Heswall Concert Band

Join Heswall Concert Band as they perform Pictures in an Exhibition in the main hall of the Lady Lever Art Gallery. This concert will feature brand new pieces of music composed by band members to reflect the paintings in our collections. 

The project came out of the band rehearsing three movements of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at An Exhibition. Greg Williams, the band’s musical director, wanted to extend the scope but could not find an arrangement of the other movements, so he arranged them himself. 

Musicians from the band then wrote music responding to art works in the gallery to perform as world premieres in the space. 

Ed Williams who plays trombone in the Band and has written a piece based on The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt. It is a minimalistic piece with rich textures. 

Mike Wood plays clarinet/bass clarinet and his piece based on The Kelpie by Herbert Jame Draper, an atmospheric experimental work using non instrumental sounds. 

Margaret Scott on tenor sax and her son Archie on alto sax produced a piece based on The Falls of Clyde by Tuner, a lyrical piece with a strong rhythmic and melodic emphasis. 

Kathy Young plays percussion, her piece is inspired by the Millais painting Bubbles. and features her playing the xylophone. 

John Brice on clarinet wrote a melody based on Ballet by Laura Knight. Greg Williams completed it with two variations, using the full range of the clarinet. 

This is a truly unique opportunity to hear these pieces premiered for free in the gallery.