Wotton & District Silver Band - Brass Band, Gloucestershire

This month saw the launch of the Wotton Training Band, headed by Solo Cornet player and music teacher, Diane Ansell. Beginners of all ages are welcome to join the group who meet every Tuesday night at 7.00 o’clock in the bandroom.

The group currently numbers 12 and Diane is assisted by members of the senior band.
Beginners of all ages are welcome to join the group (please click for further details).

On a showery sunday evening, the band entertained a large audience in a marquee at Dursley Rugby Club. The event was organised by the Stinchcombe group - The Friends of St Cyr, and guests were invited to book a table of 10 with a ploughman’s supper included in the price.
The first part of our programme included trombone trio Midnight in Moscow with Dave McWhirter, Ryan Morgan and Becky Youd; Euphonium duet - Deep Inside the Sacred Temple featuring Alan Bruton and Pete Stanulewicz; and Flugel Solo, Wild Mountain Thyme with Jon Woodman.

The second part of the programme featured the traditional Last Night of the Proms items, and the band was accompanied by talented local Soprano - Sasha Northover.
The evening was a great success for ‘The Friends of St Cyr’, with all proceeds going towards the church roof fund. The band have been booked for the same event next year and we hope this enjoyable evening will become one of our regular engagements.

Again the band will be performing at this year’s Red Cross open gardens fund raising events, the first being held at the beautiful village of Bisley near Stroud. As last year, the weather was rather unpredictable with the band at one point having to stop and take shelter from a storm under a nearby tree!
Afterwards, the band were invited to a barbeque by our 3rd cornet player Mac Chappell and his wife Clare who live in the village. Mac had even gone to the trouble of putting up gazebos in the garden to shelter us from the showers! This was a great social get-together for the band and we send our thanks to Mac and Clare for their great hospitality.

As usual the sun shone at Hillesley for the annual village fete, one of the band’s regular engagements for over 30 years! The band performed a programme of light music whilst the villagers milled round the stalls and soaked up the sunshine in this lovely village near the band’s home town.

On Bank Holiday Sunday the band performed in the bandstand in Bath Parade Gardens, watched by a large crowd both in the park and on the streets above it. The band’s programme featured soloists Bruce Davies (Soprano) and Ian Ford (Cornet), along with Euphonium duet ‘Softly as I Leave You’.

Being the centenary, we felt that we couldn’t let the event pass by without a massive celebration involving the Town, and what a fantastic day it turned out to be! Despite heavy rain during the night and a chilly and damp morning, many huddled together on Wotton Hill to listen to the concert. There were many ex band members in the crowd who themselves had in the past performed hymns and March tunes on the hill to welcome Spring.

One hundred red balloons were let off to mark the occasion, together with an attached message. A Lady from Langport, Somerset, has already been in contact to say that she had found one, 60 miles away in her garden! A special 101st Balloon was let off in memory of former band librarian and the much loved Elton ‘Chick’ Fowler who died in March.

It was very appropriate that the wind should blow the balloons in the direction of Kingswood village, where the band was founded as the Abbey band in 1894. This also meant that the tunes could be heard below in the town centre. As the balloons floated away, the band played ‘Wotton Hill’ that was written for the occasion by local composer and musician Stephen Rockey.

In recent years, part of the success and popularity of this event has been its inclusion as an established part of the Wotton Arts Festival, itself celebrating its 40th anniversary. As a mark of respect to the main organiser and long term friend of the band, resident Musical Director Dennis Grant happily handed over the baton to Gordon Phillips who conducted us for several pieces including his own composition ‘Festive March’.

The late Maurice Brown and Jack Southwood, maintained this May tradition and went up the hill as the only two remaining members in the 1960’s. It was a tribute to their memories that a full band would be following in their footsteps, 50 years later!

Afterwards, band members, past members, friends and supporters gathered in the Wotton Civic Center for a reception to celebrate the occasion.

An impressive exhibition was set up to exhibit the bands history that included many photographs and artefacts of the band over the years. The fact that the band was able to exhibit its long history in such detail is a tribute to the late Pat Goulding, who spent several years researching and producing a manuscript documenting the history of the band.

Joan Goulding said that her late husband would have been very proud and performed the ceremony of cutting of the cake. The Wotton town crier, George Carpenter, proposed a toast to the band.

