Banding's Harlem Globetrotters aim to spread their wings

Kenneth Crookston meets the Brass Band of Battle Creek, based in Michigan in the USA, and discovers that there is much more to this remarkable ensemble than an occasional get-together of brass superstars.

BB readers who have heard recordings of Brass Band of Battle Creek (BBBC), or can remember having the pleasure of hearing the ensemble perform at the Royal Albert Hall prior to the results of the 1998 National Championship Final, will have a pretty good idea of just how good this versatile ensemble is, but the majority of the current banding public will have got its first taste of Battle Creek culture from Philip Sparke’s virtuoso test-piece, which thrilled the masses in London a couple of years ago. In a nation largely unfamiliar with American brass banding, I well remember a number of supporters that day alluding to the fact that the band which had commissioned the work must be “pretty good” if it could even get close to conquering such a mammoth test, but having now seen and heard it in action in its own environment, it’s easy to see why Philip Sparke set that particular bar so high. This is an amazing group and some of the people there are extraordinary. BBBC is the brainchild of podiatrist brothers, Jim and Bill Gray, who are of English descent and, 20 years or so ago, had the idea of forming a British-style brass band in the Michigan city of Battle Creek, a fairly unremarkable place that gets very cold and snowy winters and is most famous for being the world headquarters and original hometown of the Kellogg Company. Jim Gray took up the story: “In 1988, I was playing euphonium in the nearby Marshall Community Band, and a group of us decided to go to listen to the Regimental Band of the Black Watch, which was playing in East Lansing, Michigan. After hearing the performance, Bill, myself and some others decided to present a Tribute to Great Britain concert with our own band, and our subsequent involvement with Dr. Paul Droste, who was then director of the Brass Band of Columbus and the Ohio State University Marching Band, brought about a link with Yamaha, which offered to sponsor a brass band clinic in Battle Creek the following year. The original idea to start the band was to give Bill and myself a brass ensemble in which to perform, and the British brass band supplied the power and versatility that we desired. There is not an instrumental musical medium on earth as versatile as a brass band, and we knew from the beginning there were many fine musicians in the area that could make the band very good; we are close to several universities with fine music programmes, and felt we could convince several professors to perform with us. Phil Sinder (Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Michigan State University), Luis Maldonado (Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Central Michigan University), Scott Thornburg (Professor of Trumpet at Western Michigan University), Rich Illman (Professor of Trumpet at Michigan State University) and Curtis Olson (Professor of Trombone at Michigan State University) were all on board from very early on, and with their help we were able to reach out to other musicians of high quality in the area.”

The result was the embryonic BBBC, but in order to become the entity that it is today, attracting top-class instrumentalists into every seat was a priority, which is where Steven Mead’s involvement was to prove such a major catalyst. Jim Gray continued: “We were involved in the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Competition and came to know Steven when he adjudicated and performed as a guest soloist at the competition. His help has been invaluable throughout the entire process and he has been the link to many of the wonderful performers we have welcomed over the years.”