supported by an Arts For All lottery grant from the Arts Council of Wales and additional funding from Sgrin Cymru Wales, and saw the commissioning and performance of a plethora of new arrangements of movie music for brass band, accompanied by sections of live film and theatrical special effects.
Alongside classic arrangements of favourite blockbuster movie themes such as Gladiator, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, Leigh Phillips was commissioned to arrange a selection of new titles especially for the Brass Tracks project including the themes from Spiderman, Supergirl, A Beautiful Mind, Masada, and Jason & the Argonauts. These themes, alongside various other titles, were played out to a backdrop of movie clips, images and special effects created specially for the project by digital artist Simon Prothero in conjunction with Craig Roberts, Leigh Phillips and the technicians of the Park & Dare Theatre.
In addition to these contemporary blockbusters, audience members were also launched back in time with the compositions of expert silent film pianist/composer Paul Shallcross who worked closely with Craig to transcribe his own compositions for brass band, to accompany the silent films of early twentieth-century Welsh film pioneer William Haggar.
Also appearing in Brass Tracks was vocalist Natalya Romaniw, then a student at Swansea's Gorseinon College; Natalya went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London) and represent Wales in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Natalya performed such showstopping numbers as David Arnold's Surrender (the unused theme from the hit Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies), Gollum's Song (from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), James Horner's stunning theme from A Beautiful Mind, and May it Be (from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring).
Undoubtedly one of the most innovative and original projects for band seen in recent years, Brass Tracks was met with widespread acclaim from audiences, venue managers and critics alike (renowned trumpet player and now Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama John Wallace described the show as "highly innovative" and "taking the concept of film music for brass to a new level".
Following it’s premiere performance at the Park & Dare Theatre as part of the Welsh Brass Arts Festival 2005, the show toured to a number of other venues including Ystradgynlais' The Welfare, Swansea's Taliesin Arts Centre and Leicestershire's Loughborough Town Hall.
The Brass Tracks material was recently used again by Craig and Abergavenny Borough Band in performance at the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl in February 2012, and will be performed again at the Borough Theatre, Abergavenny on Friday September 7, and as part of the 2012 Bandstand Marathon on Sunday September 9
A truly unique evening of film and live music the project was the product of the combined skills of Craig, silent film composer / pianist Paul Shallcross and composer / orchestrator Leigh Phillips. The project was supported by an Arts For All lottery grant from the Arts Council of Wales and additional funding from Sgrin Cymru Wales, and saw the commissioning and performance of a plethora of new arrangements of movie music for brass band, accompanied by sections of live film and theatrical special effects.
Alongside classic arrangements of favourite blockbuster movie themes such as Gladiator, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, Leigh Phillips was commissioned to arrange a selection of new titles especially for the Brass Tracks project including the themes from Spiderman, Supergirl, A Beautiful Mind, Masada, and Jason & the Argonauts. These themes, alongside various other titles, were played out to a backdrop of movie clips, images and special effects created specially for the project by digital artist Simon Prothero in conjunction with Craig Roberts, Leigh Phillips and the technicians of the Park & Dare Theatre.
In addition to these contemporary blockbusters, audience members were also launched back in time with the compositions of expert silent film pianist/composer Paul Shallcross who worked closely with Craig to transcribe his own compositions for brass band, to accompany the silent films of early twentieth-century Welsh film pioneer William Haggar.
Also appearing in Brass Tracks was vocalist Natalya Romaniw, then a student at Swansea's Gorseinon College; Natalya went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London) and represent Wales in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Natalya performed such showstopping numbers as David Arnold's Surrender (the unused theme from the hit Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies), Gollum's Song (from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), James Horner's stunning theme from A Beautiful Mind, and May it Be (from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring).
Undoubtedly one of the most innovative and original projects for band seen in recent years, Brass Tracks was met with widespread acclaim from audiences, venue managers and critics alike (renowned trumpet player and now Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama John Wallace described the show as "highly innovative" and "taking the concept of film music for brass to a new level".
Following it’s premiere performance at the Park & Dare Theatre as part of the Welsh Brass Arts Festival 2005, the show toured to a number of other venues including Ystradgynlais' The Welfare, Swansea's Taliesin Arts Centre and Leicestershire's Loughborough Town Hall.
The Brass Tracks material was recently used again by Craig and Abergavenny Borough Band in performance at the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl in February 2012, and will be performed again at the Borough Theatre, Abergavenny on Friday September 7, and as part of the 2012 Bandstand Marathon on Sunday September 9