The day was a great success and it was great to see so many happy faces reminisce about years gone by. Our youngest member Charlie Poole (11) has been tasked with organising the 150th celebration in 2060!!

We returned to Tytherington to play in the May Day Fete, which has become an annual event for the band. Again, large numbers of people turned out to support this event that raises lots of money for a number of local groups and organisations. The band played several programmes of music in between maypole dancing, dog displays and showers of rain.

In recent weeks, rehearsals have been spent preparing a new musical repertoire for our forthcoming summer events. We were therefore delighted to perform lots of new music including ‘When I’m 64’, ‘Rhapsody in Black’ and ‘Rock Music’.

The band would like to give a big thank you to Karen Moore for helping us out on Euphonium at this event and also Wotton Hill.

Chipping Sodbury town hall is an excellent venue for bands to play in and we were delighted to be invited to take part in a concert in aid of the St Peters Hospice. This is a well known self funding local charity that cares for people with incurable illnesses.

We again shared a concert with the local all lady singing group ‘Fascinating Rhythm’ who as usual performed to a very high standard.

The bands performance were well received by the audience and included some very good solo playing. John Woodman (Flugel Horn) took us into the highlands of Scotland and performed ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’. Euphonium duet Alan Bruton and Pete Stanulewicz performed the popular song ‘Softly, as I Leave You’, made famous by singer Matt Monro.

The band would like to thank dedicated charity workers Stuart and Pat Dye for inviting us to participate in their concert. We would also like to wish them lots of success for the many future fund raising activities that they have got planned.

1910 was a very eventful year in Britain. We welcomed George V as our new king, the Liberals actually managed to win a general election; however without the help of women as they were actually not allowed to vote, the Tango was the latest dance craze and a British lady won Wimbledon!

Closer to home, Wotton and District Silver band played on top of Wotton Hill for the first time on Sunday 1st May, overlooking Wotton-under-Edge, to welcome Spring. This day was traditionally known as Band Sunday because this is when Brass Bands everywhere began their season of playing out and about in parks, fetes, and open spaces to members of the public. This therefore makes 2010 its centenary.

A descriptive article of the inaugural event is recorded in the local Gazette of 7th May 1910.

“As early as 5:30am voices could be heard in the woods as May Walkers made their way to Nibley Knoll. A little later the Band ascended the hill and conducted by deputy bandmaster Fred Bennett, gave selections of hymns and anthems alternatively. It was a glorious morning, the view described as a vast picturesque scene and one anthem was appropriately entitled “How beautiful upon the Mountains”

There have been gaps over the years where it was not been possible for the band to participate in this event (e.g. two world wars) but 1970 was a significant date as Band Sunday became part of the successful Wotton festival and Gordon Phillips with his fellow festival organisers deserve credit for helping to maintain this wonderful local tradition. This year is actually a double celebration as the festival marks its 40th anniversary.

The band will be celebrating both anniversaries by performing a concert at the Blue Coat School (Symn Lane) on Thursday 29th April (7:30pm). Tickets are £5 and available from band members or Robinsons Florist, Wotton. Download poster here.

The actual event on Wotton Hill takes place on 2nd May (11:00 to 12:00am) and to mark the occasion, 100 red balloons will be launched. The band will also be playing a new March called ‘Wotton Hill’ that has been specially written for the occasion by local musician/composer Steve Rockey. Band members (past and present) and friends of the band will then gather in the Wotton Civic Centre for a reception and exhibition to celebrate this historic local event.

The band took part in the West of England Regional Championships last month. The test piece selected (‘Kingdom of Dragons’) proved to be very technically challenging in our return to the second section, following last years promotion. After a bright start with some very good individual playing around the band, we fell away towards the end, mainly due to a lack of stamina on the day. However, most of us came off the stage feeling we had given a good account of ourselves in what proved to be a very strong field of competing bands. The band has made very good progress over the last twelve months and our line up included seven players that have joined us in the last year!

The band would like to give a special very big thank you to Becky Youd who stepped in at the last minute on Bass Trombone, as cover for Pat Etherton who was ill in hospital. Pat is now recovering and will be back with the band very shortly.

The band would like to welcome Ian Brown who joins the band on horn. Ian stepped in to help the band at this year’s area contest in Torquay, and we are delighted that he has decided to stay on with the band. Ian used to play with the Stinchcombe Silver Band and returns to us after a few years break from playing.

