The Art of Storytelling: An Interview with Micah Parsons

In the latest interview for The Brass Band Hog Blog, I have spent time catching up with Micah Parsons, principal euphonium player at the Brass Band of Central England and someone who sees brass playing as the perfect medium for story telling. We recently caught up to discuss his playing history, musical influences and his extensive portfolio of projects. 

A Bit About You

BBH: Tell me a bit about yourself – how did you get involved in banding? How old were you when you first learned to play and was euphonium your first instrument?

MP: I grew up in a Salvation Army family and so was always surrounded by music whether it was my Dad practicing his Euphonium at 6:00am in the morning or if I was sitting in the service on a Sunday listening to the band. There is a picture of me at around two or three years old attempting to play the Cornet. I am also told that around the same age, I insisted on getting my Dad’s music on the stand and conducting. I think I was around six when I started to play the Cornet and the Piano. I used to do half an hours practice every day on the Cornet and the Piano and would take Cornet lessons at Primary and Secondary School as well as Piano lessons with a local Piano teacher one evening a week. In 2008, after a short break from playing, I wanted to play the drums but was given a Euphonium instead which started me on my journey. 

BBH: Who/what were your earliest musical inspirations and influences?

MP: I think some of my early inspirations were the music from Hans Zimmer and the ‘Cry of The Celts’ CD which was recorded by The Yorkshire Building Society Band conducted by David King. I absolutely fell in love with the sound of The YBS Band and it has been a sound which has captured my imagination and is still a sound which I am absolutely obsessed with. I have always been inspired by Steven Mead and grew up watching a home video of a concert featuring The Coventry City Salvation Army Band with Steven Mead as a guest soloist.

BBH: I understand you grew up in the Salvation Army, what impact did this have on you as a young musician?

MP: The Salvation Army provided many opportunities for playing from weekly rehearsals to performing in the weekly service and later as a senior bandsman playing in open airs and visiting local corps to deliver concerts. I was lucky to experience being part of The Territorial Youth Band for a number of courses between 2009 – 2013 and also a number of courses at The Territorial Music School where I had the privilege of being a part of the A band which was conducted by Ken Waterworth. I also had the change to play with The Household Troops Brass Band at a number of concerts with the highlight being a part of The Lords Mayor’s Parade. Being a part of The Salvation Army provided me with some great opportunities although due to the rules at the time I had to leave the band during my first year at University to play in a contesting band which I felt would aid my progression as a musician at that time.

BBH: What do you do for a living?

MP: I currently work as an Industry Placement Co-ordinator at Coventry College.

As a Player

BBH: I understand you currently play for the Brass Band of Central England? How long have you been with them? What other bands have you played for?

MP: I have had two stints with The Brass Band of Central England (formerly The Jaguar Land Rover Band). I was depping regularly with the band in 2011 and 2012 and got the opportunity to join the band which was conducted by Musical Director Dave Lead in April 2013. I had the opportunity to play at The Royal Albert Hall at The National Finals in 2013 and experienced lots of exciting concerts and contests with the band with the highlight being having the opportunity to play St Magnus by Kenneth Downie. I sat on an absolutely superb Euphonium and Baritone section with Ian Wright on Solo Euphonium (an ex YBS player), George Draycott on Solo Baritone and Kevin Whittaker on 2nd Baritone. I learnt so much during my time sitting next to these experienced players. I moved to Solo Baritone in 2015 and left the band in late 2015 holding a number of principal seats with The City of Coventry Brass Band, The Staffordshire Brass Band and The Enderby Brass Band. I returned to The Jaguar Land Rover Band on Principal Euphonium in November 2019 following a tour of Vietnam with The Desford Band. I have deputised for a number of local bands including The GUS Brass Band, The Thoresby Colliery Brass Band, The Derwent Brass Band. I am grateful to have been able to be experience lots of exciting playing environments and feel lucky that I am able to work with such a diverse range of musicians.

BBH: You recently had the opportunity to play with the world famous Brighouse & Rastrick Band. What was this like?

