At the end of the 2023-24 season Septura’s Founder, Simon Cox, decided to move on to new challenges outside the music industry. Simon will continue to play an important role in shaping Septura’s future – he’s joining the Board of Trustees. But he’ll no longer be playing in the group or involved in the day-to-day management. 

We’re incredibly grateful to Simon for his enormous contribution over 10 years as one of Septura’s two Artistic Directors, not just to our group, but to the whole musical landscape in this country and internationally. Here are Simon’s reflections on over a decade working on Septura.

What was your inspiration for founding Septura?

I suppose a lot of factors contributed towards it – I certainly wanted to feel more musically involved than I was when I played in orchestras, and I thought the brass septet configuration would be an ideal vessel for chamber music, in terms of blend of sound and number of voices. But I think the main reason was that I just had a feeling that classical brass chamber music as it existed at the time didn’t allow brass instruments (and the wonderful brass musicians I was fortunate to call colleagues) to truly fulfil their musical potential. I would often hear breathtaking moments of musical and technical brilliance within orchestral performances (and hopefully contributed the occasional passable phrase myself), and it seemed silly that they could only be experienced once or twice per concert. The existing formations of quintet and dectet, and the repertoire that existed for them, just weren’t allowing the players to flourish as I knew they could, so I decided to do something about it.

What do you think sets this group of brass players apart?

With the players Septura has it’s a given that all the right notes will be played, the timing will line up perfectly and the tuning will be spot on. What’s really special about this group of players however is their ability to push beyond that – to spontaneously follow each other when someone decides in the moment to phrase something slightly differently, to collectively change the entire colour of the group’s sound in an instant. These are the things that make hearing the group live such an incredible experience, and I think get to the heart of what music actually is and how it affects us in the way that it does.

What do you think is your proudest achievement with Septura? Is there a particular piece, arrangement or recording that stands out?

I’d say the series of Naxos recordings overall is the thing I’m most proud of. It’s good to know they will still be there for people to discover years from now. It was great to do lots of touring and play at venues like the Wigmore Hall, things that made the project feel ‘successful.’ But the artistic product is what really matters as I look back on the project so far.

On a personal level I’m most proud of my arrangement of Walton’s Sonata for Strings. I had to work pretty creatively to make it work for brass, but it actually ended up being really effective in live performance, despite being very hard to play!

Tell us about your favourite Septura tour or concert? What does it feel like to be onstage with this group?

My favourite tour was probably our first trip to the States in 2018. The schedule was absolutely brutal, but having the chance to play so many concerts back to back allowed the quality of the group’s performances to skyrocket. I think we all felt like we were breaking new ground artistically, and combined with the awful itinerary it gave us a very strong collective spirit that has continued ever since. 

Do you have any pre-concert rituals?

I always thought if I adopted any of these I’d come to rely on them, so I preferred to just focus on keeping my head clear and staying relaxed. Usually this involved conversations that had nothing to do with what we were about to do, and lots of laughter.

Must listens – if you had to recommend one Septura track, what would it be and why?

A Forest in Winter from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. It’s devastatingly beautiful and I find it impossible not to be moved by it. I’d look forward to playing it every year at Christmas time.

Away from music, tell us about your favourite hobbies and why they strike such a chord.

I’ve become increasingly interested in health and fitness over the last few years (although I’ve now switched to working in that industry so can’t exactly call it a hobby anymore). It’s becoming ever clearer that our bodies and minds share a deep connection, and that nutrition and exercise can dramatically improve our overall quality of life, improve cognitive function, relieve symptoms of depression,  reduce the risk of illness and slow down the aging process, so the effort and time invested in living a healthier life is absolutely worth it.

I’m also studying Trance music production. I’ve always been drawn to music that explores sonic extremes, as I find they provoke an incredibly powerful visceral reaction in me (I think that’s why I gravitated towards brass music in the first place). The synthesised sounds used in electronic dance music take this to another level (I highly recommend going to a rave).

Finally, what’s next for Septura –  what concerts are you looking forward to in the next season?

The group is 10 years old this year, and will be celebrating with a concert at the Wigmore Hall on 16 November. Other highlights are a debut at the Glasshouse in Gateshead, and a continuation of the group’s relationship with John Rutter at Guildford Cathedral in December.