Inspired by the polystylistic work of Alfred Schnittke, Homage to Schnittke, for piccolo, flute, clarinet, piano, harpsichord, vibraphone, marimba, drum kit, violin and cello, is separated into five movements. The first is scored for just cello and vibraphone, before the second movement introduces the other instrumentalists. Much of the jolly material is inspired by the music of the Baroque era. The third movement is based around a suspended note, before the climax of the piece is reached. The fourth movement is heavily inspired by the second movement of Schnittke's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra and the violin part in the fifth movement is a quote from the opening to the third movement of Schnittke’s work, with minor alterations.

Red Note Ensemble have kindly permitted me to share this recording of their premiere performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's annual new music festival 'Plug' in May 2017.

Homage to Schnittke (2017) performed by the Red Note Ensemble

Inspired by Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man, Chetham's Fanfare was written for the opening ceremonies of Chetham's School of Music's new building. It was premiered by the school's 10 piece brass and percussion ensembles at the media day in March 2012, played off of the top balcony of the atrium (pictured) as well as used at the royal opening ceremony, which was attended by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.  
The big and powerful harmony and orchestration in Chetham’s Fanfare symbolises how large, great and powerful the building is, as does the virtuosic trumpet writing.

Chetham's Fanfare - A Fanfare for Mass and Space (2012)

This music was used as part of the medals ceremonies at the 2017 Total BWF Badminton World Championships, which was hosted at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow by Badminton Scotland, who also used the music at the 2017 Scottish Open Badminton Grand Prix. Recorded by a chamber orchestra made up of students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland conducted by John Logan, the basis of the work has been recycled from a brass band piece I wrote in 2011, although through major reworkings (omission and addition of sections, re-examination of the harmony, and re-orchestration) I created a majestic and joyous new work, which evokes an emotional response, especially for Badminton Scotland and the 2017 World Championships.

Fanfare and Theme - Medals Ceremony Music Total BWF Badminton World Championships 2017

Music is often a configuration of pitches, rhythms, harmonies, dynamics, articulations, ideas, and other elements. 

I was extremely grateful to Dominic Degavino for offering to premiere “Configuration” at the Borough New Music, London. This performance took place in Amsterdam.

Configuration (2018) performed by Dominic Degavino, Piano

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” was inspired by the opening of the famous nursery rhyme of the same name, the words of which come from English poet and novelist Jane Taylor’s poem “The Star” (published 1806). Whilst the melody has been used as part of many children’s songs and Christmas carols – in English and in other languages – it originated in France as the melody of the folk song “Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman”. It was first published without lyrics in 1761 and with lyrics in 1774, although some believe the melody dates back to 1740. Whilst the composer is unknown, many others have used the melody in their work, including Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Franz Liszt, Camille Saint-Saëns (in “The Carnival of the Animals”), and perhaps most notably, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 

The middle of the piece was inspired by the music of Austrian composer HK Gruber – in particular the first movement of “Aerial” for trumpet and orchestra – which was the focus of my research during my master's studies.

I was extremely grateful to Natalie Kulina for offering to premiere “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” alongside the Conservatorium van Amsterdam’s Score Collective during the Conservatorium’s 2019 Composers’ Festival.

Photo by Co Broerse

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (2019) performed by Natalie Kulina, Violin and the Score Collective

Music is often a configuration of pitches, rhythms, harmonies, dynamics, articulations, ideas, and other elements. "Another Configuration", inspired by Martijn Padding's "Kier", is also a configuration of musical fragments/ motifs/ ideas which are varied and juxtaposed against one another, forming the piece. Whilst I almost always write from beginning to end when composing, with this piece, most of the musical fragments were composed at the start of the composition process.

"Another Configuration" was written for the Nieuw Ensemble’s annual Evening of Today concerts, which were conducted by Ed Spanjaard and took place at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam (broadcast live on NPO Radio 4) and Korzo, The Hague. I wrote it shortly after completing "Configuration" for solo piano.

Another Configuration (2019) performed by the Nieuw Ensemble

Huddersfield born composer Thomas Brown has worked with organisations such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Nieuw Ensemble, Aurora Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, European Youth Brass Band, and Neon- Choir for Newest Music. Furthermore, his music has been performed at the BBC Proms and broadcast on national radio in both the UK and Netherlands. In 2016 musicians joined together to perform in a concert containing a selection of his chamber music and in 2017 his music formed part of the medals ceremonies of the Total BWF Badminton World Championships and Scottish Open Badminton Grand Prix, the former tournament broadcast to over 0.6 billion people worldwide. HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex was in attendance and requested to meet Thomas, as he’d heard another of his works in 2012. At the age of 15 he arranged music for Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts.

​Whilst Thomas believes it important to write what one wishes to hear, his music aims to be appealing to general audiences and “accessible”, yet still original and innovative. He regularly experiments with jazz harmony and polystylism, and has enjoyed writing works which have a sense of energy and forward momentum throughout, as well as ones of a more relaxed nature. His current interests include using tonal harmony in new ways and bright sounds, in terms of both harmony and timbre. One of his idols is the Austrian composer HK Gruber, whose music he has recently completed a paper on. 

​Thomas studied with Richard Ayres and Willem Jeths at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (generously supported by Moose International) following completion of undergraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Prior to this, he was a student at Chetham’s School of Music, at which time he won the BBC Proms Inspire Young Composers’ Competition and was awarded the Douglas Steele Award.

​Conducting is another passion of Thomas’s; he enjoys directing his own works as well as others with student, professional, youth, and amateur ensembles and orchestras, including championship section brass bands. He grew up playing cornet and trumpet in brass bands, big bands, orchestras, and other ensembles. He also plays piano, has appeared as a percussionist at events such as the British and Scottish Open Brass Band Championships, and tutors a wide range of students. Mentoring is also part of his role as a BBC Proms Inspire Ambassador. He enjoys undertaking arts leadership roles and in 2017 ran a composers’ orchestral workshop at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Thomas Brown Composer

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