News & Reviews
June
Summer Celebration Charity Concert
Selby Abbey,
Yorkshire
-
26th June 2010 |
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On
the weekend of 25th to 27th June a group of Band members travelled up to
Selby in Yorkshire to take part as a small group in a Summer Celebration
Concert for the Children's Society charity. The concert was organised by
Hadrian's Dad as part of his retirement year and the acts during the
concert featured several of his family members.
The Tewkesbury Brass Ensemble featured Hadrian Walters on trombone,
Helen Walters and Robin Purser on cornet, Helen Poole on flugel, George
Cullwick on Eb Bass and a former member of Tewkesbury Band, John Jemmett
on horn. At lunchtime on Saturday 26th we had entertained the fete-goers
at Selby Abbey fete with a selection of popular tunes and some of the
items that we were planning to play in the evening.
The evening concert was well supported with many of Chris Walters'
family and friends in the audience as well as performing on the stage.
The concert was compered by Brian Porter who did an excellent job at
introducing each of the acts and filling the time whilst the stage was
re-arranged. The concert was opened by the Canon Lee High School Big
Band which featured Chris' grandson, Peter Fitton, in the trombone
section and Peter played a fantastic solo in one of the pieces that they
played. They really got the concert off to a great start with some
excellent soloists and some great swing music. They were followed by
Chris' niece Bronwen Walters singing the theme tune from the
popular musical 'The
Sound of Music'
accompanied by Dr Roger Tebbett on the piano.
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We
then played our first selection of music opening in traditional brass
band fashion with the march 'Slaidburn'
to mark the numerous years that my Dad spent taking me around Yorkshire
to band practice and various other events. We then played the
traditional gospel song 'Just
A Closer Walk With Thee',
a rather tenuous title link to the trip my Dad and I took to Peru in
1998 to walk the Inca Trail. This was followed by the beautiful melody
by Carole Becker-Douglas 'So
Many Lives (A Millennium Prayer for Peace)'
the lyrics of which pay tribute to those who have lost their lives
needlessly in conflict. This was followed by a piece especially for my
Grandad, the theme from his favourite cartoon 'The
Flintstones'.
We closed out first half programme with 'Classical
Gold', a
selection of all those favourite classical moments that we didn't have
time to play the whole of without taking up two hours.
The first half closed with several items from the Abbey Choristers who
sang beautifully and featured several very young members. There was then
a short interval before the Abbey Choristers opened the second half so
that their younger members were able to make their way home for bed.
They were followed by Bronwen Walters singing the song 'Dream
a Little Dream of Me'.
We
then took to the stage to perform our second half programme which we
opened with the Frank Sinatra classic song 'My
Way' as a
tribute to the way that my Dad has led his life! This was followed with
a tribute to my Dad's faith and his fun attitude to life with the
popular song from Sister Act 'I
Will Follow Him'.
I then got to play one of my favourite tunes in the wonderful Abbey
acoustic as we played an arrangement of Vladimir Kosma's 'Autumn
Leaves' with a
false ending causing the audience to applaud early! Next it was a little
Gershwin with an arrangement of 'I
Got Rhythm'
before we concluded our programme with the tune that Helen & I walked
out to at our wedding, 'Rondo
Romantica' by
Otto Schwarz.
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Canon Lee School Big Band then took the stage to entertain us with three
more pieces that showed off the amazing sound that this talented group
of youngsters make. Hopefully they will continue their playing
throughout their lives! The concert was then brought to a close with
various thanks and a big finale featuring the combined voices of Nell,
Bronwen and Win Walters as they sang 'So Long, Farewell' from the Sound
of Music with bird effects by Maurice Walters.
There was then a fantastic spread of snacks and drinks for the audience
to enjoy before making their way home. The concert raised over £800
pounds for the nominated charity and a good night was had by all.
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St Catherine's Church Summer Fete
Gloucester
-
19th June 2010
On the
afternoon of Saturday 19 June the Training Band made its annual
appearance to provide the musical entertainment at the St Catherine's
Church Fete. It was a blustery but dry afternoon and the Training Band
played two half hour sets for an enthusiastic audience. The programme
included all of the current favourites ranging from the Disney
favourites, 'The
Theme from Aristocats'
and 'Belle'
from Beauty and the Beast, via 'Irving
Berlin Pops'
and 'Anna
Magdalena's Minuet',
to 'La Bamba',
'Pinball
Wizard' and 'Don't
Look Back in Anger'.
In-between the two sets there was a time for hot dogs, popcorn and ice
creams to keep our energy levels up!
