One of the country’s top cornet players will be the special guest soloist at an upcoming performance by a local brass band.
Shipston-based Stour Concert Brass will feature award winning cornet player Luke Barker at its ‘Holiday Harmony’ concert at The Hall in Stourton at the end of November. Luke, who grew up in the village, said the concert will be a musical homecoming for him.
He added: “I am delighted to be performing in my home village, and to be with Stour Concert Brass, one of the first bands I ever played with. I’m really looking forward to playing some great brass band music and hopefully bringing some early festive cheer to the village hall.”
Luke is currently the Principal Cornet of the internationally-famous Flowers Band, based in Gloucester, having begun his brass banding career in Shipston aged seven. He started with Shipston Town Band’s training band, and was later a member of the National Children’s Band. He went on to join the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in 2017, becoming Principal Cornet in 2021.
Luke has also played with the Band Treize Etoiles and was part of the band’s winning performance at the Swiss National Championships, which won the 2023 European Brass Championships in Malmo, Sweden. In 2023, he was appointed a Denis Wick Mouthpiece Artist. In 2024, Luke won the Best Soloist award at Unibrass, competing with the University of Birmingham Brass Band, and won the Harry Mortimer Trophy for Best Principal Cornet at the 2024 Brass in Concert Championships.
Stour Concert Brass is conducted by Chris Brown, who is also Head of Music at Chipping Norton School. The band performs regularly across south Warwickshire and the north Cotswolds and is part of the Shipston Town Band organisation.
· Stour Concert Brass featuring Luke Barker will be performing at The Hall, Stourton, for ‘Holiday Harmony’ on Sunday 30 November at 3pm. Entry is free. For more information on Stour Concert Brass visit: https://shipstonband.co.uk/thebands/#concertbrass