New Faces

Anybody who is a regular at our concerts may have noticed a few new faces in the band over the past few months. Unfortunately, at the end of the summer season we had to say goodbye to two members of the band – Holly Hill and Tom Cranch. Holly has moved away to Buckingham University, but with Mum Colette still in the band we are sure we’ll still see her when she comes home to visit! Tom has moved to Reading on a job placement for a year, but hopefully we won’t be without his sense of humour and weird and wonderful facts for long, as he is already planning his return to the band next summer! Luckily, we have managed to gain some new players too. You may have already spotted two faces from the Training Band – Lowell Pinn and John Moss – playing third cornet in the senior band. Both are progressing very well, and we hope they remain in the band for many years to come. We are also delighted to welcome two more cornet players into the band. Johnny Mason – on solo cornet – will be with us until April when he leaves to join the Navy, whilst newest recruit Gemma Jones – on repiano – is currently settling in as a fully-fledged, permanent member. They are both proving to be great assets to the band, and we hope they enjoy their time with us.

All that remains for 2008 is to say a huge thank you to everybody who has supported us throughout the year, and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We look forward to the challenges that next year will bring, and hope to make 2009 a very successful year for the band.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Back in the band room, the dusting off of carol books and the jingle of sleigh bells could only mean one thing – Christmas was on its way! The prospect of digging out Christmas music in November is welcomed with rather varying levels of enthusiasm, but with our first Christmas engagement fast approaching, we conjured some festive spirit and got stuck into practicing a selection of old and new pieces. On Sunday 7th December the band was delighted to join forces once again with the Exeter Police and Community Choir for their annual charity Christmas concert, with proceeds this year being split between the Chestnut Appeal and the RNLI Exmouth Lifeboat. Although the whole programme proved popular, a special mention must go to the band’s two soloists – Christopher Holland and Steve Belli – who, under their newly acquired alter egos of Noel Coward and Baloo (trust us, you need to see it to believe it!), both provided superb performances for a large and appreciative audience. The band’s next engagement is our own Christmas concert, which is being held on Friday 12th December. This is one of the band’s favourite concerts, as it not only provides us with the opportunity to end the year in style, but, in awarding the Presidents Cup and the Michael Parker Award for Most Improved Player, enables us to recognise the achievements of individuals. Another highlight of the concert will be an appearance by the Training Band, who have been working extremely hard throughout the year. Tickets have been selling like hotcakes (or should that mince pies?), and we are all looking forward to an evening of festive fun.

Contest Time

With the summer season over, the band kicked off the ‘business end’ of the year by taking part in the SWBBA’s Exmouth Brass Band Festival, held on Saturday 6th September. This is always an enjoyable day out and, being an entertainment contest, provides the band with an opportunity to put together a programme that is not only challenging, but one that we know the audience (and hopefully the adjudicator!) will enjoy. Having done well in previous years, there was perhaps an element of disappointment in coming 8th out of 15, especially as the adjudicator’s comments were generally positive and therefore provided little in the way of constructive criticism. With Exmouth over for another year, it wasn’t long before it was time to step onto a contest stage once again – this time for the SWBBA Annual Championships held in Torquay. Despite spending weeks preparing Gareth Churcher’s test piece ‘Episodes for Brass’, it is perhaps fair to say that the band never quite reached full strength, and could have done with a little more time to ensure all the parts came together and to put some finishing touches to the piece. From playing off of the notoriously tricky number one draw, the band came in 6th place out of 7, with one of the eight bands in our section having withdrawn prior to the contest. Although we gave it our all on the day, this result instils even greater motivation to show the third section what we’re really made of at the all-important Areas next March!