We are delighted to announce the results of the BTS Composers’ Competition 2025. 

Entrants were invited to compose an eight-part fanfare for mixed-ability trombone choir to be performed at the BTS@40 Celebration in November. 

From the many entries received, the judging panel of Dani Howard, Rachel Stott, and Becky Pepper awarded 1st Place to Robin Benton, from the UK, for "Celebration Fanfare." 2nd Place was awarded to Luís Marrocos, from Portugal, for "Farewell to Constantinople," and 3rd Place to Joe Galuszka, from the UK, for "Ruby Red."

1st Place

Robin Benton – Celebration Fanfare 

Robin learned piano and G bass trombone from an early age. In his teens, he wrote the music for two local musicals. After qualifying as a teacher, he gained a BMus degree and an ARCM diploma in military bandmastership and taught in junior schools where he started bands and handbell groups. His school wind band won a McDonald's ‘Child of Achievement’ award playing his own arrangement of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

Robin enjoys playing in orchestras, big bands, trombone quartets, and for theatre shows, and is a founder member of a local community big band, for which he has written many arrangements. He also writes for handbells, and his compositions have been chosen to represent Great Britain at International Symposia on three occasions. In the 2008 BTS Composer’s Competition, Robin’s Dance Suite won 1st place in the Junior Trombone Quartet category. Many of Robin’s compositions for brass, handbells, and choirs have been published; visit his website to find out more. 

2nd Place

Luís Marrocos – Farewell to Constantinople 

Luís is a young amateur trombonist and composer from Viana do Castelo, Portugal. He began his studies at the Escola de Música João Costa e Silva, located in his hometown of Lanhelas, under the guidance of Hugo Silva. Luís subsequently joined the Sociedade Musical Banda Lanhelense, a band from his hometown, which he still plays in. In recent years, he has played in several bands around the north of Portugal and developed an interest in composition. Currently studying composition and music theory, Luís has started to explore composing music for smaller groups, while also writing for bands and orchestras

3rd Place

Joe Galuszka – Ruby Red 

Joe began his musical journey as a self-taught pianist before joining a brass band at 14. As a tuba player, timpanist, and percussionist, he has performed with some of the UK’s finest brass bands, including Tredegar, Flowers, and Aldbourne, and was timpanist with the Bristol Symphony Orchestra for several years. Recently appointed Musical Director for the Gloucestershire Music Service and Youth Orchestras, he is also a tutor with the West of England Music Hub and The Bristol Ensemble’s educational arm, and has worked as an arranger and tutor for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain. He is currently training with the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators.

Joe’s compositions span brass, wind, chamber, and media music. His score for Firekeepers of Kakadu, a documentary broadcast on SBS Australia, won Bronze at the Global Music Awards and Gold at the London Independent Film Awards. His works have been shortlisted for the European Brass Band Composition Championship and the A4 Brass Quartet Competition, with his tuba quartet Pandemic winning 1st place in the When Tuba Come One International Composition Competition. Visit Joe’s website to find out more about him.