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A Night at the Proms
Roses Theatre,
Tewkesbury
-
12th June 2010
On the evening of
Saturday 12th June the Band held its annual Proms Concert in the Roses Theatre.
Despite clashing with the first England match of the football World Cup there
was a good audience in the theatre, including both the Tewkesbury Town Mayor and
the Tewkesbury Borough Mayor, who enjoyed a fun evening of brass band music.
We opened
our programme with a bright regal fanfare written by the American composer James
Hosay 'Fanfare
Britannica'. We
followed this with a traditional overture from the pen of Arthur Sullivan for
one of his popular operettas 'HMS
Pinafore'. We then
moved into the 20th Century with a modern variation on the traditional waltz by
Shostakovich. We played his 'Second
Waltz' which is a
great uplifting tune that brings a smile to the saddest of faces. This was
followed by our first solo of the night featuring Clive Miles on tenor horn with
the classic tune from the musical 'The Wizard of Oz' made famous by Judy Garland
'Somewhere Over the
Rainbow'. After that
our whole cornet section was featured in the Bert Kaempfert classic tune 'Spanish
Eyes' in an
arrangement by Ray Woodfield.
We then
had a little fun by inviting several members of the audience onto the stage to
join with us on percussion instruments as we played through an arrangement of
the traditional Mexican folk tune 'La
Cucaracha'. This was
then followed by a trip to the era of musical revues in a collection of Flanders
& Swann tunes by the title of 'At
the Drop of A Hat'
that included the songs 'The Gasman Cometh', 'The Slow Train', 'The Wom Pom
Song' and 'The Hippopotamus Song' all artfully combined by Sandy Smith into a
fun piece of music. Our principal cornet, Helen Walters, was then featured as we
paid tribute to the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Chopin by playing a tune
base on one of his tristesses 'So
Deep is the Night'.
The Band then slowly dispersed from the stage as we played an arrangement of
Haydn's 'Farewell
Symphony' until there
was only the conductor (Nigel Morgan), a euphonium (Julia Edgeworth-Simmonds)
and the principal cornet (Helen Walters) onstage....everyone else was in the bar
getting their interval drinks!
We opened
the second half of our programme with a collection of American Spirituals put
together under the title of 'Jubilation'
by North American composer James Curnow. We then moved to the country of yet
another of the participants in the football World Cup (a theme that had been
touched on throughout the evening) with a selection by Alan Fernie of several
popular and famous tunes by Italian composers in a piece entitled 'An
Italian Fantasy'. This
covered the Grand March form Aida, Nessun Dorma, La Danza and several others in
a rousing and clever arrangement for brass.
Our second
bit of audience participation followed with the provision of a flugel, trombone
and tuba to three of the audience members (one being the Town Crier) and the
request that they play along with the afterbeats as the band played the Blue
Danube waltz. The concert was then rounded of with the ever-popular Last Night
of the Proms favourites with singing led by our very own star singer, Helen
Poole. We transported the audience to the Albert Hall with Arthur Wood's
'Fantasia on British Sea Songs' (including Rule Britannia), followed by the
popular 'Jerusalem' and the big finale of Elgar's 'Pomp and Circumstance No. 1'
(better known as Land of Hope and Glory).
A fun evening was had by all! We would like to say a special Thank You to our
guests David Mason on euphonium and his brother Jim Mason on cornet.
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Street Fair Fun
Bishop's Cleeve
-
6th June 2010
It was a warm
Sunday lunchtime and early afternoon for the Training Band's first appearance at
Bishop's Cleeve's street fair. The Training Band set up near the fountain in the
centre of the village and a small crowd soon gathered sitting on the nearby
benches and low walls to hear them play. During the afternoon they played a
selection of their pieces including a selection of popular tunes by Irving
Berlin in an arrangement called 'Irving
Berlin Pops'. There
were tunes from the films of Disney including the 'Theme
from Aristocats', 'Beauty
and the Beast' and 'Belle'.
There were
also pop tunes for the young 'Don't
Look Back In Anger'
and for the old 'Pinball
Wizard' and 'La
Bamba'. As well as a
few famous classical melodies 'Anna
Magdalena's Minuet'
and the eastern 'Hava
Nagila'. The Training
Band played two half hour programmes for their appreciative audience with a
break for ice creams and burgers from the various stalls. A good afternoon was
had by all.
