March ‘Richard Evans’
Saturday 22nd April was the first anniversary of the passing of maestro Richard Evans whose contribution to brass banding in both the UK and further field was immense, and whose legacy lives on in a number of musical organisations. Last year renowned Scottish composer and arranger Alan Fernie wrote a new march in his memory entitled ‘Richard Evans’, which was jointly premiered by the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) and Rushen Silver Band on the Isle of Man. Both NYBBS and Rushen were proud to have him as their musical adviser for over 20 years.
The march is in 6/8 time and needs to be performed with a swagger, reminiscent of many of the marches Richard conducted to great acclaim. The march can be heard, performed by Leyland Band, another favourite band of Richard Evans, at: https://fb.watch/k2OKB-t0pf The march also featured as part of Rushen Silver Band’s entry in the 2023 Manx Music Festival. Rushen is delighted to now be able to make this march available, on Alan’s behalf, to bands throughout the world with all profits raised from its sale being donated to NYBBS, to support their excellent work developing emerging talent within the brass band world.
Band chairman Chris Weldon said: “It is an honour to be able to help support this fantastic initiative and I hope this great march will be played for many years to come. It is a very fitting tribute to a true gentleman.” RSB musical director John Kinley, who played under Richard at Leyland Band when it won the British Open in 1994, commented: “I had the privilege of knowing Richard as conductor, mentor and friend for over 30 years going back to my days in the BNFL / Leyland band and through my time on the band studies course at Accrington and Rossendale College in Lancashire. It has been an honour for Rushen to work with Alan, our friends at NYBBS and the Leyland Band to publish this fantastic new march. The music is very much in the style Mr Evans would have revelled in and is a fantastic tribute by Alan to a real musical legend in the brass band world. We are delighted that bands everywhere can use it to carry on Richard’s mission of inspiring musicians of all ages to perform to the highest standards and cultivate a general love of music making”.
Carrie Boax, president of the Scottish Brass Band Association and director of the NYBBS Easter and summer residential courses, added: “As it is a year ago since we lost dear Richard, we felt it fitting to release the piece today. It has been a really special project that has involved so many lovely people and we are very proud of the outcome. We hope many bands will take advantage of being able to obtain this excellent tribute to ‘The Boss’, especially as the money is going to such a good cause. We look forward to hearing bands around the world carrying on Richard’s legacy by performing the march ‘Richard Evans’.”
The march, priced at £15 in PDF version, is available via the Rushen Silver Band online shop, which can be accessed here: https://rushensilverband.sumupstore.com/
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