"Steven Mead's pioneering work for the cause of the euphonium requires no prompting for me and his contribution to the Gala Concert was extraordinary. His first solo, accompanied by the National Youth Brass Band of GB, conducted by Roy Newsom was Ray Steadman-Allens's "Lyric Variations" which he breezed through, to be followed by the ever-popular "Brillante" by Peter Graham, a challenging work, which brought out the very best from this fine soloist, technically assured playing throughout."

"However the best was yet to come. As an encore Percy Code's "Facilita" became the centre of attention, with the eyes (and ears) of the audience glued to the stage. Playing unaccompanied, this fantastic player used all the tricks in the book (and some not yet invented) as he played variations without the use of valves, lip-slurs, ad lib, imitated the trombone and dueted with himself. Simply quite amazing entertainment and stunning showmanship. The audience loved it, and so did this writer."

Dennis Wilby - Brass Review , June 2000