The band is currently rehearsing for the West of England Regional Championships at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay. The band has been promoted to the 2nd Section this year and will be playing ‘Kingdom of Dragons’ by Philip Harper.

The piece is continuous, but divided into four distinct sections representing the four unitary authorities which make up the county of Gwent - Monmouthshire (which has a large number of ancient castles), Blaenau Gwent (an historic area of iron and coal mining), Torfaen (where Pontypool Park is a notable landmark), and Newport (the largest city in the region).

The piece is rather a challenge technically, so we have all been sent away with instructions to practice our chromatic scales!

The band would like to send its congratulations to members Kieran & Ryan Morgan (aged 15 & 14) following their recent success with Flowers Youth Brass Band, taking first place in the 1st Section at the Greater Gwent Youth Brass Band Festival. Make sure your on the same form on 14th March lads!!

The band would like to thank all its friends for their continuing support, and wish you a very happy 2010.

Once again we had an extremely busy December, playing carols in small groups in Wotton, Dursley, Cam Stroud, Kingswood, Thornbury and Quedgely. Thanks to the generosity of the public the band has again collected a record sum, financing us for the coming year.

Christmas was particularly busy this year as, in addition to our annual Christmas concerts at Kingswood Village Hall and with Yate Choral Society in Chipping Sodbury, we also featured in the Fascinating Rhythm Christmas concert at Marlwood School in Thornbury and at the Alexander Hosea School Concert in Wickwar. As well as this, a small group played carols at a wedding reception on December 23rd, almost resulting in their being stranded at Kinsgscote in the snow!

The four concerts featured a varied selection of music, combining christmas music with some of our favourites from our summer programme. Solos were performed by Alan Bruton (Euphonium), David McWhirter (Trombone), Charlie Poole (Cornet) and David Lawrence (Eb Bass).

We would like to send our special thanks to the following friends and supporters who helped us out over the Christmas period ...
Nora Chappell, Lyn Ford, Rita Stinchcombe, Robert & Suzanne Warr, Mandy Robinson (Robinsons Florist), Dave Tutty, Lisa Hancock, Jenny Gleed, Gill Stanulewicz, Josie Seddon, Helen Stout, Joseph Bruton, Diane & Graham Foxley, Suzy & Kezia Morgan, Sally Poole, Adam Colyer, Roy & Audrey Hale, Julie Hale, Debbie Oliver, Lorraine & Steve Phillips, Ann Cummings, Stan Rodman, Katie Lovell, and Annemarie Thurgood.

The band would like to welcome Bruce Davies who has recently joined the band on Soprano Cornet. Bruce is an accomplished cornet player who moved to the area 3 years ago. We hope Bruce enjoys his banding with us (& are surprised it’s taken him 3 years to find us!!)

The band is starting a training band that will be held between 7.00 & 7.30pm on Tuesday evenings at the bandroom in Old Town, Wotton-under-Edge. The band will be led by solo cornet player (& music teacher) Diane Ansell. If you are interested in learning to play a brass instrument, are aged between 8 & 100, please contact us.

It has been very busy in rehearsals as we approach the Christmas period. The main focus has been preparing for our annual concert at Kingswood Village Hall on December 6th. Tickets are only £5 and are available from band members or Robinsons Florist, 39 Long St, Wotton-under-Edge.

Again, the band will be taking part in what has become an annual Christmas concert with the Yate Choral Society at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall on 9th December.

We will also be taking part in the Fascinating Rhythm Christmas show at Marlwood School, Alveston on the 12th December. This should be a very enjoyable evening and hopefully it will emulate the successful concert that we both participated in, back in September.

After a gap of several years, the band participated in the contest at Coleford. We chose to play the military march Army of the Nile (Kenneth Alford) and the test piece Music for a Festival (Philip Spark).

Unfortunately on the day, over excitement got the better of the band and over zealous tempos affected the flow of the festival music! However, adjudicator (Phillip Harper) was very complimentary about the sound and balance of the band and fortunately for us, was not put off from agreeing to help us prepare for next years area test piece.

We did not come away empty handed as our Horn section (Jenny Lovell, Kirsty, McWhirter, Carole Hembury and Jon Woodman) won a prize for the best Horn section on the day.

