Youth Solo Contest

We’re delighted to announce the return of our youth solo contest! Open to all brass and percussionists in grades 8-12, the contest winner will receive $250 and a chance to perform as a soloist with the Princeton Brass Band on our May 31st concert!

RULES

• Brass and percussion players in 8th-12th grade are eligible.

• Applicants must submit a nonrefundable $25 entry fee and a recording of themselves performing their chosen piece.

• Pieces cannot be longer than 15 minutes.

• Submissions are due by December 31st, 2025.

Submit Your entry for the youth solo contest HERE

Princeton Brass Band Composition Competition

We are excited to announce our first ever composition competition! Open to any composer 18 years or older, this contest will seek to encourage the creation of new works for brass band, with the winner receiving a world premiere performance of their work with the band in 2027. Our judges selecting the winner will be Dorothy Gates, Mareika Gray and Russell Gray! Find out more below!

Rules

Open to all composers 18 years or older. Pieces must be original compositions with a maximum length of 10 minutes. No arrangements or transcriptions of existing works will be considered. Compositions must not have been already premiered and completed within the last 5 years. Works must also be electronically engraved (an engraving guide as well as a full breakdown of brass band instrumentation is provided below) and a MIDI recording (mp3, .wav or MIDI) must be submitted as well.

A $25 Entry fee must be paid with your completed application for your score to be considered for this contest.

Submit your entry for the composition competition here

about our judges

Russell Gray: Scottish born musician Russell Gray is one of the most sought after conductors and soloists with brass and wind bands in the world today. As a conductor he has won many awards including 16 National Championship titles and 7 open titles so far.

Russell is an internationally endorsed performing artist with Yamaha and has toured the world as a soloist many times over the years.He has been asked to adjudicate many of the most important music festivals around the globe including the European Brass Band Championships, National Brass Band Championships of New Zealand, Australia, North America, France, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.

In 2016 Russell received the Iles Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians in London for his services to the Brass Band World. He is currently Professional Conductor with the Fodens Brass Band and Musical Director of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra. Future engagements continue to take him far and wide.

Mareika Gray: Mareika is the Musical Director of the Eccles Borough Band, based in the northwest of England, and the Musical Director of the Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass Band. Up until recently she was the Artistic Director of The Ratby Band, a position she enjoyed for 8 years.

As a conductor she has made several appearances at the Australian, Danish, Norwegian, and British Nationals Championships, gaining podium finishes at each contest.

As an adjudicator she is internationally in demand as well, having judged at the National contests in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and the Youth Championships of Great Britain. In 2019, Mareika accepted an invitation to adjudicate in Chengdu, China, at the Young Cultural Ambassadors Group Performing Festival.

In 2016, Mareika was invited to be Assistant Musical Director on the summer course for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. In 2023, she was invited on the summer course to be the Musical Director for the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain.

Originally from Australia, Mareika started her musical life with the violin before picking up the baritone and joining her father in the Brisbane Excelsior Band. Moving to the United Kingdom in the late 90’s, she played euphonium with many bands including The Ransome Band, Bodmin Town Band, Leyland, and the Fairey Band.

Mareika has now established herself among the leading brass band conductors with her inspiring concert programs and her unique interpretations of major brass band works.

Dorothy Gates: You use a mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul” – George Bernard Shaw.

Dorothy Gates was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Like her fellow countryman, George Bernard Shaw, she believes in the power of art to see your soul and transform the world. Dorothy received her Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Trombone Performance from Queens University Belfast, Master of Music degree in Trombone Performance from the University of Michigan, and her Ph.D. in Composition from the University of Salford. Her principal composition teachers were Kevin Volans, George Wilson, Joseph Turrin, and Peter Graham.

Dorothy spent twenty years as the Senior Music Producer for The Salvation Army’s Eastern Territory in New York and the Composer-in-Residence for the New York Staff Band. She was the first woman Composer/Editor to be employed by The Salvation Army in this role. Currently, Dorothy and her husband Mark live in Staunton, Virginia where they serve as Salvation Army officers.

Brass Band Engraving Guide

Below is our brass band engraving guide, demonstrating the written as well as sounding pitches for the British Brass Band as well as how they should appear in score order. The full instrumentation breakdown of a brass band is as follows:

• Eb Soprano Cornet

• Solo Cornet (Up to 4 part divisi)

• Repiano Cornet

• 2nd Cornet (Up to 2 part divisi)

• 3rd Cornet (Up to 2 part divisi)

• Flugelhorn

• Solo Horn

• 1st Horn

• 2nd Horn

• 1st Baritone

• 2nd Baritone

• Trombone 1

• Trombone 2

• Bass Trombone

• 1st Euphonium

• 2nd Euphonium

• Eb Bass (Up to 2 part divisi)

• Bb Bass (Up to 2 part divisi)

• Timpani (4 drums)

• 3 additional percussion parts (Access to all standard percussion equipment is available. If you have any questions about what is available, please reach out.)

This guide can also be found as a PDF HERE