Philip Sparke

Philip Sparke (born 1951 in London) is a British composer and musician. He is noted for his concert band music.

Biography

He was born in London and studied composition, trumpet and piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained an ARCM.

It was at the College that his interest in bands arose. He played in the College wind orchestra and also formed a brass band among the students, writing several works for both ensembles. At that time, his first published works appeared - Concert Prelude (brass band) and Gaudium (wind band). A growing interest in his music led to several commissions, his first major one being for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand – The Land of the Long White Cloud.

Further commissions followed from individual bands, various band associations and the BBC, for whom he three times won the EBU New Music for Band Competition (with Slipstream, Skyrider and Orient Express). He has written for brass band championships in New Zealand, Switzerland, Holland, Australia and the UK, including three times for the National Finals at the Albert Hall, and his test pieces are constantly in use wherever brass bands can be found.

A close association with banding in Japan led to a commission (Celebration) from and eventual recording of his music with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. This opened the door worldwide to his wind band music and led to several commissions, particularly from the United States. In 1996 the US Air Force Band commissioned and recorded Dance Movements, which won the prestigious Sudler Prize in 1997. In 2005 Music of the Spheres won the National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest.

His conducting and adjudicating activities have taken him to most European countries, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA. He runs his own publishing company, Anglo Music Press, which he formed in May 2000. In September 2000 he was awarded the Iles Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to brass bands.

Works

Music for Winds

* 1973/1976 "Gaudium"
* 1975 "The Prizewinners" for Brass-Band
* 1978/1995 "Fantasy for Euphonium"
* 1979/1985 "A Concert Prelude"
* 1979 "Capriccio (E-flat Cornet Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1979/1987 "The Land fo the Long White Cloud "Aotearoa"
* 1981 "A Tameside Overture" for Brass-Band
* 1981 "Fanfare, Romance & Finale" for Brass-Band
* 1981 "Song and Dance (Cornet Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1982 "Barn Dance & Cowboy Hymn" for Brass-Band
* 1983 "Rhythm and Blues" for Brass-Band
* 1984 "Aubade (Euphonium Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1984 "Jubilee-Overture"
* 1984 "A London Overture" for Brass-Band
* 1984 "A Malvern Suite" for Brass-Band
* 1984 "Slipstream (Concert-March)"
* 1984/1985 "The Year of the Dragon"
*# Toccata
*# Interlude
*# Finale
* 1985 "A Celtic Suite" for Brass-Band
*# Dawns Werin
*# Suo Gan
*# Men of Harlech
* 1985 "Masquerade (E-flat Horn Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1985/1987 "Music for a Festival"
*# Con brio
*# Andantino
*# Vivo
* 1985 "Skyrider (Concert-March)" for Brass-Band
* 1986/1992 "Orient Express"
* 1986/1994 "Pantomime (Euphonium Solo)"
* 1986 "Party Piece (Euphonium Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1986 "Prelude, Toccata & Fugue (Graduation Day)" for Brass-Band
* 1986 "Variations on an Enigma" for Brass-Band
* 1987 "Flying the Breeze"
* 1987 "Mountain Song" for Brass-Band
* 1988 "A Swiss Festival Overture"
* 1988 "Concertino for Tuba (E-flat Tuba Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1988 "Concerto Grosso (Brass Quartet & Band)" for Brass-Band
* 1988 "Endeavour (Australia 1788-1988)" a Programmatic Rhapsody for Brass-Band
*# The unknown continent
*# Terra Australis
*# The new challenge
* 1988 "River City Serenade" for Brass-Band
* 1988 "Serenade for Toni"
* 1989 "Partita" for Brass-Band
* 1989 "The sunken village" for Fanfare Orchestra
* 1989 "A Tameside Overture"
* 1989] "Theatre Music"
*# Overture
*# Entr'acte
*# Finale
* 1989 "The Vikings"
* 1989/1990 "Two-part Invention (Euphonium Duet)"
* 1990 "Cambridge Variations" for Brass-Band
* 1990 "Fanfare, Romance, Finale"
* 1990/1992 "A Pittsburgh Overture"
* 1990 "Sinfonietta Nr. 1"
*# Overture
*# Aria
*# Scherzo
* 1990 "Triptych" for Brass-Band
* 1990 "A Yorkshire Overture"
* 1991 "Celebration"
* 1991 "Concerto for Trumpet or Cornet" for Brass-Band
* 1992 "Euphonism (Euphonium Duet)" for Brass-Band
* 1992 "Jamaica Farewell"
* 1992/1996 "Jubilee-Prelude"
* 1992 "Serenade for Horns (E-flat Horn Trio)" for Brass-Band
* 1992 "Festival Overture"
* 1992 "Mountain Song"
* 1992 "Mambo Jumbo"
* 1992 "River City Serenade"
* 1992 "Sinfonietta Nr. 2"
*# Overture
*# Serenade
*# Finale
* 1992 "Soliloquy (Cornet Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1993 "Processional Overture"
* 1993 "Song for Ina (Euphonuim Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 1993 "Tijuana Trumpets (Trumpet feature)"
* 1994 "Three Miniatures" for Brass-Band
* 1995 "Dance Movements"
*# Ritmico
*# Molto vivo (for Woodwinds)
*# Lento (for the Brass)
*# Molto ritmico
* 1995 "Euphonium Concerto No 1" for Brass-Band
* 1996 "Fiesta"
* 1996 "White Rose Overture"
* 1996 "Music for Arosa"
* 1997 "Norwegian Rondo"
* 1997 "Time to Say Goodbye" for Brass-Band
* 1998 "Between the Moon and Mexico" for Brass-Band
* 1998 "Diversions - Variations on a Swiss Folk Song "Der Heimetvogel"
*# Theme
*# Variation 1 (Vivo e scherzando)
*# Variation 2 (Subito meno mosso)
*# Variation 3 (Lento espressivo)
*# Variation 4 (Vivace)
* 1999 "Earth, Water, Sun, Wind" Symphony for Band
*# Earth
*# Water
*# Sun
*# Wind
* 1999 "Hanover Festival"
* 1999 "Lindisfarne Rhapsody" (Flute Solo)
* 1999 "Tallis Variations" for Brass-Band
* 1999 "Wilten Festival Overture"
* 2000 "The Centurion" for Brass-Band
* 2000 "Five Festive Fanfares"
* 2000 "Navigation Inn (Concert March)"
* 2000 "Overture for Woodwinds"
* 2000 "Time Remembered"
* 2000 "To a New Dawn"
* 2001 "Carol of the Shepherds"
* 2001 "Ballad for Benny"
* 2001 "Four Norfolk Dances"
*# Pulham Prelude
*# Diss Dance
*# Lopham Lament
*# Garboldisham Gigue
* 2001 "Infinity and Beyond..."
* 2001 "Invictus (The Unconquered)"
* 2001 "A London Intrada"
* 2001 "Navigation Inn" for Brass-Band
* 2001 "The Prince of Denmark's March"
* 2001 "Shalom! (Suite of Israeli Folk Songs)"
*# V’ha’ir Shushan & Havdala
*# Hanerot Halalu & Ba’olam Haba
*# Mishenichnas Adar, Ani Purim & Yom Tov Lanu
* 2001 "South Down Pictures" for Brass-Band
* 2001 "Sunrise at Angel's Gate"
* 2001 "Te Deum Prelude"
* 2001 "Time Remembered" for Brass-Band
* 2001 "Two Norwegian Folk Tunes"
* 2002 "Alladale from Hymn of the Highlands (Flugel, Horn and Baritone Trio)" für Brass-Band
* 2002 "Big Sky Ouverture"
* 2002 "Mary's Boy Child "
* 2002 "Merry-Go-Round"
* 2002 "Morning Song - for Horn Quartet and Band"
* 2002 "Pathfinders March"
* 2002 "Portrait of a City"
* 2002 "Sinfonietta No 3 (Rheinfelden Sketches)"
*# Promenade
*# Ballad
*# Interlude
*# Scherzo
* 2002/2003 "Suite from "Hymn of the Highlands"
*# Ardross Castle
*# Alladale
*# Dundonnell
* 2002 "Flowerdale from "Hymn of the Highlands" (Soprano Cornet Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 2002 "Lairg Muir from "Hymn of the Highlands" (Cornet Solo) " for Brass-Band
* 2002 "Strathcarron from "Hymn of the Highlands" (Sword Dance)" for Brass-Band
* 2002 "Summer Isles from "Hymn of the Highlands" (Euphonium Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 2002 "The White Rose"
* 2003 "Aria (Tenor Horn Solo)" for Brass-Band
* 2003 "Clarinet Calypso"
* 2003 "Clarinet Concerto"
* 2003 "A Huntingdon Celebration"
* 2003 "Kaleidoscope - Five Variations on the "Brugg Song"
*# Introduction
*# Theme
*# Variation I
*# Variation II
*# Variation III
*# Variation IV
*# Variation V
* 2003 "Masquerade (A Willisau Celebration)"
* 2003 "Out of the Darkness, Into the Light "
* 2003 "Prelude and Scherzo (Trombone solo)" for Brass-Band
* 2003 "Simple Sarabande"
* 2003 "Ten Chorale Preludes"
* 2003 "Veni Immanuel"
* 2003 "Westminster Prelude"
* 2004 "Between the two Rivers"
* 2004 "Choral and Variations"A Swiss Festival Overture
* 2004 "A Klezmer Karnival "
* 2004 "Flying the Breeze"
* 2004 "La Caracolá"
* 2004 "Mandalen Landscapes"
* 2004 "Manhattan (Trumpet Solo)"
* 2004 "Marchissimo"
* 2004 "Music of the Spheres" für Brass-Band
*# t = 0 - Big Bang
*# The lonely planet
*# Asteroids and shooting stars
*# The unknown
* 2004/2005 "Portrait of a Music"
* 2004 "Postcard from Singapore"
* 2004 "Summer Scene" for Brass-Band
* 2004 "The Bandwagon" for Brass-Band
* 2004 "The Four Noble Truths"
*# Dukkha
*# Samudaya
*# Nirodha
*# Magga
* 2005 "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair"
* 2005 "Jubilate" for Brass-Band
* 2005 "The Painted Desert"
* 2005 "The Pioneers"
* 2005 "Variants on an English Hymn Tune (Euphonium Solo)"
* 2005 "When the Spirit Soars"
* 2006 "Valerius Variations"
* 2006 "Tuba Concerto"
* 2006 "Trombone Concerto"
* 2006 "Dances and Alleluias" for Brass Band
* 2007 "Albion Heritage" for wind ensembleCommissioned by The Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) for the 2008 International Honor Band. World premier on March 15, 2008 in London, UK, at the AMIS 2008 International Band and Choir Festival.
* "Harmony Music" for Brass-Band

External links

* [http://www.philipsparke.com Philip Sparke's Homepage]