The GBBA have recently re-launched itself with some new committee members and an excellent new website (see links) and deserve a big thank you for running such a well organised event.

Finally, a big thank you to Dave Harding and the A W Parker (Drybrook) Band for allowing us to rehearse in their band room prior to the contest.

The band was once again very was proud to lead the annual parade through the town on a wet and very cold November morning. After a short service at St Marys’, a very large audience gathered for the traditional wreath laying ceremony at the war memorial.

As always, the occasion was well attended and it was again great to see so many people (including many youngsters) paying their respects in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for us during wars.

For the first time, the band accepted an invitation from the Royal British Legion to lead an afternoon parade at Dursley. After gathering at the May Lane bus station, the parade marched to St James’ for a church service, followed by a wreath laying ceremony outside at the war memorial.

After the return march, the band was honoured to receive a huge round of applause from the parade and in particular, from the many service veterans who were present.

The band would like to thank Andrew Cooper and the Dursley & Cam Royal British Legion for making us feel very welcome.

The band has been busy preparing for what is going to be a very busy Christmas period for us.

As well as our annual Christmas concerts at Kingswood village hall and Chipping Sodbury, we will also be participating in concerts with Fascinating Rhythm and the Alexander Hosea Primary School, Wickwar (see the list of engagements for more details).

The band has already played at its first festive engagement at Wyevale garden center, Milbury Heath where a group of us played carols to welcome Father Christmas. This year he rested his reindeers so that they would be fit and ready for Christmas Eve and arrived in style on a horse and carriage!!

At the recent AGM, the following committee have been elected to represent the band:

Chairman                                                     Ken Stout
Vive Chairman & Instrument warden:             Brian Cummings
Secretary:                                                   Jenny Lovell
Treasurer:                                                   Jo Woodman
Public relations officer:                                Julie Ashby
Wardrobe officer:                                       Lucy Seddon
Librarian:                                                    Chick Fowler
Committee member:                                     David McWhrter
Committee member:                                     Diane Ansell

The band would like to welcome Kieran (Eb Bass) and Ryan (Trombone) Morgan to the band. Both have already made a big impact since joining us and we hope they both enjoy there banding with us.

We would also like to welcome Daniel Henwood who has recently joined the band on percussion. Daniel is new to the Gloucestershire area, having previously lived in the Ipswich area where he developed into an excellent kit player.

Unfortunately, Jim Mason (Soprano) has resigned from the band. Jim has been with us for six years and in that time conducted the band when needed. We would like to wish Jim and his family (Jane, Alice and Hollie) the very best.

Wotton band and Fascinating Rhythm chorus held a joint music concert at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. The popularity of the event meant that it was a complete sell out and unfortunately, many people without tickets had to be turned away.

Fascinating Rhythm performed two very entertaining programs of music to a very appreciative audience and it was very clear that every member of the chorus loves to sing! The songs performed and choreographed included Under the Broadwalk, One Fine Day, Sweet Dreams, One Moment in Time, It’s Raining Men and Adiemus. There was lots of lively discussion afterwards by individuals on what had been their favourite song! My personal favourite was actually Rhythm of Life. The audience could not have been failed to be impressed with musical director Jo Dean who led the chorus with much energy, enthusiasm and style.

The audience were also treated to the music of newly formed singing octet ‘Voices in Union’ who sang a selection of songs.

The band was also on form and played two selections of music that have gone down well with audiences throughout the summer. New music included The Big Top, Forgotten Dreams and Fanfare & Flourishes. A big favourite was ‘Beethoven’s Beano’ where Dave McWhirter’s impression of a drunk Trombone player received much applause and laughter??

Soloists on the evening included myself (Ian Ford) playing ‘Georgia on my Mind’ and David Lawrence who gave a fantastic performance of ‘The Belles of St Trinian’s on Eb Bass.

The biggest applause of the evening was saved for Charlie Poole (aged 10) who was making his very first public appearance with the band. Hopefully Charlie will go on and have many enjoyable years of Cornet playing.

The band would like to give a very big thank you to Louise Olejnik who was the compere for the evening.

We would also like to thank Rachel Mason (Horn) and Richard Grant (Trombone) for helping us out on the evening. It was also good to see Lisa Hancock (Cornet) once again playing in the band.

