Diamond Fanfare (rehearsal) | Grimethorpe Colliery Band, David Thornton, Elsecar Heritage Centre | 2021

Finally in 2021 we were allowed to play music together again after lockdown, and this was the first piece Grimethorpe played (socially distanced) at their first rehearsal back. Librarian Kim Ward captured this on video - thank you Kim.

Diamond Fanfare was subsequently the first piece played at the band's first concert after the pandemic - at the Lichfield Festival in Lichfield Cathedral. And it was actually the first piece I wrote for brass band in 2012. A lot of firsts! They've performed it several times since and it's always great to hear.

Diamond Fanfare is written for a special occasion; hidden within the festive music are two separate versions of part of the National Anthem. Rhythmic drive and momentum is sustained by the percussion throughout, whilst celebratory motifs are passed around the brass section, racing to a sparkling flourish at the finish. It was commissioned by Lydbrook Band for the Royal Forest Jubilee on 2nd June 2012, conductor Ian Holmes, at The Speech House, Coleford and performed as part of the Brass The Baton relay race, a 2012 cultural Olympiad project for brass bands.