Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette

When we set up Phoenix FM in the 1990s, one of the reasons why we chose Brentwood was because of the variety and creative wealth of artists and musicians in the town. I was also working at Brentwood School which made organising it very easy in its early days.

Brentwood’s rich artistic form hasn’t dwindled much over the years. It’s not surprising to hear that we have more bands and singers than choirs and orchestras, so it’s always great to receive news from our local classical musicians.

Last week we had a visit from Brentwood classical composer and pianist Jack Marks. Jack was commissioned by the Brentwood Philharmonic Orchestra to write the Coronation Suite, celebrating the coronation of Charles III.

Jack is currently in his 4th year studying composition and piano at the Royal College of Music, and the Coronation Suite forms part of his undergraduate composition portfolio.

The suite was performed at Bishops Hill Adult Community College in Brentwood on 20th May in front of a packed house. The performance was conducted by Grig Cuciuc. Grig performed with the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova at the age of 15, and now resides in the UK, where he is the Musician in Residence at Brentwood School in addition to teaching at the Junior Guildhall.

I’ve checked out this performance on YouTube and it really is a fantastic piece – I really enjoyed watching and listening to it. (Much more than I enjoyed eating a Coronation quiche).

You can hear Jack again at phoenixfm.com and we’ve also linked to the concert video there. You can find out more about Jack’s music at jackmarksmusic.co.uk.