# Philip Sparke

Philip Allen Sparke (born 29 December 1951) is an English composer and musician born in London, noted for his concert band and brass band music. His early major works include The Land of the Long White Cloud – "Aotearoa", written for the 1980 Centennial New Zealand Brass Band championship. He subsequently went on to win the EBU New Music for Band Competition three times, including in 1986 with a commission from the BBC called Orient Express.
Since May 2000, his music has been published under his own label Anglo Music Press, and distributed by Hal Leonard.

## Notable achievements

* 1997 Sudler Prize - Dance Movements
* 2000 Iles Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians - Services to brass bands
* 2005 National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest - Music of the Spheres
* 2011 BUMA International Brass Award - Contributions to brass music
* 2016 National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest - A Colour Symphony
* 2018 International Award - Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic

## Works
### National Championships of Great Britain test pieces

A number of Philip Sparke's compositions have been chosen as test pieces in the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. His pieces have been selected for various sections, both at the area contests and the national finals.
| Year | Piece | Section | R/N | Winning Band(s) | Ref |
| 1985 | A Malvern Suite | 4th | R | Horsham Borough (L&SC) South Leicester and Desford B (Mids N) Amington (Mids S) Lanchester (NoE) Llanrug & District (NW) Irvine Youth (Sco) Abertillery & District Youth (Wal) Royal British Legion Crownhill (Plymouth) (WoE) Hambleton Brass (Yorks) | [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] |
| 1987 | Harmony Music | Ch | N | Desford Colliery Dowty | |
| 1990 | Music for a Festival | 3rd | N | Blidworth Welfare | |
| 1991 | Triptych | 3rd | R | Wantage Silver A (L&SC) Ifton Welfare (Mids) Langbaurgh (NoE) Flixton MCR (NW) Kelty & Blairadam Brass (Sco) Deiniolen (Wal N) British Steel (Port Talbot) (Wal S) Stinchcombe (WoE) Aceprint Gawthorpe Victoria (Yorks) | [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] |
| 1992 | A London Overture | 1st | N | British Telecom | |
| 1993 | A Celtic Suite | 3rd | N | Skelmanthorpe | |
| 1994 | Partita | Ch | R | Regent Brass (L&SC) William Davis Construction Group (Mids) Ever Ready (NoE) BNFL Leyland Band (NW) CWS (Glasgow) (Sco) Cory (Wal) Flowers Band (WoE) Yorkshire Building Society Hammonds (Yorks) | [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] |
| 1995 | The Land of the Long White Cloud "Aotearoa" | 1st | R | City of Cambridge (L&SC) Rolls-Royce (Mids) EYMS Band (NoE) United Northwest Co-operative (Rochdale) (NW) Bon Accord Silver (Sco) Beaumaris (Wal) Swindon Pegasus Brass (WoE) Stocksbridge Engineering Steels (Yorks) | [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] |
| 1996 | A Malvern Suite | 4th | N | Manx Concert | |
| 1998 | Between the Moon and Mexico | Ch | N | Brighouse & Rastrick | |
| 1998 | Three Miniatures | 3rd | N | Oldham Brass 97 | |
| 2000 | Variations on an Enigma | Ch | R | Aveley & Newham (L&SC) Desford Colliery (Mids) Ever Ready (NoE) Fodens Courtois (NW) CWS (Glasgow) (Sco) Buy As You View Cory (Wal) Flowers (WoE) Yorkshire Building Society (Yorks) | [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] |
| 2001 | Diversions – Variations on a Swiss Folk Song "Der Heimetvogel" | 2nd | N | Ammanford Town | |
| 2004 | Kaleidoscope – Five Variations on the "Brugg Song" | 2nd | R | Becontree Brass (L&SC) Hathern (Mids) Ellington Colliery (NoE) Old Hall Brass (NW) Barrhead Burgh (Sco) Llanrug (Wal) Otterbourne Brass (WoE) Yorkshire Building Society Concert (Yorks) | [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] |
| 2004 | The Four Noble Truths | 4th | N | Potters Bar | |
| 2006 | Valerius Variations | 4th | N | Dodworth Colliery M.W. | |
| 2007 | Music for Battle Creek | Ch | N | Grimethorpe Colliery | |
| 2008 | The Saga of Haakon the Good | 1st | N | Seindorf Beaumaris | |
| 2010 | Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes from Saint-Saëns' 3rd Symphony | 4th | R | Battle Town (L&SC) Shipston Town (Mids) Stape Silver (NoE) Hazel Grove (NW) Dumfries Town (Sco) Crwbin (Wal) Test Valley Brass (WoE) Worsbrough Brass (Yorks) | [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] |
| 2011 | Portrait of a City | 2nd | N | Brunel Brass | |
| 2013 | Harmony Music | Ch | R | Regent Brass (L&SC) Jaguar Land Rover (Mids) NASUWT Riverside (NoE) Leyland (NW) Whitburn (Sco) Tongwynlais Temperance (Wal) Flowers (WoE) Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Yorks) | [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] |
| 2013 | A Malvern Suite | 4th | N | Ebbw Valley Brass | |
| 2017 | The Land of the Long White Cloud "Aotearoa" | 1st | R | TBD | |
| 2020 | A Tale As Yet Untold | Ch | R | N/A (L&SC) GUS (Mids) NASUWT Riverside (NoE) Fodens (NW) The Cooperation Band (Sco) Tredegar (Wal) Camborne Town (WoE) Black Dyke (Yorks) | |