About the quintet
The Coupland Brass Quintet was formed in October 2003, whilst all of the members were studying music at The University of Manchester. Originally formed for an assessed recital, the quintet’s repertoire has expanded from more serious music, including many original compositions by fellow students (and, indeed, its own members) to lighter entertainment pieces written and arranged for brass quintet. The quintet has been in demand at many venues in Greater Manchester, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the south-west of England, and during the summer of 2005 toured the UK, visiting each of the members' home towns.
We enjoy all elements of the work we do as quintet, be it performing a recital of modern brass music, providing a varied and accessible concert to 'the masses' or getting kids excited about music and brass playing in one of our education workshops.
The Coupland Brass Quintet's founding members:
- Trumpets - David Greenland and Graham South
- Horn - Kathryn Allnutt
- Trombone - Tullis Rennie
- Tuba - Chris Lydon
With the four male members of the group beginning their second year at The University of Manchester, they were eager to find a horn player for the quintet. Kathryn had just started in her first year at the music department and was quickly drafted into the group - she proved to be a big success! From October 2003, a lot of our time was spent preparing for our assessed recital, to take place the following March. Since the very first rehearsal, the quintet has played many different styles of music; its repertoire now spanning from new music written specifically for the quintet, through 'classical' arrangements, and to lighter entertainment pieces.
The quintet has been in demand at many venues in Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and the south-west, and in the summer of 2005, toured the UK, visiting each of the members' home towns. As four of the group were graduating in July 2005, we decided to round off our 'official' university existence with a concert in each of our home towns.
We are keen to nurture our already-forged relationships with composers who have written for us in the past, and we hope to see more works come from them. We are also keen to foster new relationships with composers of brass music, and we'll be looking to expand this area of our activities in the future. Please get in touch with us if you have a new brass work you would like to be performed or would like to compose a piece for us.
The Coupland Brass Quintet's current members:
- Trumpets - David Greenland and Graham South
- Horn - Matt Crossley
- Trombone - Owain Roberts
- Tuba - Chris Lydon
Have a look at our Repertoire to find out what sort of music we offer. If you want to hear us, have a look at our Samples page.
Why are we called "The Coupland Brass Quintet"?
Sadly, the reason behind our name is not steeped in mystery and intrigue, causing hours of fruitless debate between major musicologists worldwide. The Music Department (as it was then) at our university moved from its old home in Denmark Road, to a brand new building in the summer of 2003. When we formed there, we were looking for a name for the group. 'Gemini' had already gone (the name of a favourite near-by cafe of ours); 'Rivoli' likewise (that was the original name of the old Music Department building); and countless other (serious and not-so-serious) suggestions, which for some reason or other didn't fit the bill.
Until... we thought of using the old name for the building which was now the Music Department - the building was mostly brand new, but had a small area which was refurbished from the original University building.
The original name of that old building was "Coupland II" - we presume there were Couplands I and III somewhere...
All of the "Coupland"-named buildings in the area obviously stem from the name of the street where you'll find our music department:
So that's the reason behind the name. Our ex-department is now called "The Martin Harris Building", named after an old chancellor of the University. Maybe a quintet will emerge from the building boasting that name sometime soon?
Find out more about each of the Players.
We need to thank a few people...
... who have made it possible for the quintet to exist at all, and to those people how have helped us out in the past, and those who continue to lend us a hand with advice and tips. So thanks to anyone who has helped us out - we really appreciate it!
[ Note to self : maybe we should be a bit more specific here... that's a bit of a co[u]p-out "thank you" really... ]
- Many, many thanks go to Ewan Easton, principal tuba with the Hallé in Manchester. Ewan helped us with two major coaching sessions, as well countless bits of advice and encouragement. We'd all like to acknowledge his help and support. Cheers, Ewan!
- Thanks, also, go to Richard Lydon for hosting our web site for the first six years or so of its existence.
- Our thanks and immense gratitude also go to the families of The Coupland Brass Quintet for their hospitality (and the copious amount of food provided!) during our mini-tour of June 2005 [ Added June 2006: Ditto! ]. Such welcoming homes made it very hard to move onto the next place each day, but we're very much looking forward to returning in the very near future!
- To Liz and Brian Allnutt: Once again, many thanks for hosting us during our recent return visit to Exeter. The beds, food, chauffeur service and brilliant hospitality were all much appreciated. It's always a delight to visit the south-west, and you make it as easy as possible for us - thanks so much!
- To Thryn and Tul : once a coup, always a coup!