It was a brilliant mixture of new and old, young and established that provided the entertainment on Monday 15^th September in Cardiff’s Llandaff Cathedral School. The concert featured Fusion Percussion Ensemble as well as students of LLanfaff School’s Percussion Ensemble, led by Graham Bradley, and Samba Band, directed by Gareth Hamlin.

 The concert began with the Samba band’s carnival style procession from off-stage. Using the traditional carnival style organisation, the students entered the hall forming the line at the front of the stage. Then followed the breakdown to individual parts, from surdos to ganzas, during which all the parts were exposed. The band then moved to the back of the stage in order for three of the members of Fusion to join them to play Samba for Mallets. The layering of simple rhythms coupled with melodies from the Marimba and Xylophone created fantastic cross rhythms and gave the audience a great spectacle. The students showed their ability to provide musical support to the melodic instruments, all well kept under control by Gareth Hamlin. A fantastic start- especially when considering that it had all been perfected in a two hour workshop, led by Gareth, the same afternoon.

 It was fitting that the next item was a complete contrast, introducing the audience to arguably the most famous percussion instrument, as well as exciting young performing talent Dave Danford- the newest addition to Fusion. Playing a work composed by a pioneer of the Marimba, Keiko Abe, Dave showed the great versatility of the instrument as well as demonstrating the ability and technique that have made his rise to fame in the percussion world so rapid. In Dream of the Cherry Blossoms, a piece full of pulse,  tension, fierce runs and smooth rolls, Danford gave the audience a treat and the students a high level to aspire to. 

 One of the reasons for the success of the concert was the mixing of new and more established talent. Not phased by following Danford’s performance, year 11 George Jones showed great confidence and ability in playing Strauss’s Thunder and Lightning Polka. Graham Bradley has every right to be very pleased and proud with the success of his teaching after nurturing Dave Danford and now young George Jones, probably a name we should all be looking out for in the future. 

 Although not quite with the same recognition as Johann Strauss just yet, Matthew Hall is becoming ever more in demand as a composer. After writing Dragons’ Rise, the opening number of Tredegar Band’s National Eisteddfod winning programme earlier in the year and currently writing for Danford’s forthcoming UK tour, the world premierre of his work Reasons, written for Fusion, took place at the concert. The piece began on three differently pitched toms playing a very warlike opening moving between the head and the rims of the drums. The snare drum was then added and all four players moved a cleverly constructed hemiola passage. The section was visually stunning with stick hitting and drum swapping at speed, all brilliantly and faultlessly executed. The work’s second section moved to the melodic with Fusion leaving the toms and snare drums for Marimba, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel and Drum kit. The work remained very rhythmic however, with the drum kit groove enhancing the 5/8 meter that the piece had moved in to. All three of the tuned instruments took the melodic line during the section as well as adding chordal support, showcasing the versatility of Percussion as an ensemble. Moving from 4/4 to 5/8 and back again throughout the piece as well as through various dynamics, Fusion played Hall’s work brilliantly. With a rousing unison ending, met with rapturous applause, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Reasons is a must-have in the repertoire of all ensembles and music colleges when it becomes available. 

Fusion then moved on to playing another ensemble piece- Mix ‘n’ Match- consisting of two marimbas, each being played by two of the ensemble. It was another work using layering to create a great effect, with simple melodic phrases being used to create lovely harmonies, using the full range of the marimba. The piece also showed the importance of dynamics within a piece, and the changing volumes allowed different parts of the harmony to come to the fore and take the more melodic role. It was the perfect follow up to Reasons.

 After teaching Dave Danford, George Jones and many of the other students at Llandaff Cathedral School, it was then the turn of Graham Bradley to remind everyone why he is one of Wales’ top freelance percussionists. Playing the third section from Minoru Miki’s Marimba Spiritual, Bradley showed the techniques and musicality that have made him in such high demand as a teacher and performer. His effortless movement right across the full range of the Marimba and his exploration of the colour and dynamic ability that it offers was all the reminder needed just why he is one of the best. 

Fusion finished their bulk performance section with an ensemble arrangement of George Hamilton Green’s Log Cabin Blues. Gareth Hamlin took the main Xylophone solo line as the audience were treated to one of the ragtime greats.

 After watching Fusion perform, the Llandaff School Percussion Ensemble then had their turn to take to the stage. They began with two movie tunes, beginning with Monty Norman’s James Bond theme and moving to I Wan’na Be Like You’ from the Disney classic, The Jungle Book. Using a wide range of instruments, from drum kit to vibraphone and bongos the students demonstrated their knowledge of and technique on many of the percussion instruments on stage. They then played A La Samba by Mitchell Peters, again using a mixture of tuned and untuned percussion, from triangle to guiro and tambourines. It was another piece with a strong focus on rhythm, with an improvised samba section with each instrument taking a small solo. A fine way to round off their involvement in the concert.

It was up to Fusion, however, to finish the concert off in style and they began this process with Ney Rosauro’s Toccata & Divertimento. Using Marimba, Vibraphone, Drum kit and Djembe/Bongo setup, Fusion showed the importance of a solid rhythmic backing, underpinning the melodies and chordal accompaniments of the two tuned instruments. The interaction between all the instruments was brilliant throughout and the performance showed the density of sound that can be created using only four people.

It seemed, however, that the piece most highly anticipated by the students of Llandaff Cathedral School was Fusion’s performance of David Mancini’s Suite for Drum Set and Percussion Ensemble. Alun Hathaway was the kit soloist and was helped by some clever condensing of a 10 player percussion backing into 3 parts. The work covers various styles from the funk opening, to an afro-cuban sections as well as samba; however, it was the kit cadenza that the students had been most looking forward to. Although the kit soloist has the opportunity to play for as long as they please, Alun Hathaway’s solo was just enough to showcase his undoubted ability and polished technique while not giving the audience any reason to take their eyes off his playing. Credit to the other members of Fusion for moving from instrument to instrument so seamlessly and covering all of the vital components of the piece. It was the ultimate example of how an ensemble can work as well as what can be achieved individually. 

Despite the suite being the final piece in the concert, there was no sense of disappointment leaving the hall. Both students and audience alike had been part of a brilliant concert, covering more areas of percussion in an hour and a half than any of them thought was possible. More importantly though was that for that one night there was no gap between students and professionals, just the realisation by all of just what can be achieved.

Fusion Percussion Ensemble are:
Graham Bradley
Gareth Hamlin
Alun Hathaway
Dave Danford