MP: I have always admired The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band and I have always seen the comparisons between both The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band and The Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band. I recently got in touch with Chris Robertson who is the principal Euphonium for The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band as I had heard that he had become the instrumental tutor at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. We have quite a number of brass bands spread across a wide area in the Midlands and I always feel it is important to network and form close connections with players who are in the area and it was from this contact that Chris mentioned that he would be away and if I wanted to dep for a rehearsal on the following Monday which was being conducted by David King. I could not turn down this opportunity and snapped Chris’s hand off! Chris was kind enough to let me know a little of the rehearsal schedule and send me across the parts to ‘The World Rejoicing’ which I started to practice in case it was pulled out at the rehearsal. On the day prior to the rehearsal, I was quite ill and found myself in hospital but there was nothing that was going to stop me from attending this rehearsal. It was absolutely incredible to play with such a classy band and being surrounded by such a balanced and incredibly energising sound has really stuck with me even a few months after that rehearsal took place. The band work really hard and it was just a privilege to have had the opportunity to attend this rehearsal. I never take these opportunities for granted as you never know if these opportunities will come around again. I don’t think I will ever forget the kindness of everyone in the band and being able to experience a rehearsal under the baton of David King. I would give anything to experience this again

in the future!

BBH: What are you hopes and ambitions as a player?

MP: I would not say that I am an ambitious player, I enjoy playing to a high standard but I also enjoy trying to explore what opportunities are out there for Euphonium players. My ambitions for the future are to expand the opportunities for Euphonium players, to create opportunities where there are no opportunities and to explore the future security of the Euphonium. I would absolutely love to see the Euphonium featured in the orchestra especially in the world of film and game music! I hope I have started this process with working alongside Bruce Broughton and Iain Livingstone for a recording of The BBC TV Series ‘The Repair Shop’.

Story teller

BBH: It seems to me that you could be described as a storyteller as well as a musician, with your commissions not just for the sake of the music but for the purpose of sharing stories that are deeply personal to you. Would you say that this is the case?

MP: I have always been interested in the personal stories of people both who I know personally and those that I have learnt about especially when visiting the battlefields. I find myself inspired by the experiences that people have had in their lives and I have always found myself unpicking the common themes of the experience of life. I think that music is a powerful tool especially when combined with a story which people can relate to and I really enjoy presenting music which aims at telling a story or relaying a certain human emotion. A lot of the recent pieces of music which I have commissioned have been inspired by personal stories and a lot of research has been carried out including visits to the sites where these stories have taken place prior to commissioning the piece of music.

BBH: Do you think your Salvation Army upbringing, with its music and faith being closely interwoven had an impact in this approach? Within the Salvation music is not written just for music’s sake but for a purpose.

MP: All Salvation Army music is written for the glory of god and for the purpose of worship. I have always found a fascination with certain sounds and the feelings that those sounds or phrases create. I know a lot of people focus on the words associated with Salvation Army pieces of music but I think there is a whole deeper level which often goes beyond just words which is more on a spiritual level. I like being taken on a journey when listening to a piece of music but equally the perfect balance happens when the story behind the music and the feeling, flow, sound of the music connect which I think is quite a hard equation to quantify. I can think of a few pieces of music where the subject nature matches the feeling and flow of the music with one choice being ‘Just As I Am’ by Wilfred Heaton. I have recently worked with The West Midlands Fellowship Band of The Salvation Army and spent quite a lot of time returning to my roots of trying to find the real meaning and story behind the pieces of music that they have been researching which requires a bit of musical research but equally biblical research to find the meaning behind the music.

BBH: Looking down your website, your list of commissions is extensive. Can you give us an insight into the creative process of each project? Do you have ideas as to what you want to hear in advance or do you leave it up to the composer? Is the process same each time, or does it vary?

MP: I seem to have quite a varied lifestyle, I have the opportunity to experience lots of different things in life with a mix of music, living history and work making up who I am. I love discovering new pieces of music, I spend a lot of my spare time listening to music weather that is orchestral music, brass band music or anything random that I discover. The creative process for each project starts with an initial inspiration, for some projects that has been a story for example the story of John Lane and Ezekiel Parkes who still lie entombed in the tunnels at La Boiselle or discovering a chord structure from a certain composer which I really liked. I feel that each project has to have a purpose. There has to be a reason for commissioning a piece of music, in lockdown I worked with Iain Rayner to commission a number of Euphonium duets for the purpose of having something to play with Euphonium players in lockdown or working with Rhys Parker on an arrangement of songs which were originally written for Celtic Woman because that style of music appealed to me. I always have a purpose for commissioning music and a plan for how that music will be used. There are often variations in each commission for 

example, I am currently working with Paul Lovett Cooper on a new commission in which I wanted to have a variety of cadenza’s. I like to try and give the composer as much information as possible in regards to the story and then let the creative process move from there. I feel if you are too hands on musically then it stifles the composers intent which risks the musical integrity of the music. I often get drafts across which I enjoy as it allows me to start practicing the piece of music but I do not often suggest any changes to the new commission.

