The accomplished Onyx Brass – The Times
An ensemble that is much more than the sum of its parts. 5 stars – BBC Music Magazine
One of the finest brass groups in the country – British Bandsman Magazine
Their obvious enthusiasm for the repertoire was infectious. I’ve never heard contemporary music sound so accessible. The audience loved it. – Tom Lewis, EMI Classics
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, Onyx Brass continues to be the leading light in establishing the brass quintet as a medium for serious chamber music, inspired by the pioneering early years of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. To this end, the group has commissioned and performed the world premières of well over 100 new works, with many more in the pipeline for performance and recording. It is a point of justifiable pride for the group to play authentic and sometimes challenging music, yet remain a group which is utterly accessible to audiences: there is no need to “dumb down” when programmes are presented in the entertaining and articulate fashion that has become the group’s trademark. A brief snapshot of the composers whose work Onyx has premièred includes Stuart MacRae, Michael Nyman, Joe Duddell, John Tavener, Judith Bingham, John McCabe, Tarik O’Regan, Cheryl Frances Hoad, Timothy Jackson, Graham Lynch, Steve Martland, Arne Werkman, Jonathan Dove, John White, Paul Mealor, Julian Phillips, Rory Boyle and Hans Abrahamsen.
During its first 20 years, Onyx has toured extensively: there are very few corners of the UK that remain unvisited! The group has performed regularly at festivals and concert halls in the USA, Ireland, France, Sweden, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland to unanimous critical acclaim, acclaim that has also been forthcoming for its recordings. Its five CDs are notable for their innovative and entertaining programming: for example, pairings of Bach and Shostakovich fugues, contemporary music linked with the renaissance music that inspired it, and a recent disc featuring a new partnership with the extraordinary baritone voice of Mark Stone. BBC Music Magazine described the group as “easily the classiest brass ensemble in Britain”, Gramophone hailed “some of the most thrilling chamber brass-playing of its kind” and the Observer described “an eclectic ear opener of a disc, virtuosically played”. Onyx and its recordings are also regularly featured on BBC Radio 3.
Education is a large part of the remit of Onyx Brass: they have conducted workshops and master-classes in an enormous variety of contexts that range from Primary School reception classes to the Juilliard School of Music in New York. They have held various residencies, including at Radley College, The Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama, Westminster Abbey Choir School. The group is currently resident ensemble of Imperial College, University of London.
Work with singers also forms a central part of Onyx’s work: in recent years the group has worked regularly with the BBC Singers and the Choir of St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, as well as superb amateur choirs such as the Brighton Festival Chorus and the choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Much of this work has been under the auspices of the remarkable John Armitage Memorial trust, with whom Onyx Brass has been affiliated since its inception.
The individual members of the group are also active orchestral musicians: they hold permanent positions in various orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of English National Opera, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and the English Chamber Orchestra.