Welcome to Labour and Love

My name is James Holmes, and I'm an enthusiast for original brass band music.

In September 1913 the organisers of the Crystal Palace Contest made a little bit of musical history.  For the first time ever, they commissioned a composer, Percy Fletcher, to write a test piece especially for the occasion.  The piece was called Labour and Love and the winning band was the famous (but, sadly, now extinct) Irwell Springs (pictured below with the Thousand Guinea Trophy).

Nearly one hundred years have passed since that seminal event and today there are quite possibly thousands of original works that have been composed specifically for brass band.  And this is one of the reasons why I created the Labour and Love web site - to promote and celebrate the performance of this original music.

In addition to being a place that I can record my own thoughts about brass band music (amongst other things), I'd also like Labour and Love to be a site that brass band enthusiasts and anyone interested in supporting this unique musical repertoire can visit to discover the latest news about where original music is being performed.

Although some excellent sites already exist that provide comprehensive calendars of brass band events, I'm hoping that Labour and Love may, in some small way, be able to make a contribution by encouraging bands to submit (along with the usual details of date, time, venue etc.) specific information about any original pieces they plan to include in their programmes.  These pieces will be highlighted on the site (on the Concert News page) so that enthusiasts can see at a glance where they can go to hear original music being performed live.

Anyone wishing to post details of their concerts should see the example on the Concert News page and then simply complete a Feedback Form and I'll do the rest.  I look forward to hearing from you and about your music.

James

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