What's Next?

With barely any time to celebrate, the band is already busy rehearsing for our next engagement. On the 19th November we are taking part in ‘A Note to Remember’ – a concert celebrating the music of local composer and arranger Gordon Langford. It hardly seems possible, but the smell of mulled wine and mince pies will soon be in the air as Christmas fast approaches. As always this is a busy time for the band, so have a look at our list of engagements for details of when and where you can help us celebrate the festive season!

Double Success in Torquay

The end of the summer always signifies the start of the business half of the year for the band, and it was soon time to plan ahead for the SWBBA Annual Championships held on 7th November. After weeks spent rehearsing Peter Graham’s ‘Haslemere Suite’, the band headed to Torquay knowing we faced tough competition in a tight section. Despite coming off stage happy with our performance, it’s fair to say that there was an element of surprise in our reaction to being announced winners of the third section! The band was delighted with the result, and a huge well done must go to everyone for what is a fantastic achievement – and one that ensures we head to the Areas in March with a new found spring in our step. A special mention has to go to our horn section, who doubled our silverware by being named the best horns of the day – congratulations girls! Also, a big public thank you must go to our MD Adrian for the time, dedication, and effort he puts in all year round. A result like this emphasises just how much work he has put in to developing the band over the years, and although he may not always get the credit he deserves, it really is appreciated by us all.


The best horn section:

From Sidmouth Town Band

The band:

From Sidmouth Town Band

Last Night of the Proms 2009

They do say the British are always talking about the weather, and the band certainly lived up to this reputation in August as all eyes turned to the forecast for Saturday 22nd – our Last Night of the Proms concert. In a break from tradition, this occasion proved to be fourth time lucky as, at last, we had a dry evening. The atmosphere was fantastic and the whole evening thoroughly enjoyable, but the concert was made extra special by having Brett Baker - principal trombonist with Black Dyke – as guest soloist. In what has to be the highlight of the summer, Brett wowed the band and audience alike, leaving us in no doubt as to why he is one of the best trombonists in the world. We hope we didn’t put Brett off too much(!), and are all excited at the prospect of possibly having him play with us again in the future.

November 2009

It’s hard to know where the past few months have gone, so apologies for the gap since the last update. Despite being a busy time for the band, the summer, as usual, came and went in a flash. The perfect weather we had for the first two Sunday evening concerts didn’t quite continue as we had (rather optimistically) hoped, but with only one rained off and our ever-faithful audience never letting us down, the 2009 season was a great success.

Upcoming Last Night of the Proms

Speaking of summer (!), this year’s Proms Concert will be held on Saturday 22nd August. Joining us this year, as guest soloist, is Brett Baker – principal trombonist of Black Dyke! We are really excited about playing with Brett. He is one of the best trombonists in the world, and you should not miss this opportunity to hear him perform. The talented Val Howels will be singing with us again, and Douglas Mounce from BBC Radio Devon will be the compère. Tickets are just £5 and will be available soon from the Tourist Information Centre in Sidmouth, or from any band member.

New Players

The cornet section has been strengthened by two new players. Gemma Jones joins us on repiano, and John Moss moves up from the Training Band on to 3rd cornet. They are both extremely dedicated players, and we hope they enjoy many summer seasons with us.

Met Office Forecasts a Hot Summer

The Met Office have promised us a long, hot summer, and so far, they seem to have got it right! The first concert at the Connaught Gardens took place last Sunday, on a beautiful summer’s evening, and this weekend is looking just as good.

Summer's Here!

Four weeks ago the band started its summer season at the Connaught Gardens, and the weather has certainly been kinder to us than last year! 4 dry concerts so far, and with fantastic audiences at each of them - the summer really has begun in style. New music includes “The James Bond Collection”, “Ave Verum Corpus”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber”, the theme from Rocky, “Be Still My Soul” and “Tonight”. It’s fair to say the music we play is varied, so there should be something for everyone to enjoy! If you haven’t heard us before, come along to the Connaught Gardens in Sidmouth at 8pm every Sunday - a lovely way to end your weekend!

Unfortunately, the steps to the bandroom have been declared unsafe, so we are currently unable to rehearse there. EDDC have very kindly allowed us to use the Knowle council chambers when it is available, so if you are thinking of coming along for a blow in the next few weeks, contact us first so you know where to find us.

News about the Proms will be available soon. It will be on the 16th August this year, and Val Howels will once again be blessing us with her stunning voice. We are currently working on the programme for the evening, but needless to say the usual flag-waving songs will be in there, as well a few surprises. Look at the website over the next month to find out more.

The training band had their first concert of the year at Sidford Fete, and will also be playing at the West Hill fete on the 28th June. They can be heard at the Connaught Gardens on the 6th July and 10th August, starting at 7pm. As always, anyone wishing to learn to play can receive an instrument and tuition from us.

Area Contest

The band have recently competed at the West of England Regional Finals in Torquay. Having just been promoted to the Third Section, we were not expecting to do well at the contest, but we were absolutely delighted with our performance. It’s probably the best the band has ever played on stage, especially off the dreaded number one draw. Unfortunately the adjudicators weren’t as impressed (!) and we came 12th, but it was certainly a great debut in the third section and we will be aiming for the top 10 next year. Particular thanks go to Peter Mansfield, who stepped in to help us on bass, and Martin Cordy, who - after recovering from shoulder surgery - switched from trombone to baritone, and worked incredibly hard to cope with this change. Adrian was very proud of the band’s performance, and we look forward to the next test piece!


Adjudicator's Comments:
Peter Roberts:

Atmosphere created but minor intonation problems. Needs more structured dynamic levels (sop mf). Good strong presto. Again layered dynamics. Watch diminuendo into D. Cornet plays well but with slips. Good rhythmic playing. Back to presto. Fine. Cornet cadenza handled very well. Just minor intonation problems at O and beyond. P goes well but with slips. S is forte and needs more dynamic contrast. U again layered dynamics. W well handled rhythmically. Good at BB. Miss the effects at CC but a fine ending.

Overall a fair attempt at this work. It needed more structured and layered dynamic levels to make all the effects work.

Rob Wiffin:
Troms sharp at A, dynamic layers need a bit more attention. E Solo cornet a bit sticky to start. F good. G not quite together. H good. I accents need more articulation through the texture. J too fast to articulate properly. K mf notes need to be more prominent. M good. N nicely done cornet. O 2nd cornet too prominent but generally well controlled here. P flugel good. Solo horn good. R good. S you back a long way for , euph not quite on top C. T intonation not quite there. V troms a little out of tune. Well done towards V. good. X nicely controlled. Z okay. Could use more breadth of sound. AA nice layering. CC good. Molto rall a little scrappy.

Overall not a bad effort - not all layers successfully balanced, but an accurate and fluent performance, relatively error free. The presto tempo was appropriate but sometimes lacked space for articulation and accent. Perhaps the atmosphere could have been captured more effectively.

Sadly, Graham Pollard is unable to play with the band due to work and family commitments, so we do have a vacancy for a Bb Bass player (or two). Graham will be very much missed, as much for his personality as his playing, and we hope he’ll be able to help us out in the future. If anyone can help fill this vacancy, either permanently or for some summer engagements, please contact us. We would also like a back row and front row cornet player to complete the ranks. We practice on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the year. New players are always welcome.