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last update 13th May 2008 |
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Current Up-To-Date News
Become a "fan" of Yiewsley and West Drayton Band 13 May 08 We are staging a concert on Friday 6th June as part of the 2nd Hillingdon Arts Week, organised by Hillingdon Arts Association, a charity supported by Hillingdon Council. It will take place at Yiewsley and West Drayton Community Centre, right at the heart of the local community which the band has been part of for over a century.
07 May 08 The Latest from the band room, 2nd May 2008 In the past couple of weeks we have looked at a number of pieces in our Wednesday and Friday rehearsals for inclusion in forcoming engagements and contests this year. Here is just a selection: "Rhapsody in Brass" by Dean Goffin (published 1949) "Cleopatra" by Damare (Cornet Solo) "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "Hoe Down" from Rodeo, by Aaron Copland, arranged by Howard Snell "Music" by John Miles, arranged by Philip Sparke "A Disney Fantasy" arranged by Geoff Richards "Queen Rules" by arranged by Steve Skyes "Blaydon Races" arranged by Gordon Langford (Euphonium Solo)
26 Apr 08 The band took part in a service to celebrate the life of Jill Garman, who died in early February 2008. On a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon, St Matthews Church, Yiewsley, was filled with a large congregation of her family, friends and the many people who had known Jill. Jill was a very rare person, with can-do attitude, who was always ready and willing to help people, in any way she could. She was a great supporter of the band. With her husband John she owned and ran the “Riverside Hotel” Yiewsley, where most of the band ends up for a beer on a Friday night after rehearsing. If she was there she would always made everyone feel welcome. We contributed two pieces of music she loved. A beautiful arrangement of “All in the April Evening”, and “Spread a Little Happiness”. We also accompanied the hymn “Thine be the Glory” taking direction from our musical director, Chris Cole, who was playing the organ. We would like to thank Jill’s husband, John, for inviting the band to take part in this event.
23 Apr 08 We were in the thick of celebrations to mark St Georges Day, taking part in a procession from RAF Northolt to a very popular pub, The Bell in Ruislip Gardens. At its head was a modern day St George on his horse back. Landlady of the Bell, Rose Ramsden said“This is not the first time that we have celebrated St Georges day, but it seems to have grown each year, this is what our customers have asked for. I can envisage this event getting stronger and bigger as each year passes, but this is the first attempt of really raising the profile of St Georges Day in Ruislip”. In front of the pub a George’s flag was raised by a banner party from Eastcote British Legion while we played “Land of Hope and Glory” , followed by the hymn Jerusalem. Afterwards we entertained the crowds with a selection of marches: “Army of the Nile”, “Slaidburn”, “March of the Cobblers” and, of course, “Standard of St George”. All monies raised from the evening were donated to the Royal British Legion. We would like to thank the organising committee, in particular their secretary, Keith Smith, for inviting the band to take part.
16 Apr 08 The band fought their way through the worst snowfall to hit the South East in 20 years to take part in the second section at SCABA’s Hove contest. We had prepared a wonderful piece called “Laudate Dominum” by Edward Gregson and a march, The Contestor. In 2006 at a SCABA contest the band came 1st with Laudate and we were hoping for great things as we were generally please with how the rehearsals had gone. The adjudacator was Steve Pritchard-Jones, who had only three weeks before, had awarded the band a very low placing at the “Areas”. On that occasion he was very critical of our style and intonation. Again, we went home disappointed, coming 6th out of a field of seven bands. Mr. Steve Prichard-Jones awarding 182 points for both our test piece and march. His remarks were much more positive than at the Areas and we were pleased he didn’t make any mention of intonation. He did praise our trombone section and solo euphonium. As a band we collectively we were happy that we had given the best performance we could manage and enjoyed the experience, which was more important to us than the result at the end of the day. We would like to thank Dave and Matt Ruel, and Tim Colnbrook for their help and support at Hove.
