 Cory Band's principal tubist, Simon Howell, puts the Les Neish Signature Alliance Mouthpiece series for Eb tuba through its paces, with pleasing results. Having been sent a tuba mouthpiece to review, I was very keen to get it open and have a good look, and I was pleased to see that it was the Les Neish Signature Series by Alliance. My initial thoughts were great; the standard of packaging complemented the classy finish of the mouthpiece and there was the added bonus of a free leather mouthpiece pouch. This specific mouthpiece was silver-plated with a gold rim and cup, aesthetically pleasing to say the least. Whilst trying the mouthpiece, it became immediately apparent that it was very comfortable to play with a fantastic tone quality, which was rich and full in all ranges. I found it very responsive and agile, especially playing in the high register, as well as having great projection. The ‘LN Alliance’ Mouthpiece resembles many of the good features of my mouthpiece of choice for many years - the Vincent Bach 24AW, including having the same cup diameters of 31.25mm and similar depths. This is certainly a versatile mouthpiece that could cope in many settings - I personally would feel comfortable using it in a band, in an orchestra in a chamber ensemble or for solos on Eb Tuba.Overall, this is an extremely well-presented, versatile and comfortable mouthpiece with a great quality finish and a very streamlined look, which lays in the same price bracket as many other leading tuba mouthpieces.
Les will be appearing with Swiss Band, Feldmusik Knutwill. He will be performing solos throughout the evening and without doubt this will be a night to remember!!
For more info go to www.feldmusikknutwill.ch The first Young Tubas event of the academic year was held on Sunday and 11 young Tuba players had a great day working with Les and 2 RNCM students, Conall Gormley and James Seabrook. After some fun warm up games the group created a brand new piece from scratch and also rehearsed 2 ensemble pieces and a hymn tune. This was all performed in a mini-concert for parents at the end of the session. The next Young Tubas is Sunday 19th November. Don’t miss it!!  After a successful first year, RNCM Young Tubas resumes on Sunday 8th October, led by Les and RNCM student, Conall Gormley. Make sure to come along to these free sessions as they are always good fun and include ensemble and solo playing, plus the chance to ask any brass related questions you have!!
With upcoming solos performances in the UK and a trip to Argentina at the start of 2018 I’ve been trying out some new repertoire. It would seem my phone wasn’t too interested in this one!!
A huge thanks to Steven Bey, Eirik Gjerdevik, Joanna Ross Hersey, Carol Jantsch, Rob Mackay , Clayton Maddox, Jesus Navas Valverde, Scott Roeder, Sandro Suter and Aaron Tindall.
Have a listen to the second movement on soundcloud and purchase the sheet music here
Each afternoon consisted of sports activities with a visit from two commandos who put everyone (including staff) through their paces!
Les was a tutor on the course alongside his colleagues fromTubalaté working with players in the Brass band With the dates for 2018 already in the diary, next year can’t come quickly enough! |
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