About us
Septura was born out of a passion for the awe-inspiring sound of brass instruments. Our creation – the brass septet – is uniquely vibrant and versatile, and we aim to harness its intense emotional power to produce transformative musical experiences for our audiences. In short, we are pioneering a simple message: music sounds better on brass.
To fulfil our mission we have brought together the very best brass players in the UK – holding principal positions in the Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony, BBC Symphony and Philharmonia orchestras – and with their unparalleled skill and virtuosity we have forged a chamber group described as “dazzlingly polished” (BBC Music Magazine), and now firmly established as one of the best in the world.
Our Director, Matthew Knight, and Founder Simon Cox, are two of the most preeminent and prolific arrangers for brass, and together they have created a diverse counterfactual canon: re-imagining great music of the past for brass, and addressing historical imbalances by putting a spotlight on under-represented composers. Looking to the future, we are commissioning leading composers such as Roxanna Panufnik to create a rich repertoire of original music for brass septet.
Weaving our ever-increasing repertoire into vivid and captivating live events, we continue to break down barriers with musical and cross-arts collaborations, recently working with artists ranging from Cathy Tyson and Derek Jacobi to John Rutter and The Sixteen. We take our inimitable innovative programming around the world, touring in Europe, Japan and the USA, as well as performing at the UK’s most prestigious festivals and venues, including regular appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall.
We record regular releases for Naxos Records, and the first nine discs have received widespread critical acclaim, described variously as “irresistible” (The Observer), “exceptional” (The Arts Desk) and “brass playing at its most exalted” (Fanfare). Our next recording will highlight the music of female composers, past and present.
Currently Ensemble in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music, London, in 2023 we launched our first residential Summer Brass Academy in collaboration with the Rodolfus Foundation to inspire future generations of brass players. Our outreach work also includes close collaboration with the Amber Trust, through which we introduce the power of brass instruments to blind and partially-sighted children.