education and Onyx brass ensemble

Onyx Brass are also very active and experienced in the field of music education, having conducted workshops and master classes for a huge range of people. They have directed educational days at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and have just relinquished their post as ensemble-in-residence at Radley College, Oxfordshire. More recently, Onyx went back to the National Youth Orchestra for a day and coached the talented young brass students for a cooperative concert that evening.

International highlights were the invitations to host masterclasses for students at The Julliard School, New York, The Boston Conservatory and The University of Idaho, during the ensemble's 2006 Tour of the USA. The success of these sessions can been seen from the comments on the reviews page.

Primary education

"You were so cool you played weaked (sic) tunes. I wish we can do another concert"

Wherever their recital work takes the ensemble, a commitment to schools goes with them. A typical day sees the group giving a number of short schools concerts or workshops, followed by an evening recital. Onyx has a themed workshop day called A Sporting Chance. This is based on a piece written for the group by Bob Chilcott and involves a schools choir working with Onyx for the day. Each movement of the piece describes a different sporting discipline, including sprinting trumpets, a soccer rap and an ice skating trombone! Along with them an optional set of dancers and actors from the school may participate. The whole day is then directed by an highly experienced animateur and will include a performance to parents at the end of the day. This highly successful project began in 2000 in conjunction with Making Music (formerly National Federation of Music Societies) and toured over the U.K.

ONYX BRASS Education

Primary education