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June
| Sunday 6th |
Bishop's Cleeve Fair 12pm - 4pm -
Training Band |
| Saturday 12th |
Proms Concert, Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury [7:30pm]
Box office: (01684) 295074 |
| Saturday 19th |
St Catherine's Church Fete, Gloucester
- Training Band [2-4pm] |
| Saturday 26th |
Charity Concert, Selby Abbey - Small
Group of Band Members |
May
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Tewkesbury Abbey Fete
Tewkesbury
Abbey
-
31st May 2010
Monday 31
May saw the Band make its annual appearance at the Tewkesbury Abbey Fete. This
year we played inside the Abbey up towards the Altar where a good audience of
jumble-sailors and general fete-goers assembled in the choir stalls to listen to
us play two 35 minute programmes of light music. The music we played was a
selection of the items that we had entertained the audience with at Malvern
bandstand with a few of the other items from our recent repertoire. We had an
enjoyable time and hopefully attracted a few more people to what is always a
well attended fete. |
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Malvern Bandstand
Malvern
-
30th May 2010
The Summer
bandstand season has arrived and a sunny afternoon on Sunday 30th May saw the
Band make its first outdoor appearance of the year on one of our favourite
bandstands, the one in Malvern. The afternoon showcased some of our recent
programme items along with several new and several old ones. As always at
Malvern there was a large audience sitting in the natural amphitheatre to listen
to the Band's afternoon concert.
We opened
the concert with 'Hymn
to the Mountain'
before entertaining the audience with some of Arthur Sullivan's music in the
form of the 'Overture
from HMS Pinafore'.
Next there was little Russian jazz-inspired Strauss as we played the wonderful
arrangement by Alan Fernie of Shostakovich's 'Second
Waltz', one of those
tunes that just sticks in your mind and gets you swaying in your seat! Staying
in a classical mood it was on to our celebration of 200th anniversary of
Chopin's birth with an arrangement of the tristesse 'So
Deep is the Night'.
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Moving
back up tempo we played the Salvation Army march 'Goldcrest' before our cornet
and flugel players led us on a walk though an Irish fair with Matt Kingston's
fantastic arrangement of 'She
Moved Through the Fair'.
Our two bass trombonists then took us off to the Californian wilderness with a
walk under the 'Wandrin'
Star'; John Warner and
Jonathan Petticrew gave a fantastic rendition of this classic song from the
musical Paint Your Wagon that was taken to number one in the charts for three
weeks in 1970. The first half was brought to a close with more music from the
musicals, this time in the form of the symphonic arrangement of the music from 'Mary
Poppins' by Andrew
Duncan.
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Our second
half opened with an arrangement of American Negro Spirituals by James Curnow
entitled 'Jubilation'
before our flugel, Helen Poole, gave us a beautiful rendition of the Irish
traditional song 'How
Can I keep from Singing?'.
More music from the stage followed with a quick trip for some more with a
selection of the favourite tunes from 'Oliver!'.
Thus was followed by a solo on one of the more unusual instruments, the car
horn, by Susan Stayt-Mackey as the Band enjoyed a Caribbean calypso inspired
romp with the theme from 'Herbie:
Fully Loaded'.
This was
followed by a little Welsh magic from that hip-swaying king, Tom Jones, as the
band played 'It's Not
Unusual!'. This was
followed by a little Latin American music in the form of the cornet section
feature 'Spanish Eyes'.
Finally we gave the audience a 'Ticket to Ride' on a train to a 'Klezmer
Karnival'.
A fun
afternoon was had by all in Malvern and a big Thank You to Bb Bass player Chris
Daw for helping us out. |
Training Band Cabaret Evening
John Moore
School, Tewkesbury
-
22nd May 2010
The Training Band
held its annual Cabaret Evening on Saturday 22nd May. This evening is an
opportunity for the members of the Training Band to perform solos or small
ensemble pieces to an audience of family and friends in an informal setting with
drinks and nibbles.
The
Beginner Band opened the concert with all of the band members parading into the
hall dressed in builders clothing to play the theme tune to 'Bob
the Builder'.
The first small ensemble saw three of the adult members of the Training Band
(Linda Lee on flugel, Sue Wilmot on horn, and Penny Windsor on baritone)
take centre stage to perform Scott Joplin's 'Easy
Winners'. They were
followed by one of our younger cornet players, Shannon Huntley, who joined the
band after seeing her friend play with them during last year's band camp.
Shannon played a short tune from the Look, Listen & Learn tutor books called 'Let's
Rock Doc!'. This was
followed by one of our newest and smallest members Emmeline Turner on a trombone
that is as tall as she is. Despite her young age and having only been playing
with the Band since the beginning of the year Emmeline played the tune 'Off
To Town' from the
tutor books with amazing confidence.
