Solo Baritone and Euphonium Works from Peter Graham within the British Brass Band Repertory

From the late nineteenth century, British style brass bands have developed into a standardized
major ensemble across Western Europe and North America. The standardization of this ensemble was
established through the course of brass band competitions and the use of test pieces. With its unique
instrumentation, brass bands utilize mutes, vibrato, and other techniques to achieve different tone
colors from the ensemble.
Focusing on contemporary works, this paper explores the music of composer Peter Graham,
which exemplifies the central qualities of this ensemble in the late twentieth and early twenty-first
centuries. This paper aims to contextualize Peter Graham’s music within the larger history of British
brass bands and their repertory. It is also the goal of this paper to show how the stylistic tendencies of
Graham’s compositions are representative of the larger British brass band tradition, as demonstrated in
his solo works for euphonium and baritone. The analysis of these works will also serve to demonstrate
the different considerations in performance practices required of the two instruments.