The following news from the band members is regularly updated by the members themselves.
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Abington Park Northampton
Bathed in sunshine and encircled by hundreds of people relaxing on a summer Sunday afternoon, Abington Park bandstand provided the venue for an afternoon’s music for all in attendance. A varied programme, ranging from the Strauss to the Beatles, supplied the entertainment for the jugglers, BBQ party goers and rounders players, not to mention the brass band enthusiasts and just those who fancied sitting in the sun for a couple of hours. A very popular job for the author also, being untypically five minutes drive from home. Pleasing that so many people came up afterwards to thank the band for an enjoyable concert.
Charlton Fete
Charlton village fete again reverberated to the varied repertoire of Brackley Band. Another annual commitment enjoyed by the band and patrons. Held in the (large) rear garden of a village resident, the music provided a subtle background to the sound of tennis matches, hoop-la and felled coconuts. We hope to be invited back again next year as Dave Piper has promised to have a go on the wheeled jousting horse. We will be selling tickets!
Brackley Music Festival
The band performed a concert as part of the annual Brackley Music Festival. In previous years, the concert has been held at the St John’s chapel. However, due to the chapel not being available this year, the event was moved to Brackley Football Club. The band played on the pitch facing the main stand containing an audience of 70+. The junior band took the stage for the opening of the second half and later accompanied the senior band for the traditional encore of “Tequila.” Very windy but fortunately dry and some positive feedback received regarding the playing for both bands and the new venue. Watch this space next year to see whether we return or go back to the traditional chapel venue.
Brackley Band enjoys succesful concert at Banbury
The Mayors and Mayoresses of Brackley and Banbury were honorary guests at a concert at Banbury School. The concert, themed "Movies and Songs" took place in the Wykham Hall and was enjoyed by a healthy turn out on a pleasant Sunday evening. Thanks to former members, Janet and Kevin, for travelling from deepest darkest Linclonshire to help out on the night, great to see you back. The band now looks forward to playing at the annual Brackley Music Festival on Sunday 4th July.
Brackley Band leads Padbury charity parade
The band led the annual Padbury Sick Benefit Society parade through the streets of the village. The Society has been in place since 1856 but this is the first time the band has been called on to lead proceedings. We didn't know quite what to expect but all the band really enjoyed the occasion. The Society members and villagers were very impressed with the playing, so much so that we were rebooked on the day for next year. Hopefully this will become a regular annual commitment. Thanks to solo horn Nick Slater for his very able work as bandmaster for the day and for turning a rag-tag group into a semi professional marching outfit.
Annual Regional Contest
Brackley Band secured thier 1st Section status with a 12th position at the annual regional contest. The adjudicators enjoyed the overall quality of the playing and complimented the band on good interpretation and style. One or two errors prevented the band from gaining a higher position. Now looking forward to a busy spring/summer season with a busy programme of events.
Christmas Concert
The band performed at St Peter’s Church in Brackley for the annual Christmas concert. Heavy snow, which started a couple of hours before the concert, meant that one or two players were unable to attend; it also affected numbers in what is traditionally a full audience. However, the show must go on!
The band performed a varied concert of modern and traditional music, much with a Christmas theme, intertwined with carols for audience participation. A particular highlight was Steve, our bass trombone player, playing Frosty the Snowman in a full snowman costume. Special thanks go to Sue Bennett and the junior band who played so well at the start of the 2nd half.
Positive feedback was received from several members of the audience regarding the quality of the playing which was very encouraging.
So another year ends for the band and we now look forward to the all important national qualifying contest in March.
Happy Christmas to all players and supporters.
Carols outside the Town Hall
The band joined the junior band outside the town hall to accompany the annual carol service. Around 200 people from the town braved the sub-zero conditions to join in the singing, with cameo performances from the Council members in Ding-Dong Merrily on High. The band would like to thank Mayor Carol Billingham for donating this year's collection to band funds.
Brackley Remembrance Parade
The band provided the music for the annual Remembrance Parade in Brackley Market Place. A particularly poignant event this year due to the recent loss of a Brackley soldier in Afghanistan. As usual, a very high turn out from people in the town and some kind words to band members regarding the quality of the playing. Special mention for Nick Davy, our principal cornet, for a very sensitive and solemn last post.
Player Changes and Vacancies
We'd like to welcome Nick Slater into the band to play on Solo Horn. Nick is an ex-military bandsman of many years experience and has recently moved to Banbury. As part of the reshuffle, while able to, Helen will be playing both Horn and Percussion up until the Pontin's contest.
Janine Planas has been sitting in with us on solo cornet for the last month with a view to joining full time. She's one of Sue's star cornet players in the Junior Band but is soon to be too old! She'll be joining James and Angus who've also recently moved up in the world.
Although the band is more-or-less complete, we have vacancies for a permanent Soprano Cornet, Flugel Horn, either Bass, and Percussion. If you are interested please contact us or just turn up on a rehearsal night.
