Ashley Knows the Score
Ashley Keyte, 16, has a particular talent – music. Not so unusual for a
teenager, you may think. But Ashley’s talent is not in rock bands but
within brass bands. Before joining St Brendan’s Catholic Sixth Form
College in Brislington, Bristol, he was a pupil at Speedwell School and
left with an ‘ordinary’ set of GCSE results but a fantastic A in music.
He has just composed a piece of music entitled Pins and Needles written for brass bands and has written the score for all instruments in the band. Not exceptional, you may think, others have done this before. Ashley has never composed anything before. Only once before had he used the computer software Sibelius to do anything.
When Ashley was eleven he could pick out a tune on a keyboard, he spoke to the music teacher at his previous school and asked if he could play in the school’s concert band. They were pleased to receive new members but there was no place for keyboard players. Ashley moved from keyboard to the trumpet. By 13 he was able to read music, had passed Grade 4 on the cornet and was performing with the school Concert Band. He had also joined the Bristol East Band which is based in Hanham. At first Ashley played the trumpet, but then moved on to the cornet. The cornet is his preferred instrument, now. He was particularly lucky to have this band so near to his home, not only did they have members of experience and talent, there was a wide age range and they had a ‘youth policy’ – a genuine intent to encourage the younger members.
Ashley practices twice a week with the Bristol East Band and plays regular concerts – at the Parade Gardens in Bath, the Princess Theatre in Burnham, for example. The most exciting event was the recent Brunel Concert, where six bands, including Ashley’s, combined to play the 1812 Overture. The sound was great, the experience brilliant but, most importantly as they started to play the sky turned black, thunder was heard, lightning flashed across the sky and huge hailstone rained down on the bands. ‘The atmosphere,’ said Ashley, ‘was amazing.’
Ashley first used Sibelius when Speedwell school contacted him and asked him to do the score for their version of Bugsy Malone. With just a piano book to work from, he wrote the parts for the orchestra – and played cornet. ‘If I had got it wrong, I would have been there to take the complaints.’ chuckled Ashley.
With new skills and a new challenge, Ashley ‘explored’ Sibelius. Picking out a melody that he thought was a bit ‘sparky’, he continued developing the piece until he had a composition that was suitable for a full brass band, he then wrote the parts for all instruments in the band. To do this he had to ‘hear’ each instrument in his head, trombones, cornet and so on.
With his music completed he approached his bandleader John Griffin and asked his opinion. John thought it was ‘very good’. He said, ‘Some of the parts are very complicated, he has an excellent understanding of the range of instruments. We ran through it when Ashley gave it to me and we certainly include it in our concerts.’
Ashley’s music teacher at St Brendan’s says, ‘The work is exceptional, of its type it is as good as, if not better than, anything our older students can produce.’
Geoff Collard
Useful URL : http://www.stbrn.ac.uk
He has just composed a piece of music entitled Pins and Needles written for brass bands and has written the score for all instruments in the band. Not exceptional, you may think, others have done this before. Ashley has never composed anything before. Only once before had he used the computer software Sibelius to do anything.
When Ashley was eleven he could pick out a tune on a keyboard, he spoke to the music teacher at his previous school and asked if he could play in the school’s concert band. They were pleased to receive new members but there was no place for keyboard players. Ashley moved from keyboard to the trumpet. By 13 he was able to read music, had passed Grade 4 on the cornet and was performing with the school Concert Band. He had also joined the Bristol East Band which is based in Hanham. At first Ashley played the trumpet, but then moved on to the cornet. The cornet is his preferred instrument, now. He was particularly lucky to have this band so near to his home, not only did they have members of experience and talent, there was a wide age range and they had a ‘youth policy’ – a genuine intent to encourage the younger members.
Ashley practices twice a week with the Bristol East Band and plays regular concerts – at the Parade Gardens in Bath, the Princess Theatre in Burnham, for example. The most exciting event was the recent Brunel Concert, where six bands, including Ashley’s, combined to play the 1812 Overture. The sound was great, the experience brilliant but, most importantly as they started to play the sky turned black, thunder was heard, lightning flashed across the sky and huge hailstone rained down on the bands. ‘The atmosphere,’ said Ashley, ‘was amazing.’
Ashley first used Sibelius when Speedwell school contacted him and asked him to do the score for their version of Bugsy Malone. With just a piano book to work from, he wrote the parts for the orchestra – and played cornet. ‘If I had got it wrong, I would have been there to take the complaints.’ chuckled Ashley.
With new skills and a new challenge, Ashley ‘explored’ Sibelius. Picking out a melody that he thought was a bit ‘sparky’, he continued developing the piece until he had a composition that was suitable for a full brass band, he then wrote the parts for all instruments in the band. To do this he had to ‘hear’ each instrument in his head, trombones, cornet and so on.
With his music completed he approached his bandleader John Griffin and asked his opinion. John thought it was ‘very good’. He said, ‘Some of the parts are very complicated, he has an excellent understanding of the range of instruments. We ran through it when Ashley gave it to me and we certainly include it in our concerts.’
Ashley’s music teacher at St Brendan’s says, ‘The work is exceptional, of its type it is as good as, if not better than, anything our older students can produce.’
Geoff Collard
Useful URL : http://www.stbrn.ac.uk
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