16 Mar 08 It is often remarked by players “you shouldn’t take part in brass band contests unless you have a sense of humour”. It was lucky we had ours after coming 12th out of 13 in the 2nd section at London and Home Counties Regional Brass Band Championships, Stevenage. Our performance of Kenneth Downie’s “Three-Part Invention” wasn’t perfect but there were some really nice moments, beautiful moments, particularly in the wonderful 2nd movement. However, we suffered some intonation problems and some balance issues, particularly in the last movement, the Caprice. A similar result last year may have resulted in our demotion, but a 4th place on that occasion means that there is not much change in our position in the grading table (“league”); provisionally we are in 12th place. We definitely need a strong result next year. We are looking forward to travelling down to Hove on 6th April for the SCABA Spring Contest.
04 Feb 08 YWDB had a great time at Butlins this year. With a full band, YWDB went on stage and gave a good account of An Alberta Suite by Derek Broadbent. The adjudicators commented on a good opening although with a slightly untidy finish which gave us 9th place in strong field of bands. The band were pleased with their performance; 4barsrest giving special mention to the tenor horn section who credited themselves well with their performance in the 3rd movement. 03 Jan 08 The Christmas Season was a very busy one for YWDB with four major concerts in Ruislip, Ickenham, Harefield and Yiewsley. The concert in Yiewsley took place in St. Matthew's Church when the band, combined together with the pupils from St. Matthew's Primary Schoo, made Christmas 2007 a memorable one, and it certainly was. With tickets sold out for this concert, there was a waiting list for entry at the door. With over 170 in the audience and over 60 performers, this certainly was a memorable concert. YWDB was also very proud to present performances from the Training Band, who accredited themselves very well. YWDB's concert for the Ruislip Lions was also considered to be a roaring success with an immediate invitation back for next year. The band was fortunate to play in both afternoon and evening concerts to a packed audience on each occassion. The concert in Ickenham took place in the Compass Arts Theatre, a joint concert with Captial Connections. Again, the band performed to a packed audience and finished off the evening by accompanying community carol singing. Overall, a good season for the band. YWDB are now deep into preparations for competing in the forthcoming Butlins Mineworkers' Contest in Skegness on 19th January 2008. With only one or two vacancies in the band, YWDB are brimming with excitement for a successful 2008. If you are interested in joining the band, please click on the vacancies page. 13 Oct 07 The band was delighted to receive two trophies at this popular SCABA Autumn Contest where the band competed against a strong line-up of bands. David Hirst was adjudicating at the contest and awarded YWDB 3rd prize for it's performance of Oceans (Goff Richards). The band gave an exciting account of this piece and the adjudicator commented that this was 'a good performance' with a 'musical style and convincing playing'. The highlight for the day was being awarded 1st prize for the Hymn Tune. This is the first time that the band has received this prize since playing at Folkestone. The band performed the hymn tune 'Lloyd' with great control and depth. The adjudicator commented on the nice sounds of the band which were well together and went on to say that the 'phrases were well shaped'. This was a very good day and marked the 10th anniversay that the band restarted contesting. Well done YWDB....and here's to the next! We hope to have pictures of our contest success on the site very soon.
The band is pleased to announce a full line-up for the forthcoming contest at Folkestone in October. In particular, we are very pleased to welcome new signings: Gabby Roesti, Chris Scott, David Ruel and Kevin Bennell Gabby joins us on the front bench from Switzerland having played at Championship level in her own country. Her experience is a welcome asset to the band. Chris joins us on Percussion, having also played at a very high level. Kevin augments the bass section on E Flat, being well-known to members of the band and having extensive playing experience. David is condutor of Cobham Band and has been well known to YWDB for many years, having also been a Musical Director of the band. The band also welcomes back Mark Greaves on B Flat Bass and David Walton on Tenor Horn.
For the third year running, the band was invited to play for the annual Biggin Hill parade and evening event to commemorate the Battle of Britain. This, like previous years, was a special event. The band played for the parade in the late afternoon to a large group of invited guests and then in the evening to a packed audience. The evening concert was, once again, a particular success with the band performing Spitfire Prelude, Nimrod, The Great Escape, High on a Hill and the Dambuster's March. The encore of Jerusalem followed a standing ovation by the audience. Afterwards, there were many compliments given by the audience as the band began to prepare to leave for West London; many said that this was the best year yet. We hope to have some photographs from Biggin Hill on the website very shortly.
