Posted: 24/11/23
Derwent Brass is delighted to announce a collaboration with the UK’s bestselling classical artist, Russell Watson.
Always on the lookout for new and exciting opportunities, Derwent Brass is delighted to announce that they will be performing alongside one of the world’s greatest classical singers, Russell Watson.
Since being described by the New York Times as a performer “who sings like Pavarotti and entertains the audience like Sinatra” he subsequently released ten studio albums, each one receiving more critical acclaim than the last. His debut album ‘The Voice’ shot up the UK charts where he held the number one spot for a world record 52 weeks. At the same time, Russell held the number one spot in the USA, making him the first British male to hold the accolade of a simultaneous transatlantic number one. His second studio album ‘Encore’ soon followed; it became an even greater success selling almost two million copies worldwide. During this period Russell was rewarded with various awards including four Classical Brits.
His career has spanned over fifteen years and seen him perform for some of the world’s greatest figures including Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Pope John Paul II, two US presidents, the Emperor of Japan, various European Prime Ministers, the King of Malaysia, and Middle Eastern Sultans. Amongst his countless live performances are some occasions of incredible stature including the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, the Queen’s Coronation Gala Festival at Buckingham Palace, the World Games, Rugby Union World Cup and Champion’s League Final.
“All of us at Derwent Brass are incredibly excited to be performing with Russell Watson who is clearly a wonderful artist of such profound talent and magnitude. To think we will be added to his tapestry of collaborations which includes Meatloaf, Lionel Richie, Paul McCartney, and Lulu, through to the late great Luciano Pavarotti, is both a thrill and honour for the band.
At the recent Brass Bands England Conference, we enjoyed a session on contemporary programming where Iwan Fox was quite rightly encouraging band’s to be brave, push boundaries and go for it... Derwent has a proud history of taking artistic risk and embarking on interesting collaborations, but this will be the first time we have worked with a classical artist of quite such eminence. We hope it will be a huge success and achieve great things, yes for the band, but also the gravitas of the wider brass band community, particularly in the Midlands.” (Chris Leonard, Band Manager)
Derwent Brass has previously performed with a variety of non-brass artists including British Sea Power, The Swingle Singers, Denise Leigh, Treorchy Male Choir, The Joe Tatton Trio, Joe Stilgoe, Jason Manford and many more. They won the Brass Band England’s Award for Innovation in 2022, were nominated for 4BR Band of the Year in the same year, came third in the 2023 Midland Regional Championships and most recently won the Making Music Green Award 2023.
The event scheduled for 8th March 2024 forms part of the Russell Watson Magnificent Building concert series, taking place in Derby Cathedral featuring Russell Watson, his accompanist Mike Moran, and Derwent Brass.
Tickets are now on sale via the official Russell Watson website – www.russellwatson.com or visit www.oeplive.com
