Town Band's 10th Anniversary

 At the Christmas Concert, Town Band Secretary Hilary Hodge announced that a professionally recorded C.D., would be put together in May at an hotel in Dumfries.  Further events to mark this occasion are now taking clearer shape - on Saturday 27th September there will be an Anniversary Concert in Powell Hall: a commemorative programme will be produced to accompany the concert.  Thanks to a generous grant from the Arts Council in the course of the year, nationally recognised top brass instrumentalists will be holding master classes for members of the Town Band and local bands.  The same grant allows for a piece of music to be specially commissioned for the Town Band.

Towards the end of the year a history of the original Town Band (pre 1914) and the ten years of the present Band will be published.  A number of individuals and organisations have been circulated inviting comments/observations on the Town Band (value, contributions to the Town, impact on the image of the Town, in particular any anecdotes involving the Band etc.) for inclusion in the publication.

14th June 2008

Master Classes

To celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the formation of Sedbergh Town Band the band has been lucky enough to obtain an Arts Council grant.  Part of this is to enable a programme of five Master Class Recitals to be held throughout the year. Each Master Class will feature a different instrument, covering in turn the various sections of a brass band. A short recital will complete each event.  The five instrumentalists are all renowned virtuosos from the brass band world.

Morgan Griffiths was the principle euphonium for Black Dyke Mills Band and then for the Yorkshire Building Society Band (YBS). In 1999 he was awarded the title of ‘Euphonium Player of the Year’ and in 2007 was appointed as musical director to the YBS Band.

Nick Hudson premiered the Wilfred Heaton Trombone Concerto for BBC Radio3 and gave the first public performance at the Royal Albert Hall of Philip Wilby’s concertino ‘White Knuckle Ride’.  He has played with most of the UK’s top brass bands and has presented master classes and performed throughout Europe and the USA.

Steve Sykes was principle tuba with Grimethorpe Colliery Band and has played with most of the leading UK brass bands.  He now works as a freelance musician performing in Europe, USA and Canada. Steve has also directed championship bands for many years..

Ian Porthouse has been principle cornet with a number of bands including Black Dyke Mills and Yorkshire Building Society Band and was Musical Director of Pennine Brass. He is Director of studies at Birmingham Conservatoire, tutor to the National Youth Brass Band and has conducted a number of prestigious bands.

Owen Farr graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002 and was then voted player of the year by his fellow players in the Williams Fairey Band.  He is a lecturer at the Birmingham Conservatoire and tutor at the Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Each Master Class will be held on a Sunday afternoon in the URC Church at 2.30pm beginning with Morgan Griffiths on the 4^th May.  You are invited to join us for what undoubtedly will be inspirational entertainment, arising from the awesome technical brilliance from these top class performers.

The relevant dates are on the Diary page.

Images taken during the Master Classes can be viewed by following the link below.

Master Class Images

21st June 2008

GALA 2008

The Town Band again led the parade from the fire station to the Lupton fields, Back Lane, providing a rousing start to 2008’s most successful event.

In the course of the afternoon, from the shelter of their own marquee, the Band played a much appreciated selection of the more popular numbers in their repertoire.

BAND TRIP TO DUMFRIES

 On Sunday 25th May the Band gathered at the Cairndale Hotel, Dumfries, to make the recording of the C.D., that is part of the events arranged to mark the tenth anniversary of the formation of the Town Band.

 A two hour recording session on Sunday evening was followed on the three subsequent mornings with 9.00 to 1.00 pm sessions and a further two evening sessions, Monday and Tuesday.  This enabled some eighteen items to be recorded to the combined satisfaction of Director of Music Alan Lewis and recording technician Malcolm..  Much practice combined with repeated playing of the selected pieces that are to comprise the C.D., was required.  The finished article is scheduled to be ready to coincide with the Anniversary Concert in Powell Hall on Saturday 27th September.

 Afternoons were free and members of the Band, many accompanied by wives, husbands and families, made use of the hotel’s facilities (which included a swimming pool and fitness centre) and visited the various attractions in this popular tourist area.

The final evening of the visit started with a presentation at supper to secretary Hilary Hodge and Director of Music Alan Lewis by the Band as a mark of appreciation for all the organisation that had gone into setting up the trip.  This was followed by a concert given to an audience comprising the Band’s supporters and other guests in the hotel.

Band news and activities are now recorded in detail in the monthly issues of the Sedbergh Lookaround - follow the link below for the latest news.