The band is able to confirm that it will be entering for the Autumn Contest in Folkestone in October of this year. The band is very excited and looking forward to putting a good performance together for such a well-established contest. There have been many new signings in the band recently which has created a real buzz in the bandroom. Take a look on the personnel page for more information. 22 July 07 Invited by the Churches Together organisation in Northwood, the band was delighted to accompany a Songs of Praise event in the gardens of the London Theology College. With a full band, the music was very rousing and created a solid accompaniment for the singers. 30 June 2007 On 30th June, Yiewsley and West Drayton Band joined the well-established Uxbridge Choral Society for a concert in St. Margaret's Church, Uxbridge. This concert was a resounding success. Performing at their very best, the band played music which included 'Festive Overture (Shostakovich), Shine as a Light (Peter Graham)and Pavanne (Faure). The band played to a full house and were well received by both the audience and the choir. Joint items with the choir included Psalm 23 (from the Vicar of Dibley), Gaelic Blessing (Rutter) and Vaughan William's arrangement of the 'Old Hundredth'. The band really enjoyed the evening and look forward to another joint concert in the future. 21 Apr 2007 The band was very pleased to be invited to take part in a concert to mark the 125th anniversary of the Salvation Army in High Wycombe. The concert was a joint one with the Singing Company of the Salvation Army and Daniel de Gruchy Lambert, one of the country's high profile Trumpet players. The concert was a roaring success. An article in a newsletter commented that our performance of Light Walk was electrifying and that the reading of Caveralleria Rusticana, with it sweeping phrases, was achieved admirably. The newsletter went on to say that 'after the interval, the band brought a variety of delightful styles, which not only served to demonstrate their all-round competence, but also ensured that all tastes were catered for. The challenging Peter Graham classic, Shine as a Light, was especially appreciated by lovers of the Salvation Army music.' The band looks forward to returning for another concert some time in the future. 19 Mar 2007 Yiewsley and West Drayton band got close on Saturday at the National Finals Regional Qualifiers, when they came a very creditable fourth out of a field of 15 in the second section. The band would like to thank all the players who helped out in the months leading to this. The band is now moving on to concentate on the large number of engagements it has in the next few months. 07 Mar 2007 Congratulations go out to our Principle cornet Gordon Poole and his wife Tracey, who gave birth to a baby boy in the wee small hours of this morning ( 7th March, and just in time for the areas ). Both mother and baby are doing fine by all accounts and the band wishes both of them all the best. Of course the question now is.... whats it going to play? ( we're a bit short on trombones at the mo...)... 06 Mar 2007 With the 'Area' contest almost upon us, the band has been working particularly hard on the set test piece 'Carnival (Helen Perkin). Since returning from the Butlins Mineworkers' Contest, the band has welcomed a number of new players. With a full band, we look forward to making a good performance of such a respected piece of music. In particular, the band welcomes Natalie Dodman, Will Johnston, Vic Aldridge and Alan Goodall to the cornet bench. Mike Mayo returns to the band from Spain on Euphonium and we welcome a new signing on Trombone.....Altogether there is a great atmosphere at the band and we look forward to giving a good account of Carnival at Stevenage on 17th March 2007. 01 Feb 2007 Once again the band made it's now annual pilgrimage to the windswept venue of Skegness to compete in the Butlins Minerworkers festival. This year the test piece was the wonderful ( but tricky ) Kaleidescope by Phillip Sparke, and the band were hoping to better their performance of this piece from Leamington where they came runners up. Sadly it seemed that the fates conspired against us as for the second year in succession the band drew the number 1 slot. To make matters worse Lyn Blake our repiano player succumbed to a stomache bug and was unable to play. Fortunately her husband John was able to move back from the front row to cover the part. Despite this the band put on a very creditable performance and came a solid 9th out of 17 bands. After that the band indulged in some serious socialising including the grand "Yes We Do Bowling" Challenge! 01 Jan 2007 Christmas kicked off this year with a concert at the Yiewsley and West Drayton Community centre, which raised just over £400 pounds for the cancer drop in centre in Yiewsley. The concert showcased the talents of not just the main band but the Training band and the children of St Mathews Primary School. The band was then busy with concerts at Harefield community centre and St Catherines church, West Drayton as well as carolling at Harlington Baptist Church, our anual Carol service at West Drayton Green ( which seems to attract more and more people every year ) and outside Tescos and Coop, the latter of which raised a whopping £1500 for the band funds!.
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