Connaught Brass is a quintet made up of students from The Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. The ensemble was formed in 2016, created by a group of friends who have known each other for several years. The members have previously been principal players in notable orchestras including the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra’s of Great Britain, Scotland and Wales.
More recently, members have begun to appear on the professional circuit, including freelance work with the London Symphony Orchestra. The quintet consists of Aaron Akugbo and Harry Plant playing trumpet; Robyn Blair, french horn; Chris Brewster, tenor trombone and; Aled Meredith-Barrett playing tuba. All players hold major scholarships at their conservatoires.
Since their inaugural performance at the Royal Academy of Music in 2016, the group have been invited to play in several recitals across the south of England. Whilst studying, they have benefited from coaching lead by some of the UK’s leading brass chamber musicians, including Alan Thomas and Matt Knight (Septura), as well as regular coaching with Bob Hughes (Senior Brass Tutor, RAM). They have also represented the conservatoire in a
masterclass with the contemporary American composer Anthony Plog, performing the composers own work.
Connaught Brass won the Worshipful Company of Musicians Brass Ensemble Prize 2018, adjudicated by Phil Cobb (LSO, Principal Trumpet). Shortly after, they travelled to France to take part in the music festival Ferrandou Musique, where they performed three concerts made up of a vast range of repetoire, including original works for brass quintet and especially arranged vocal and piano works. They will be returning to the same festival in August 2019.
The ensemble’s ambition is to explore and share the broadest range of musical repertoire with as wide an audience as possible, bringing brass chamber music to the forefront of the musical world.
Free recital (retiring collection)