The London Gabrieli Brass Ensemble is Britain’s longest-established brass group. It started life in 1963 when three Royal College of Music trombone students got together with a retired naval commander, David Biddulph, with the objective of rehabilitating the then neglected brass music of Giovanni Gabrieli. Very soon it was in demand for educational concerts, later changing into a standard brass quintet for the five-year run of the West End and Broadway musical, Canterbury Tales. A second aim became augmentation of the brass chamber music repertoire by asking contemporary composers for new works. The Ensemble can now justifiably claim success in both aims. The music of Renaissance Venice is known and loved by a huge public, and the Ensemble has had major compositions from composers as diverse as Joán Guinjoán, Alun Hoddinott, Jean Langlais, Xavier Montsalvatge, Paul Patterson, Naresh Sohal and Hugh Wood.