Upcoming/recent Projects

BBH: You have some exciting projects currently in the pipeline, including your Stalingrad Project, in partnership with Lee Baker, and your Ripper Street Project in partnership with Dominik Scherrer. Can you give some insight into each of these projects, what your hopes are for each and when they will be complete?

MP: I think some of the subjects which I find interesting are quite complex topics both on a political scale but also on a personal level. In recent years, I had the opportunity to play as a guest soloist in Germany and prior to one of the concerts, I was taken aside into a private place by one of the players and shown the papers of their relative who went missing during the battle of Stalingrad. It really struck me that I have the privilege of being able to speak about my relatives who served quite openly but many people are not able to speak openly about this subject. Human nature is complex and human experiences can often be tough and to properly remember we have to look at the realities which young men and women faced which is what inspired this project. The recent war between Russia and Ukraine inspired me to explore this project further. Our world has suffered so many hardships caused by conflicts and yet we have not yet learned to live in peace with each other. I hope people will be able to draw comparisons between these conflicts and get people thinking about how change can be made in creating a peaceful world in the future. The ripper street project was originally inspired by the music of the BBC and Amazon TV Series ‘Ripper Street’ and has been directly adapted by Dominik Scherrer for the Euphonium. It is a tough work but I am hoping it will showcase what a versatile instrument the Euphonium is especially in the world of TV, Film and Video Games. I absolutely love the diverse subjects of these pieces of music with one piece of music set in late Victorian London and the other set in the devastated landscape of Stalingrad. I am also excited by the challenging nature of both pieces especially ‘Mamyev Kurgan’ which uses extended multiphonic techniques to create the effects of the battlefield.

BBH: How has your interest in history played a part in the Stalingrad project? How will you use music to tell the story of one of the deadliest battles in human history?

MP: The Battle of Stalingrad has inspired numerous books, tv shows, video games and films on the subject. I have always had an interest in military history and I have spent numerous hours exploring the battlefields of The First World War and The Second World War, you often discovered hidden personal stories which just grab you attention which put your own life into context in regards to how lucky you are which often inspires the start of a project. You have to be rather sensitive when dealing with such a subject and understand the history behind the battle. There is always two sides to the story which has to be considered, things are rarely black and white. The other challenge is that you have only a set amount of time to explore this vast subject and so you have to try and fit certain themes and subjects which try and tell this story. Leigh Baker’s ‘Mamyev Kurgan’ explores the battle for the tallest point in Stalingrad which was fought over and changed hands many times. The modern day Mamyev Kurgan currently has the impressive monument which is known as To heroes of the battle of Stalingrad which towers over the city which has partly been the inspiration for this piece of music.

BBH: You also recently worked with Dan Hall on your ‘MDP Method Book’. What was this like? How, if at all, did this differ from other projects you’ve worked on?

MP: Lockdown presented the opportunity for me to practice for quite a few hours during the day time which was something that I had not experienced since being at University. Upon my return to work, I realised how much practicing in the evening was affected by being tired or just not having the time to fit in practice around a busy lifestyle and so I spent a year trying to find options to maintaining a high playing standard with limited time which bought around the idea of the MDP Method. I discussed this project with Daniel Hall and over the course of the year, I sent exercises and video clips from my practice sessions of exercises which I felt helped me maintain my standard which were then translated into a book format, this project was extensive and I really admire how Daniel Hall was able to translate my ideas into an actual book. I am really proud of this book which is currently being sold on Steven Mead Euphonium Store.

Bit of Fun

BBH: If you could work with any composer from history on a project, who would it be, why and what subject would you choose?

MP: This is a tricky question as there are so many composers who I admire. I have a particular soft spot for Vaughan Williams and Maurice Ravel. I would absolutely love to see what they would have done if presented with a commission purely for the Euphonium. Maybe there is a hidden manuscript of a piece of music for the Euphonium which they have written which is hidden away and waiting to be rediscovered.

BBH: If you could permanently remove one piece of music from the bass band repertoire, what would it be and why?

MP: If I could remove one piece of music from the brass band repertoire then it would probably be hootenanny brass band just for the sheer trauma it caused me when sight reading the piece for the first time and seeing the impending baritone solo coming up which caused me an interesting time!

Thank you Micah for taking part in this interview. It's been fascinating to hear about your musical projects and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours!