News
Spring Concert Review
The “Music for a Spring Evening” concert was an exciting event. The music selection from guest conductor, Peter Cole, showed off the talent and ability of the band, with many complimentary comments being received from the audience during the interval and after the concert. “Méditation” from the opera Thaïs, a flute solo by Molly Roworth, was received with rapturous applause, as was the clarinet feature from Glyn Thomas playing “But Not For Me”. The Dixie group’s rendition of “Tiger Rag” and the brass choir performance of “When the Stars Began to Fall” were very well received by the appreciative audience.
The “Music for a Spring Evening” concert was an exciting event. The music selection from guest conductor, Peter Cole, showed off the talent and ability of the band, with many complimentary comments being received from the audience during the interval and after the concert. “Méditation” from the opera Thaïs, a flute solo by Molly Roworth, was received with rapturous applause, as was the clarinet feature from Glyn Thomas playing “But Not For Me”. The Dixie group’s rendition of “Tiger Rag” and the brass choir performance of “When the Stars Began to Fall” were very well received by the appreciative audience.
Trevor Holloway, Paul Gibbons, Katie Herrington, Mark Lee, Chris Morsley
Award Winners
Announcing our Award Winning musicians & volunteers, nominated annually for their musical and other contributions to the Band. Many congratulations go to our worthy winners, who were presented with their trophies just before our Christmas Concert.
Musician of the Year - Katie Herrington
Most Improved Musician - Chris Morsley
Overall Contribution (to the running of the band) - Trevor Holloway
Volunteer's Contribution Award - Mark Lee and Paul Gibbons
Announcing our Award Winning musicians & volunteers, nominated annually for their musical and other contributions to the Band. Many congratulations go to our worthy winners, who were presented with their trophies just before our Christmas Concert.
Musician of the Year - Katie Herrington
Most Improved Musician - Chris Morsley
Overall Contribution (to the running of the band) - Trevor Holloway
Volunteer's Contribution Award - Mark Lee and Paul Gibbons
Carolling in 2 places at once!
Band members split up to take part in two very different carolling events on 22nd December.
One group went to our home venue of Mortimer to provide the music for villagers to sing along with at the annual Carols around the Tree service on the Fairground, run by Together in Mission. They were joined by other local musicians, and the service was led by Ruth Midcalf.
Band members split up to take part in two very different carolling events on 22nd December.
One group went to our home venue of Mortimer to provide the music for villagers to sing along with at the annual Carols around the Tree service on the Fairground, run by Together in Mission. They were joined by other local musicians, and the service was led by Ruth Midcalf.
The second group could be found in a pub, The Nags Head, in Reading. They led a very rousing chorus of singing from the pub goers, and in the process raised £500 to support the charity Brass for Africa. |
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Christmas Concert at St John's Church, Mortimer
Christmas music, mince pies, sparkly lights, tinsel, and Christmas hats, combined with a wonderful audience made for a warm atmosphere in spite of the chilly winter weather on December 15th.
With traditional Christmas music from a woodwind trio, one piece played in the dark, carols for the audience to join in with, and lots of other festive pieces, concert goers and band members alike finished the evening feeling in a very festive mood.
Thank you to everyone who came.
Christmas music, mince pies, sparkly lights, tinsel, and Christmas hats, combined with a wonderful audience made for a warm atmosphere in spite of the chilly winter weather on December 15th.
With traditional Christmas music from a woodwind trio, one piece played in the dark, carols for the audience to join in with, and lots of other festive pieces, concert goers and band members alike finished the evening feeling in a very festive mood.
Thank you to everyone who came.
Sf Sax rocks Blewbury!
Our saxophone sextet, Sf Sax, performed to a full house in Blewbury on Saturday 24th November. The event was part of Project Resound at St. Michael's and All Angels Church, raising funds to commission a contemporary stained glass window.
The group performed a varied programme including The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Bohemian Rhapsody, Little Brown Jug, and a Disco medley that had the very appreciative audience joining in with the actions for YMCA! There was also a version of Eric Whitacre's Lux Aurumque, which means "Light and Gold", which had been specially adapted by the group for this concert to reflect the light that will be brought into the church when the window is installed. The addition of many complimentary audience chats and some lovely nibbles made for a very enjoyable evening, with over £1,300 being raised for the project.
Our saxophone sextet, Sf Sax, performed to a full house in Blewbury on Saturday 24th November. The event was part of Project Resound at St. Michael's and All Angels Church, raising funds to commission a contemporary stained glass window.
The group performed a varied programme including The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Bohemian Rhapsody, Little Brown Jug, and a Disco medley that had the very appreciative audience joining in with the actions for YMCA! There was also a version of Eric Whitacre's Lux Aurumque, which means "Light and Gold", which had been specially adapted by the group for this concert to reflect the light that will be brought into the church when the window is installed. The addition of many complimentary audience chats and some lovely nibbles made for a very enjoyable evening, with over £1,300 being raised for the project.
Celebrating Paul Speed's 10th Anniversary as our Director of Music, Friday 28th September 2018
For one rehearsal only we put away our instruments and brought out the food instead! September marked 10 years with Paul as our Director of Music, so we threw a party to celebrate.
For one rehearsal only we put away our instruments and brought out the food instead! September marked 10 years with Paul as our Director of Music, so we threw a party to celebrate.
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GOLD at the National Finals of NCBF
The band had an emotional and exciting day travelling up to Manchester for the Finals of the National Concert Band Festival. After a long coach journey we finally entered the Royal Northern College of Music just after 2pm. A few members headed off to the concert hall to watch 3 other bands perform, and then it was all action. First a warm up, then off to the rehearsal room, and suddenly the ushers told us that it was our time to go on stage, and we were taken off to the concert hall. We could feel the excitement and the tension amongst the band members! After being introduced to the audience, we gave a cheery group wave to our adjudicators before we started to play. Reality dawned then that we had less than 20 mins to impress, and we concentrated hard as we performed our pieces: Maple Leaf Overture by Philip Sparke, Canterbury Chorale by Jan van der Roost, and Movements 3 & 4 (Song of the Blacksmith and Fantasia on the Dargason) from the 2nd Suite in F by Gustav Holst. After some excellent feedback we were delighted to be presented with a Gold Award. As one of only 6 community wind bands performing from across the UK this was such a proud moment for us.
The band had an emotional and exciting day travelling up to Manchester for the Finals of the National Concert Band Festival. After a long coach journey we finally entered the Royal Northern College of Music just after 2pm. A few members headed off to the concert hall to watch 3 other bands perform, and then it was all action. First a warm up, then off to the rehearsal room, and suddenly the ushers told us that it was our time to go on stage, and we were taken off to the concert hall. We could feel the excitement and the tension amongst the band members! After being introduced to the audience, we gave a cheery group wave to our adjudicators before we started to play. Reality dawned then that we had less than 20 mins to impress, and we concentrated hard as we performed our pieces: Maple Leaf Overture by Philip Sparke, Canterbury Chorale by Jan van der Roost, and Movements 3 & 4 (Song of the Blacksmith and Fantasia on the Dargason) from the 2nd Suite in F by Gustav Holst. After some excellent feedback we were delighted to be presented with a Gold Award. As one of only 6 community wind bands performing from across the UK this was such a proud moment for us.