Two more
young trombonists, William Wade and Matthew Lee, dressed as Portugese then gave
us a rendition of one of those pieces with a name designed to catch out the
compere, 'Ribiera vai
Cheia'. The
Intermediate Band then accompanied Henry Hick and Hannah Norman as they played
the duet 'Cherry Ripe'
on their euphoniums. Matthew Lee then appeared on stage dressed for Strictly
Come Dancing to give us a rendition of the lyrical study 'Waltz
With Variations' by
Philip Sparke. It was then onto a different kind of dance as the three adult
members from earlier (Linda, Sue and Penny) were joined by another adult member,
John Moore, to entertain us with 'Let's
Twist Again'.
We were
then entertained by another of our young cornet players, Emily Brewis, with a
beautiful rendition of the hymn tune 'Green
Hills'. Two of our
more experienced junior cornet players, Hannah Williams and Alex Blencowe, then
took us back to the era of the Rat Pack with their rendition of the popular tune
'Me and My Shadow'
on their trumpets. Matthew Lee was joined by his trombone colleague Jonathan
Petticrew (both dressed in armed forces clothing) to give us a trip to the
second world war with music from the film Pearl Harbour, 'There
You'll Be'. The first
half of the concert was brought to a close with the Beginner Band playing
'Lonely Stranger' and the Intermediate Band entertaining us with 'Swing
With The Mountain King'.
The
Beginner Band wearing appropriate masks opened the second half of the concert
with 'Batman'.
Lucy Windsor accompanied by Kim Benbow on piano then played the 'Theme
from Poirot' for
us on her horn. Another of our young trombonists, Tom Petticrew, then took centre stage to take
us back to the Seventies with a rendition of the Wings classic 'Mull
of Kintyre'. Emma
Keene introduced us to a small friend of hers from a lot further back in
time...a dragon who apparently likes the odd tipple or two! She played the 'March
of the Drunken Dragon'
on her cornet. She was followed by another diminutive cornet player, Rebecca
Marshall, who gave us a rendition of 'Light
Up The Fire'.
It was
then back to the Seventies for some more pop music with Amy Williams in full
Abba outfit to play the hit tune 'Super
Trouper' on her
baritone. Hannah Norman then wowed the audience with a sonorous performance of
the hit song from the musical Joseph 'Any
Dream Will Do'. This
was followed by one of the star spots of the evening. Gerry Petticrew (father of
trombonists Tom and Jonathan) took the stage dressed in a very snazzy outfit of
smarties covered shirt, waistcoat, sparkly top hat and bright orange shoes to
play the Herbie Flowers tuba solo 'Tuba
Smarties'; this was
the first time he had played a solo since he had left school a number of years
ago.
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Grace
Windsor then stood up by herself to play 'On
My Own' on her cornet.
This was followed by Thomas Keene on baritone and Henry Hick on euphonium
entertaining us with the classic TV theme 'Dad's
Army'. Alex Blencowe
then took us of to Central America with a rendition of the 'Mexican
Hat Dance' on his
cornet. The solo spots were brought to a close by Gerry's accompaniest, Michael
Blake, with a rendition of 'Retrato
de Alfredo Gobbi' on
the piano.
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The
concert and a fantastic evening of music making were then brought to a
conclusion by the Intermediate Band wearing cat masks to play the theme from
Disney's 'Aristocats'
and the Beginner Band playing 'Postman
Pat'.
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European Brass Band
Championships
Three
members of Tewkesbury Town Band - Nigel Morgan, Hadrian Walters and
Helen Walters, recently avoided the volcanic ash and flew to Austria to
enjoy the European Brass Band Championships in the Brucknerhaus, Linz.It was another fantastic weekend of
music with no less than five new commissions being played including the
test pieces 'Spiriti' by Thomas Doss for the A section and 'Up My Alley'
by Albin Zaininger for the B Section. Other new commissions came from
Cory Band with 'A Tale As Yet Untold' by Philip Sparke, Black Dyke with
'Red Priest' by Philip Wilby and Belgian band Brass Band Buizingen with
'Earthrise' by Nigel Clarke. |
| We flew out
on Thursday morning ready to enjoy the 5th European Soloist Competition
final that evening which involved three finalists: Harmen Vanhoorne and
Glen Van Looy, both from Belgium, and from Scotland Katrina Marzella.
All three performed some amazing pieces and the winner was Euphonium
soloist Glen Van Looy. After the concert it was off to find some food in
a rather nice local steak house! Friday
morning began with the EBBA (European Brass Band Association) conference
where first there was a presentation by Dr Reinhard Mattes, Director of
the Upper Austrian Culture Ministry, about Culture In Upper Austria.
