COMPOSERS COMPETITION
7th European Composers Competition 2019
Results of the 7th European Composers Competition in Casino Barrière Montreux.
1. Daniel Hall with A dialogue of transmogrified souls…
2. Paul Saggers with Ironbright
3. Stijn Aertgeerts with Bipolarity
Audience & Band Prize for Bipolarity – Stijn Aertgeerts
The three works are played by the famous Brass Band Treize Etoiles.
The three finalists in alphabetical order of composer are:
Bipolarity by Stijn Aertgeerts (B)
A Dialogue of Transmogrified Souls by Daniel Hall (GB)
Ironbright by Paul Saggers (GB)
EBBA Music Commission Chairman, Paul Hindmarsh comments: “It was an exceptional year. All ten compositions, which we judged anonymously, had much to commend them for their imagination, craft and handling of the brass band medium. My colleagues on the judging panel, Oliver Waespi and Lucy Pankhurst, were impressed by the personal ‘voices’ that shone through the entries. We are looking forward to an excellent final, when Stijn, Daniel and Paul will hear their works for the first time.”
The EBBA Music Commission wishes to congratulate the other composers who entered the competition. They are Aurelien Darbellay (The Wicked Reflection), Cedric Fuhrer (Beyond All Summits), Louis Kroni (Miracle on the Hudson) and Théo Schmitt (Particles Dance) from Switzerland; Linas Rupslaukis (Ditto) from Lithuania, Pierre-Antoine Savoyat (…Our Shame…) from France and Mathias Wehr (The Complete Champions) from Germany.
Stijn Aertgeerts
Stijn Aertgeerts (b. 1992) is a member of the tuba section of Brass Band Willebroek. His first instrument was the cornet, and in that capacity Stijn was a member of the European Youth Brass Band of 2006 and 2007 in Belfast and Birmingham respectively. He continued his studies at the Music Academy of Antwerp where his teacher was Arthur Vanderhoeft, and in 2007 accepted Frans Violet’s invitation join Young Brass Band Willebroek. Less than a year later, in consultation with his cornet teacher Arthur Vanderhoeft, he switched to E flat bass and within a few months joined Brass Band Willebroek. In 2010 Stijn continued his studies with Frans Violet at Antwerp Conservatoire. Stijn’s compositions have been performed by leading bands andsoloists across Europe, including Eikanger-Bjorsvik. Since April 2016 he has been the conductor of Brassband Burgipja.
Daniel Hall
Daniel Hall is a 22 year-old composer, cornetist and conductor from Cornwall currently in his final year of undergraduate study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. In January 2016 Daniel won the third John Golland Award at the Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band Festival. As his prize, the John Golland Trust commissioned a new brass band work and Sanctuary!, the set test in the Premier Section of the 2019 European Youth Brass Band Contest, is the result. Daniel’s music has been performed inLithuania, Switzerland, France and at major venues in the UK, including the Barbican Hall
(London) and The Sage Gateshead (Brass in Concert). His work Smoke Sketcheswas commissioned by Brass Bands England as one of the set tests for the 2017 National Youth Championships of Great Britain.
Paul Saggers
Paul Saggers (b. 1985) was born in Cornwall. He started playing the cornet at the age of 12, more recently playing for the Camborne Town Band and the Flowers Band. At the age of 25 he decided to pursue a career in the Royal Marines Band Service and is currently based in the Plymouth Band. His interest in composition started later in life after enrolling in the BMus degree programme through the Royal Marines. His first work to be performed by a brass band, entitled The Great Storm Cat, was premiered by The Cornwall Youth Brass Band of which he was a member. His work The Roar of the Khamsin was shortlisted for the 2017 RWCMD composer competition and was premiered by extensively for Wind Band and is working towards an MMus in Composition through the Royal Marines in partnership with Plymouth University. He is currently studying with Simon Dobson.
