i Fanfare 1, ii Chorale , iii Fanfare 2, iv Blues
ONYX30 is a four-movement chamber piece for brass quintet composed by British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage in 2023. It was co-commissioned and premiered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the renowned British ensemble Onyx Brass.
An Ivor Award winner, Charlotte Harding’s music fuses many cross-genre influences, with Rhombus taking its inspiration from a trip to USA. As an introduction to the work, Charlotte writes;
This work was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Arts, for their "Sensing Spaces" Architectural Exhibition in 2014. Dani Howard was given one of the spaces, to compose a work for live performance in the space.
Onyx is a 3-minute contemporary classical brass composition written in 2022 by British composer Errollyn Wallen. It was commissioned and premiered by the British ensemble Onyx Brass to celebrate their 30th anniversary and is featured on their 2023 album, The Sun is Free to Flow with the Sea. She had already started composing ONYX when she heard that her dear friend and legendary filmmaker, Mike Hodges, had died. This short work is in memory of him.
Prologue, i Mariana, ii Ophelia, iii The Bridesmaid
First performed by the Nemo Brass Quintet on 11 January, 1994, as part of the PLG Young Artists New Year Series, in the Purcell Room, London.
Queentet (Brass ensemble)
Queentet is an all-female brass quintet studying at the Royal Academy of Music with members from Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Members’ recent and upcoming engagements include work with ensembles such as the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and the Royal Swedish Orchestra, and performances in venues such as the Royal
Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Sinfonia Smith Square, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Cadogan Hall and Vortex Jazz Club. Following an exciting year of performances and competitions, Queentet has played in venues including the David Josefowitz Recital Hall, Angela Burgess Recital Hall, and Duke’s Hall at the Royal Academy of Music, as well as in Regent Hall, Oxford Street, the Hospital of St Cross, Winchester, and St Luke’s Church, West Holloway. Earlier in 2025, Queentet received second place in the Musicians’ Company Brass Ensemble Prize as well as a commendation in the Historical Women Composers Prize at the Royal Academy of Music. Recently, the Lord Mayor of Westminster commissioned a piece for Queentet by composer Luca Zucchi, which was premiered in the Angela Burgess Recital Hall in October 2025. The piece, Fairer Westminster, has since been professionally recorded and is soon to be released. Upcoming engagements for Queentet include appearances at Charlton House, Southwark Cathedral, Winchfield Festival, and Goring Gap Festival,
following a return to the Royal Academy of Music’s David Josefowitz Recital Hall in January 2026.
As an all-female ensemble, Queentet are excited to be part of a new generation of female brass players, aiming to highlight music from previously under-represented composers as part of programmes which emphasise the versatility of the brass quintet sound.
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