This was a good presentation and highlighted how important music is in
their culture and thus supported financially and given the publicity and
support it deserves. This was followed by a discussion on open or closed
adjudication which Hadrian got quite involved in - he only made one
comment but it led to people coming up to him whilst we were having
lunch in the town, or a drink in the bar, to talk to him as they agreed
with his comments!
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| After lunch it was
back to the Brucknerhaus for the composers talk before the A Section
test piece competition. It was another great evening of music with each
band providing very different readings of the score. After some more
food and a few drinks it was back to the hotel for a quick sleep before
getting up early to go and listen to the B Section competition. In this
section they place just once, but a programme of music to include the
test piece. There was a great variety of music from Extreme Makeover
(2006 European A Section test piece) to Summon The Dragon (the piece I
walked down the aisle to at my wedding - Helen)! This section was one by
Austrian Brass Band with both second and third places going to German
brass bands. There was no time for lunch
before the A Section own choice competition started. This included a
great selection of the most popular test pieces at the moment including
Vienna Nights, Journey To The Centre of the Earth, St Magnus and From
Ancient Times, as well as some new commissions as mentioned above.
This was followed later by the Gala Concert
which featured the amazing Austrian Youth Brass Band which had been
formed 12 months ago especially for this event, the Cory Band as
defending champions, and Austrian band Brass Band Oberösterreich. This
was followed by the results and then the after party where members of
the Austrian Youth Brass Band and several members of the competing bands
provided some impromptu entertainment in the bar area!
The European Brass Band Championships is a
fantastic long weekend of brass music and entertainment that it is
highly recommended that all brass players should experience at least
once. We're already looking forward to next year's event in Montreaux,
Switzerland. |
May
| Saturday 22nd |
Cabaret Evening, John Moore School - Training Band [6pm] |
| Sunday 30th |
Malvern Bandstand [2:30-4:30pm] |
| Monday 31st |
Tewkesbury Abbey Fete [11:30am] |
For
Previous Month's news:
For January's news -
Diamond Time at Butlins, 80th Birthday Surprise (Click Here!!)
For February's news -
Winter Ales and a Celebration Concert (Click Here!!)
For March's news - Labour
& Love, TV Stars and Palm Sunday (Click Here!!)
For April's news - Concerts with Panta Rhei Band
and Cheltenham Choral Society, AGM Update (Click Here!!)
Multimedia
If you follow the links below then you will find a few excerpts from our 2008
Christmas concert. Enjoy!
George Cullwick playing 'The
Bare Necessities'
Nigel Morgan dressing up for
'Jericho
Revisited'
Some great dancing by the Training Band in
'I
Don't Feel Like Dancing'
A fantastic original work by Robin Purser
'Weekend
Rain' as performed
by the Training Band.
The Training Band showing off their talents in
'Muffins
Rhapsody'.
'Tewkesbury' CD Out Now
Our first ever CD recording is now
available. It can be purchased at any of the Band's appearances for £10. If you
can't wait to hear us then you can order a copy from us via e-mail (
cookie.monster@tinyworld.co.uk
) and we will work out how to get a copy to you...if we
have to post the CD then unfortunately we will need to add the cost of postage &
packing to the cost of the CD.
The CD was recorded
by
Dr Jeykl Mobile Recordings.
The track listing for
the CD is shown below:
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1. Tewkesbury
2. Beyond The Sea
3. The Londonderry Air
4. Buglers' Holiday
5. Skirl
6. Feelings
7.Those Magnificent Men
8. Adagio
9. Bolero
10. Barnard Castle
11. Don Giovanni
12. Wild Rover
13. Sway
14. Amazing Grace
15. Nearer My God To Thee
16. Marching Onward |
Andrew Duncan
Trenet & Lawrence arr. Frank Bernaerts
Trad. arr. Goff Richards [Soloist: Helen Walters]
Leroy Anderson arr. Roger Barsotti [Soloists: Helen Walters, Helen
Poole & Robin Purser]
Allan Street
Morris Albert arr. Derek Ashmore [Soloist: Clive Miles]
Ron Goodwin arr. Eric Banks
Tomaso Albinoni arr. Jacob de Haan
Ravel arr. Christopher Wormald
Goff Richards
W A Mozart arr. Ken Smith
Trad. arr. Martyn Sudworth
Ruiz & Gimbel arr. Jan van Kraeydonck
Trad. arr. William Himes
Lowell Mason
Ivor Bosanko |
For all the news and reviews
from previous
years click on the links below:
Continue to watch this
space for all the exciting news and views from the band!
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.
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Copyright © 2001 Melbo Productions. All rights reserved. Tewkesbury Town
Brass Band
Revised:
July 19, 2010
