Just a reminder that all the views portrayed on this website are mine and Hadrian's (mostly Hadrian's!!) and may not reflect the views of Tewkesbury Town Band as a whole.
June
Alderman Knight School Fete - 21st June 2003
The sun had it's hat on for the annual appearance of
the band at the Alderman Knight School fete. An event we enjoy immensely as we
help our long time supporters from the school raise funds to keep up the
excellent work done by this special school.
We were joined in the playing ranks by some of our good friends. Jane Mason was
filling in on 1st Baritone for the missing Juliet Jeffrey and Dave Butler was
helping out on kit percussion in the absence of Pete Strawson. Finally, our good
friend Dan Slater had made the trip all the way from Kettering to join us on
bass trombone... crazy but true! A big thank you to all and it was great to see
you.
We had two half hour slots, either side of a charity football match, in which to
entertain the fete goers. The first included 'The Middy', 'Pirates of Penzance'
and the spectacular cornet trio (played by a quartet!) Sea Breezes. Children's
corner came next with a junior conducting competition being held between two of
the junior members of the band supporters club (David and Matthew Crowe!).
The second half began with 'Seventy-Six Trombones' and ended with 'Raggy
Trombones' which we subtitled 'Shaggy trombones' since it followed the premier
by the band of 'Scooby Doo, Where Are You?'. Another junior conductor was called
in at short notice in the form of James Musto to guide the band through Thomas
the Tank Engine. A future tyrant with the baton if today was anything to go by!!
Overall, a fun afternoon in the sun which hopefully raised lots of funds for the
school.
News!
Brassed Off!
Eb Bass player, Ken Smith, has recently been involved in not one, but two runs
of the stage show, Brassed Off. Playing firstly with Stourport-on-Severn Brass
Band and then being asked to help out City of Birmingham Brass Band at the
Birmingham Rep. Brassed off?... I don't think so!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to local teenager and friend of the band, Nick Walkley on his
achievements on the National Youth Brass Band's Easter course.
"Nicholas Walkley, cornet, won the most coveted
Maud Wright Award, presented to the member deemed by the NYBB course staff to
have given the most meritorious service to the band." [Brass Band World
Magazine, May 2003].
Nick was also awarded the Kate Ogden Award.
Aaargh!
We are sorry for the
lack of updates to the site in recent weeks. This was due to computer
problems...our hard drive died...but now we've hopefully got it all fixed and
reviews and news will be updated a.s.a.p.!
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"You said what??!!" Just a reminder that all the views portrayed on this website are mine and Hadrian's (mostly Hadrian's!!) and may not reflect the views of Tewkesbury Town Band as a whole. |
| Musical Chairs Again! | |
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While we've
been busy fixing our computer, all sorts of changes have been going on in the
band! Firstly, we would like to welcome back to the band, Martin Musto and Sarah Crowe. Martin has returned to the position of principle cornet with us after 18 months of playing principle with Championship section band, Lydmet Lydney. Martin started playing with Tewkesbury Band when he was about 6 so he is definitely returning to his roots. Sarah Crowe has followed her husband, Neil, back to Tewkesbury band after giving birth to their third son. Sarah is a very talented player and joins the band on flugel horn. |
| Due to these additions to the band, there have been a few changes! Helen Morgan has moved down the front row off principle and she is joined by Sue Pawley who has come back on to cornet after playing flugel. With Tom and Adrian still on the front row as well, it looks to be a very strong section! | |
Ready, Aim, Play! - New Bandroom location
The May bank holiday weekend saw a magnificent team effort from the band members
and families as we moved bandroom; from the hut we had been occupying for the
past 18 months on Ashchurch Army camp to the old rifle range there. This
exercise required us to remove all evidence of our occupation of our old hut.
Thus, the various elements of our home-made acoustic dampening system had to be
dismantled i.e. the carpet and underlay had to be taken up, the jigsaw puzzle of
the suspended ceiling taken down and the drapes removed from the walls.
Whilst one team of volunteers was in the hut doing this, another team was at the old rifle range dismantling a partition wall with sledge hammers. Once the partition was down, the bucket and mop brigade invaded to clean the place up.
The essential lunch break at the Queens Head followed before we returned, paintbrushes and rollers in hand to add a taste of magnolia to the walls. By now, the new bandroom was starting to take shape and all that was left to do was re-lay the carpet and underlay from that we had earlier taken up from the hut floor. Somehow, despite the different shapes of the rooms and the new room appearing to be larger, the carpet was almost a perfect fit once it had been reshaped a little! With the stands, chairs and percussion kit in place we once again had a bandroom!
