In years to come the young members of Cornwall Youth Brass Band will perhaps take pleasure in being able to tell their grandchildren that they performed the world premiere of Penlee.

By the time these musicians reach their dotage, it is probable that the extraordinary composition paying musical tribute to those who died on the night of 19 December 1981 will have been played and recorded on countless occasions by bands and orchestras throughout the world.

The success of Penlee's premiere at St Michael's church in Newquay was in part down to the skill, tenacity and enthusiasm of this talented ensemble and the dedication of their guest conductor, but the lion's share of the credit is due to the sheer brilliance of Cornish composer Simon Dobson.

At just 26, Simon has already been named European Young Composer of the Year and seen his work performed on BBC Radio Three. With the CYBB commission came the opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition to honour the 16 people who died in the Solomon Browne and Union Star disaster. Speaking before the gala concert, in which his composition formed the centrepiece, he explained: "It was a huge honour to write a piece for CYBB and a huge honour to write a piece to pay tribute to those lost on that terrible night in 1981."

After a rousing concert opener of James Anderson's Firecrest, presented with characteristic theatricality by this Gorsedd prize-winning ensemble, conductor Ian Porthouse introduced Penlee, saying: "The first time we played it through I knew it was something good, but it soon became apparent that Simon Dobson had written an exceptional piece."

Exceptional indeed. To a hushed church, Penlee opened with an amalgam of phrases ranging from brooding to celebratory, before almost immediately giving way to a scene of pre-Christmas jollity; after all, no one in Mousehole or anywhere else had any inkling of the horror to come and were therefore engaged in normal festive activities on that December evening.

Rather than creating an impressionistic piece, Simon Dobson chose a clearly programmatic approach, literally telling the story, through music, of four decisive hours that led to the loss of 16 lives and changed the lives of countless others forever.

Unsentimental, but brimming with emotion, throughout this 15-minute salute the composer sought to create a narrative, using all the instruments in the brass band palette to awesome effect.

The quiet evening airs are soon interrupted by the first signs of a storm – to begin with an unremarkable blow – before a rising wind is counterpointed to the sound of pre-Christmas song and merrymaking. As the gale gains strength so the cheer is subsumed and eventually drowned out. Dobson's storm then rises still more to recreate a roar that anyone out and about in Mounts Bay on that perilous night in 1981 will never forget.

Suddenly comes the clap of a maroon to compete with the clash of the storm, before percussion and basses magically conjure the Solomon Browne's engines throbbing and growling as they reverberate in the lifeboat station before she is launched down the slip and into the unknown.

Brooding and expressive, Simon Dobson's Penlee tells of the hammer of waves, the rush of water, the relentless battle against hurricane force winds of 95mph and everything the sea can throw at a small boat and her crew. The onslaught briefly eases, giving way to a heroic theme depicting eight ordinary men engaged in an extraordinary act of courage... you can almost hear coxswain Trevelyan Richards calmly urging on his crew: "Hold her steady, lads, we're going in."

And still the echo of merrymaking back at the Coastguard Hotel and Ship Inn in Mousehole seeps through the tumult like a soundtrack to their endeavours playing in the men's heads as they battle and ride the storm.

Towards the end, when all radio contact with the lifeboat is lost and suspense gives way to resignation, there are moments of near-calm and even hope amid the cataclysm. The silenced audience is left – as the eight men's families were left – to wonder, to imagine.

The piece concludes with the plaintive peal of the current Penlee Lifeboat's bell, leaving those gathered in St Michael's church breathless and drained, their emotions in tatters, in absolute awe both of what lifeboatmen everywhere voluntarily face and of this extraordinary composition.

A mighty, thundering lament for all those in peril on the sea, it is difficult to imagine, having heard this piece performed, in Cornwall, by CYBB, that any other ensemble could inject Penlee with such verve and energy. But no doubt others will try – and it will be interesting to hear what Leyland Band make of the composition when they play it as part of the Festival of Brass at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester later this month.

In the audience, representing Solomon Browne families and the RNLI, was Janet Madron, widow of second coxswain and mechanic Stephen Madron, who died, aged 35, in the disaster. Mrs Madron, who is chairman of fundraising for the Penlee RNLI branch, said afterwards: "It is a wonderful piece of music, but it was also a very painful experience because you never forget. I found it extremely emotional, thinking right back to that night again. Cornwall Youth Brass Band played absolutely wonderfully, they are a wonderful band and it is lovely to see such talent in youngsters."

Paying tribute to the composer, she added: "It was an honour to meet Simon Dobson and I hope he goes on to do many more wonderful things."

Penlee must have been a daunting act to follow – but rising to the challenge and demonstrating the flexibility for which it is now renowned, the 65-strong CYBB forged ahead with a full programme of music. Guest marimba player David Danford displayed incredible dexterity, skill and speed in his own arrangement of Rossini's La Danza, including a cheeky coda of Auld Lang Syne. Gareth Wood's Nightlife added a bright, sunny excursion for a cold night, while Vitae Lux saw a return to what might be described as more traditional brass band fare, a lovely pastoral piece featuring a crackingly crisp flugel horn solo by Zoe Hancock.

In keeping with his position as Tredegar Band's musical director, Ian Porthouse brought the first half to a close with Dragons' Rise, a fittingly rowsing call to arms for this gala concert. In a similar vein, Spirit Of The Valleys heralded an altogether lighter second half, which was followed by another appearance of David Danford, who joined the band for a furious rendition of Duelling Xylos and his own sultry arrangement of Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro's Despedida.

A tremendously lilting Ghanaia was handled expertly by CYBB's eight-piece percussion section, which had the audience transfixed by its beauty and ambience. An impressive solo freestyle improvisation on a single drum by David Danford then gave way to The Irish Blessing, a slice of classic banding romance.

While the filmic finale of Paul Lovatt-Cooper's Vitae Aeternum may have been the least interesting of the dozen or so pieces presented during an evening of sparkling entertainment and stimulation, this big, chunky ending ensured the capacity audience was sent into a wintry Newquay night with ears ringing and hearts pounding.

The gala concert's well-balanced programme was the result of a four-day intensive residential course for the CYBB, whose members are drawn from some two dozen Cornish bands.

Simon Dobson is currently working on the score for a new community play to be performed this summer at Sterts Theatre on Bodmin Moor.