Summer Jobs Announced
The engagements list has been updated with this summer's upcoming concerts and contests. These include some Brackley Music Festival events (Our joint concert with the Junior Band, a community Songs of Praise, and 6PAC with Helen Barrett), a couple of local village fetes (Weedon Lois and Weston, and Charlton-cum-Newbottle), and a couple of contests (Wychavon and Pontins). The Engagements page has more details. more...
Cholsey Band Needs Help!
Cholsey need help in most areas for jobs:
- Newbury Bandstand, 31st May
- RAF Lyneham, 6th June
- Woodcote Steam Rally, 11th/12th July
Contact Nellie or Swifty Karen Swift744@btinternet.com - thank you!
Area Results
The senior band came 8th out of 16 in the First Section at the Midland Area contest in Bedworth on Saturday playing Pentacle, which was agreed by all to be a very hard piece. This was Jason's first contest with us as MD since re-joining the band a few months ago. Apart from Bedworth who just pipped us, compared to our other local rivals we did rather well, and can finally write off last year's result as a blip. It was a lot of work to only come mid-table (9 rehearsals in the last 2 weeks!) and some in the band were a little disappointed, but I think on the whole we are relieved to be staying up in the 1st section and are in a position for things to start looking up again. If Steve's sums are right, it should leave us 13/19 in the table. more... photos...
Lineup for the Areas
Thanks to the return of some old friends - John Bennett on percussion and Dave White on EEb bass - and the addition of some new friends - Kay Speed-Andrews in Flugel and Angus on EEb bass - we have a full lineup for the Area contest on Saturday 14th March.
Tuba Vacancies
Nick Riseley has left the band due to the pressures of starting his own business. We wish him well, but now need another Bb Bass, so if you know anyone...
Area Contest Preparation
The band is spending the next couple of months getting stuck into Pentacle, the test piece for the area contest in March. The result is going to be important to the band as it will answer the question of whether we are good enough to stay in the 1st section. We are on track to pull it off, however there is a problem in that we don't currently have enough percussionists, so if you are one or know one who may be interested in helping out then please contact us!
Website Relaunched
The new website is launched. Band members can all add new content and improve the site themselves so there should be a lot more happening on here from now on.
Christmas Concert
Dave Smith has done us a poster for the Christmas concert on Monday so you can print it and display it all over town: more...
New MD Jason Glynn
The band are delighted to welcome back Jason Glynn as Musical Director. During his previous tenure, Jason was instrumental in the band's consistent improvement, including 2nd place at the National Brass Band Championships (2nd Section) and promotion to the First Section. Jason has spent the past couple of years concentrating on his playing (cornet) for Sovereign Brass where he has also taken on some conducting duties.
Remembrance Service
We welcomed John Bennett back for the day to lead the band to accompany the town's remembrance service in the market square on Sunday. The rain was heavier than we were expecting but the Band did it's job regardless, with Nick's Last Post and all the Cornets on the Reveille for a change. There was a comment from in the band that it felt like playing on the deck of the Titanic as it went down.
Pontins' Result
We came 13th out of 18 in the 1st section at the Pontin's contest on Saturday, playing Eric Ball's Wayfarer Sinfonietta. Everyone thought we played very well and we beat most of our local rivals in the process. This was Geoff Riseley's last job with us as conductor, so the band would like to thank him for helping us keep the momentum going through the last few months. Also, well done to 3 of our regular deps (Dave, Jason and Mike) who helped Sovereign Brass to win the top section. more...
CD On Sale Now
The concert at The Mill was successful and the launch of the CD went well once we remembered to mention it. It is now on sale for 10 pounds from this web site. more...
Website Email Facility
Do you know any of our current players from other bands you've played in? If so, why not get in touch by sending them an email via this web site's Players page. more...
Wychavon Result
The band performed very well at the Wychavon Festival of Brass at the weekend. Unfortunately the adjudicator didn't agree and put us 9th despite not really saying anything bad against our performance in his notes. Geoff Riseley conducting his first contest with us was pleasantly surprised with the Cornets given the rather interesting last few rehearsals, and Ed's soprano solo of Memory was enthusiastically applauded.
Dave Dunn-Birch Leaving
Dave Dunn-Birch, one of our Eb Bassists, has secured a place at York to read music, so well done you, but this does now mean we have a vacancy for Bb Bass on top of our requirement for a Solo Cornet and Percussion. more...
Our first CD "Moods in Brass" is now ready to go into production. It will soon be on sale on this website so keep checking back here for more news. more...
David Richards leaves
Sadly David Richards has resigned as Musical Director for personal reasons, but he's continuing to sort out the production on the CD and the art work, and would "just like to pass on my thanks to those that have been in contact, and for the kind words and encouragement you have given to me." Geoff Riseley has at short notice volunteered to take the band up to and including Pontins, but we are still on the look out for a permanent conductor and auditions are going to be after Pontins.