All the time in the background, Sue, the band librarian, had been methodically transferring our music library to its new location. Our new bandroom with the extra space offered by the adjoining length of the rifle range itself provides lots of exciting potential for the band and we hope to be reporting on more developments in the near future. A big Thank You to Ashchurch Army Camp for continuing to house us. Finally, a huge Thank You to all who took time out to help ensure the band made a rapid and efficient transfer to its new premises.
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More Players on the Way! It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Adrian and Sue Pawley are expecting their first child, due in October. Congratulations to you both and we hope everything continues to go well. |
June
|
Saturday 14th |
Brass Plays the Proms Concert, Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury 7:30pm |
| Saturday 21st | Alderman Knight School Fete 1pm (?) - Just off Junction 9 of the M5 |
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Twinning Association Concert,
Churchdown "FOR the
first time ever Tewkesbury Town Band played in Churchdown on May 30, at a
concert with the Churchdown Male Voice Choir, attended by the Mayor of
Tewkesbury Borough, Cllr Jim Mason. |
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Barry said the choir was
delighted to return to the familiar surroundings of the Churchdown Community
Centre. Pianist Pam was invited to cut the red ribbon on the new piano from
the 100 club. Many in the hall were off to Twickenham next day so everyone sang The Gloster Boys with great gusto. Proceeds from the concert went to The Anthony Nolan Trust, the Tewkesbury Town Band and the Twinning Association. Major Tom Hancock, chairman of the Twinning Association spoke of the close ties with Miesbach and the exchange visits enjoyed by 2000 children. After presentations, band and choir joined together in the Huntsmen's Chorus by Weber, Soldiers' Chorus by Gounod and Pomp and Circumstance by Elgar. A very fitting finale." By
Marguerite Hazell, Gloucestershire Echo. |
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Tewkesbury Abbey Fete - 26th May 2003 Review to follow shortly! |
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Stratford-upon-Avon
Bandstand - 25th May 2003 The Spring bank holiday was as usual subject to changeable weather; this was definitely the case on Sunday whilst we were on the bandstand at Stratford-upon-Avon. It was tough conditions for the Band on the bandstand. There were dry spells during which an audience appeared, followed by swift downpours which dramatically reduced the audience numbers to a few hardy brass band followers. Despite the tough conditions, the Band managed to attract a reasonable audience and provided a good afternoon of musical entertainment. |
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The programme was similar to that
of Evesham the week before, with the strident 'Jubilee fanfare' opening
proceedings, followed by the Overture: 'Pirates of Penzance'. The Euphoniums
led the band beautifully in the ever popular 'Music of the Night' before
Helen Morgan tool the band to Latin America as she breezed through 'Fiesta
Mexicana'. From Mexico, there was a quick jaunt through 'Scarborough Fair'
to see 'Tin-Tin' in Switzerland before alighting 'Thomas the Tank Engine' to
Spain where we pulled in at the station just in time to see the 'March of
the Toreadors'! |
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The fourth movement of Northern Landscapes 'Flight' began the second half of our programme in style. Neil Crowe then took centre stage with his lilting rendition of the film music 'Bilitis'. The crowd were then invited to take the roles of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John as we played 'Summer Nights' from the popular musical 'Grease'. Another popular movie tune 'Everything I Do' followed featuring the beautiful flugel sound of Sarah Crowe. there were more aquatic antics from Betty Ellis and Keith Rose in Alan Fernie's superb arrangement for brass band of 'The Ugly Duckling'. The expressive 'All in the April Evening' provided a mellow moment before the tempo rose again to the finish via our American adventure with 'Kennesaw Mountain Blues' and 'Cranberry Corners'. | |
Evesham Bandstand - 18th May 2003
Our first bandstand
appearance of the Summer took place at what was for many years our last venue of
the bandstand season, Evesham. A pleasant, if slightly compact, bandstand in a
wonderful riverside park location.
Unfortunately, the weather was not as kind to us as we would have liked, with dull grey chilly conditions limiting the size of our audience. However, our stalwart supporters and the keen members of the Evesham brass band appreciation society were present. They were treated to our first performances of several new items. Highlights being:
♫ 'The Ugly Duckling', expertly arranged for brass band by Alan Fernie and
starring Betty Ellis on the duck whistle
♫ The exuberant popular classic, 'March of the Toreadors'
♫ 'Kennesaw Mountain Blues', an American style blues by the experienced American
composer Stephen Bulla
♫ The beautiful melody from the film, 'Bilitis', played beautifully by our
soprano cornet player, Neil Crowe, and
♫ Helen Morgan's confident
presentation of her solo item 'Fiesta Mexicana', a latin party piece.
These were presented along with several old favourites to a wonderfully appreciative audience.
May
| Sunday 18th | Evesham Bandstand |
| Sunday 25th | Stratford-Upon-Avon Bandstand |
| Monday 26th | Tewkesbury Abbey Fete |
| Friday 30th | Twinning Association Concert, Churchdown Community Centre |