Congratulations to Finchley Symphony Orchestras very own Trumpet player and Composer Sam Thackray for a very successful Orchestral Premiere of his wonderful Composition “Aphorisms for Sinfonietta” at our concert tonight. Sam and FSO’s excellent Conductor Christopher Stark, both pictured here, are all smiles after the concert in which Sam’s piece was thoroughly enjoyed by all our audience.
@samthackray_composition@cwestark
#composition #aphorismsforsinfonietta #trumpet #finchley #londonmusic
Exciting concert on Saturday!!
Aphorisms for Sinfonietta was a final-year project (written at frenzied pace between coursework deadlines 😵💫) - I’m very excited it will finally be premiered by the wonderful @finchley_symphony_orchestra 🎵
It’ll be a great gig with fantastic music by Shostakovich, Price, and Faure (+ Thackray?🫣) - so please come along :)
A huge thank you to Chris Stark and the brilliant musicians of FSO for their hard work on a *very* challenging piece.
Link in bio for tickets 🎟️
#finchleysymphonyorchestra #concert
🎺 Another nocturnal dance on the way 🎺
Very grateful to @redbridgebrass for workshopping the new first movement; ‘Apparitions’ to my Nocturnal Dances suite back in November!!
Pic of the only two parts I managed to bring back home…
Piece: ‘Apparitions’ from ‘Nocturnal Dances’
Composed Autumn 2025
An eerie end to ‘Nocturnal Dances’ ✨🌛
In this section the energy finally subsides and fades to silence under a distant glimmer of light (beautifully played by the cornets and percussion of @nybbgb )
Thrilled to share that the full concert is now up on YouTube!!
#nybbgb #youngcomposer #brass #brassband #royalcollegeofmusic
On Saturday I had the great joy of hearing the incredible @nybbgb premiere my piece ‘Nocturnal Dances’ under the expertise of Martyn Brabbins 🎵. It was a privilege to share the programme with so much awe-inspiring music by Daniel Hall, Will Everitt, Nina Martin and more.
Experiencing the band bring the score to life over the last few days has been an unforgettable experience 🎺🎵
Links in bio to the 4barsrest concert review and article on my work
🎶 Post 1 of 3: Spotlight on Our Young Composers – Samuel Thackray @samthackray_composition
🎺 TOMORROW marks a very special moment in The NYBBGB calendar – our Youth Band Summer Concert 2025, where we’ll be giving the world premières of the three winning compositions from this year’s NYBBGB Young Composers’ Competition!
🌟 Throughout today, we’ll be celebrating these brilliant young musicians in a three-part spotlight series — leading up to tomorrow’s sold-out concert in the magnificent Amaryllis Fleming Hall at the Royal College of Music, London.
🎼 First up: Samuel Thackray (21) and his imaginative new work ‘Nocturnal Dances’.
A London-based composer and trumpeter, Sam paints a vivid sonic picture of a restless city at night — bustling with energy, gradually giving way to silence and shimmer. A recent Cambridge graduate, he brings influences from classical, jazz and choral music into his brass band writing.
🗓️ World première tomorrow under the baton of Maestro Martyn Brabbins!
🎥 Can’t join us in person? The full concert, including Sam’s piece, will be available on our YouTube channel soon.
🔗 Read more about Sam and his composition at 4barsrest: /news/62561/nocturnal-dances-on-youthful-show-in-heart-of-london
#NYBBGB #nybbSummer2025 #YoungComposers #WorldPremiere #SamuelThackray #NocturnalDances #BrassBand #NewMusic
I’m SO excited to share that my composition ‘Nocturnal Dances’ has been selected as one of the winning submissions for the @nybbgb Young Composer’s Competition 24/25 🎺
I’m thrilled that my second ever (😳) brass band piece will be played by the band in the @rcmlondon , conducted by Maestro Martyn Brabbins on 9th August
#nybbgb #youngcomposer
📣Winners of our 2024/25 Young Composers' Competition Announced!
🎺In our second biannual Young Composers’ Competition, The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain set out to find six new works for brass band from talented young composers aged 30 or under.
🏆We are delighted to announce this year’s three winning young composers are Will Everitt (20) with his composition Variations on an Enclosure, Nina Martin (20) with her composition Betws-y-Coed and Samuel Thackray (21) with his composition Nocturnal Dances. Many congratulations to our talented winners!
All 3 winning works will be performed on 9th August 2025 by The NYBBGB at our Youth Band summer concert at the Royal College of Music under the baton of Maestro Martyn Brabbins. Tickets for this concert are available now at: /e/1248209009749
👏Our competition judging panel also recognises 3 runner-up winners in this year’s competition: Storms of Light by Camille Chiu (25), Echoes by Lennert Van Laenen (20) and Concert Prelude Ikigai by Andy Wareham (30). In addition, George Swayne (18) and Easher Austin (14) were highly commended for their compositions. Many congratulations!
Find out much more about our competition winners and watch videos about their winning compositions here: .uk/whats-on/competitions
One last year-too-late post to honour @cubrassband for pulling together ‘Emergence’ for our Unibrass ‘24 set in just four rehearsals 🙏
I’m also hugely grateful to @unibrass for inviting me back to their judging panel for CompComp25!! It’s been an unforgettable experience listening to and discussing so many inspiring compositions 🎺
Piece: ‘Emergence’
Composed January 2024
Some of my favourite moments from one of my final year compositions; ‘Aphorisms for Sinfonietta’. A crazy whirlwind to compose within one week, somehow fusing medieval war tunes and cartoon music 🤔
2: Fragments of the medieval tune/call to arms ‘L’homme Armé’ (part 1a history coming full circle)
3: Woodwind counterpoint worthy of a failed fugue exam
4: The wildly energetic final few bars
Piece: ‘Militaristic Dances’ from Aphorisms for Sinfonietta
Composed April 2024
criminally late to post this but…
One of the highest points of my entire degree was getting to perform this short piece I wrote with the amazing @catzchoir last March 🎵
The piece is a simple setting of a beautiful prayer, inflected with darkness but ultimately reaching peace; “Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the silent hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may repose upon thy eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”
Performed in Temple Church @templechurchldn 15/03/24