Mill Tickets On Sale
Tickets for the concert on 28th September 2008 at the Mill, Banbury are now available from the box office 01295 279002. Ticket prices are 7 & 4 pounds. more...
Band Room Redecorated
Thanks to Floss's hard work the band room has been repainted and it doesn't half look better!
Brackley Music Festival
The band performed to an enthusiastic audience at the Brackley Music Festival. The programme included a varied selection of music which included Hey Jude, a horn section feature and finished off with Jesus Christ Superstar. The audience called for an encore, so the band played Cossack Wedding Dance by Peter Graham. The Chairman of the Music Festival said "What an entertaining concert that was! The band just seems to get better and better".
Recording Session
Over the last two days the band has recorded music for the forthcoming CD, title to be decided! The band spent most of Saturday and today at RAF Uxbridge, recording in the Central band studio with Andy Chettleburgh producing the goods at the other end. It was four long, but fruitful sessions which the band thoroughly enjoyed. Hopefully the CD should be ready for the bands concert at The Mill, Banbury late in September. Keep an eye on this site, as track details and how to obtain your copy will be posted here!! more... photos...
The band played at the Weston Village Fete in lovely glorious sunshine. A good number of local villagers commented on how well the band played and what a wide selection of music we had! The band has already been booked for next year's fete, so that is at least one job in the diary for next year.
The SCABA Spring contest was a bit of a mixed bad for the band. We came 2nd in the March contest and 5th in the testpiece (there were 8 bands competing). At the start of the day we wondered if, with all the snow which had fallen, we would get down to Hove. It was a long day, we were drawn to play last, and eventually got back at 11.30, but I think an enjoyable day was had by all!
The band were placed a very disappointing 18th place at the area contest after the band gave a performance worthy of a middle table placing. Many people have commented on how harsh a decision it was, but as everyone one knows, at these contests you sometimes don't get the break you deserve. We need to now pick ourselves up and move on to the next contest. We also saw our principal trombone Mark Watts leave due to work commitments and although not the best result to leave the band on we wish him all the best for the future.
The band gave its annual Christmas concert in St Peters Church, Brackley. The concert also featured the training band who gave an entertaining 20 min programme of xmas items. The main band played a variety of pieces and once again drew very favourable comments from the near capicity audience. The band now have a well deserved break before they start back on the contest trail with James Cook Circumnavigator at the Midland area contest on 8th March 2008.
After drawing the second place slot in the 1st section at Leamington Spa contest the band was placed 5th, playing Connotations by Edward Gregson. The performance showed a few nervous patches but bodes well for the future. Final comment of the adjudicator was "thank you very much for not over blowing".
The band played to several hundred people who had gathered in the town square to remember those killed in armed conflict. It was a chilly but dry afternoon and all went well with some nice comments from those who were attending.
Band performed at a birthday party this evening. A short march through a field and then an hours programme of music to suit all. Bit chilly and dark by the time we finished but lots of thanks from birthday girl and guests.
We welcome a new member to the cornet section, Eloise Goodhand, who joins us just in time for our appearance at the Leamington Spa contest. The band has now a full compliment of players apart from a percussion player. If you know of one, or are one, then come along and play with this progressive, hard working but friendly band.
The band had a clean sweep of the prizes at the Oxford Band Contest. we picked up the Presentation and Programme awards, as well as Best Soprano (Dave Redhead), Best Tenor Horn (Louise Davis), Best Percussion section (Josh and Sarah) and Best Instrumentalist (Eric Young). If anyone has seen the adjudicators comments can they please forward them onto the band :-)
The band would like to welcome Annie Barrett (Cornet), Andy Gooding (Cornet) and Angie Gooding (Tenor Horn), Louise Davis (Tenor Horn) and Peter Church (Baritone). This brings the band nearly up to full strength (apart from a front row cornet player). It was also nice to see Karen & Ed Clark along for a blow, as they are helping us out in a few weeks time.
The band would like to welcome back Helen Church on Euphonium. It was also nice to see Louise Davis, an ex-member, back on Tenor Horn for the evening. Any ex-players are always welcome back for a blow if they are in the area.
Two band members, Carole and Andy, have decided that they no longer have the time to commit fully to banding and have decided to take a break. We would like to pass on our best wishes to them and hopefully, when they feel that they are able to, see them again sometime in the future.
The band would like to welcome back Lizzie Zidani on 2nd cornet. Lizzie was a previous member who has come back to the band, and hopefully will be stopping with us a while!
Today the band performed to an enthusiastic audience at the Brackley Music Festival. The programme include a Birdland, Blue Rondo a La Turk and the James Bond selection. The featured soloist for the day was Nick Davy who played Georgia on my Mind. The audience called for an encore, so the band played Gordon Langford's arrangement of All Through the Night which was a fitting end to a concert which was held in the local church. The Chairman of the Music Festival said "What an entertaining concert that was! The band just seems to get better and better"