As this was our final outdoor concert for the summer, it was good to play at a local venue. The band assembled outside the clubhouse above Wotton and performed at a BBQ, laid on for competitors that had taken part in the ‘Halfway House Scramble’ competition.

The music performed included Solos by Jenny Lovell (Streets of London) on Horn, Jim Mason (IF) on Soprano Cornet and Ken Stout (Maid of the Moor) on Cornet. One of Dennis Grant’s (musical director) aims in his time at Wotton band has been to encourage soloists and it is to his credit that he has been able to feature so many this year.

Brian and Anne Cummings hosted a social event and over 50 band members, friends and family descended on their home! Unlike many of our events this year, the weather was fine and we were able to stay out in the garden all evening and watch Brian slave away over a hot BBQ! Everyone that attended would like to thank Brian and Anne for organising and hosting a fantastic evening.

We again returned to the famous band stand in the Parade gardens. As in our previous visits to Bath, a large audience had gathered in the park for a concert on a very fine and sunny afternoon. The band performed two programs of music that included Star Wars, Bridge over Troubled Waters, Scarborough Fair and Tritch Tratsch Polka.

Soloists on the day included Dave McWhirter who gave a fine rendition on Trombone of the beautiful song ‘Everytime We Say Goodbye’, made famous by Ella Fitzgerald. Jon Woodman gave a very raunchy performance of ‘Hey Big Spender’ on Flugel Horn.

Thank you to Graham Harper (Horn) and Paul Hemmings (Percussion) for helping us out on the day.

We would also like to thank BANES council for again organising a fantastic summer of band concerts in the park and we look forward to participating again in the future.

July turned out to be a very wet month for the band as the ‘barbecue summer’ predicted by the Met office failed to materialise! The band was booked to play at three of its favourite and enjoyable events but unfortunately, all were badly affected by rain and general miserable weather.

After a years break, the band returned to play at this local fete. Due to the adverse weather conditions, the organisers put their wet weather plan into action and held the fete inside the beautiful parish church of St Mary. The band assembled outside the main door and performed two programs of music, under a very black sky in muggy conditions. Divine influence was at hand as despite the dark storm clouds hanging above us, the rain held off!

As in previous years, Mr and Mrs M.J.C Stone allowed the British Red Cross to open their 12 acres of garden to raise money for the charity. Ozleworth has always been one of the bands favourite events to play at but unfortunately this year, the garden was transformed into one big water feature due to unrelenting torrential rain. The band squeezed under the cover of a roofed area inside the courtyard and entertained the brave souls who had turned out to support this wonderful event. The band would again like to thank Pete Boyles and David Tutty for helping us out on the day.

The band returned to the lovingly restored gardens of Highnam Court, Gloucester for the final Red Cross open garden event for the year. We again performed on the patio of Roger Head’s 17th century country home, over looking the magnificent floral scenery. Unfortunately, we were not able to perform the second half of our program due to rain but we still had a good time at this wonderful event.

The band would like to thank The British Red Cross for inviting Wotton band to play at these open garden events. Fingers crossed for better weather next year.

The band maintained its tradition of entertaining the public (and three horses) at the Hillesley village fete. The one thing you can always guarantee about this event is good weather and lots of sunshine. Once again, we gathered under a tree on the war memorial field and melted under the sun! We would again like to thank the public for their support and kind comments and look forward to returning next year.

We would like to welcome Diane Ansell who made her first public appearance with the band. Diane has recently moved down from the Midlands where she played Cornet to a high standard in the Championship section. As well as being a fantastic musician, Diane has bought much humour and fun into the band room.

After a years break, we were again pleased to be invited to play at Bisley, Gloucestershire. Bisley is a small and compact village that has a hilly position overlooking the Stroudwater valley. Most of the buildings have been built using typical Cotswold stone and architecture that is unique to this area of the country. Therefore, there are many fine colourful gardens that many of the villagers open and display to an appreciative paying public to raise funds for the Red Cross charity.

Throughout history, locals have referred to the village as ‘Bisley, God help us’ because the winters can be so horrible. However, today the band had first hand experience that June can be pretty lousy as well!! We played in the heart of the village on the lawn in front of the WI village hall, under a very thundery black sky. We managed to perform several programs of music between rain intervals and by the end of the afternoon, most of us were frozen and could hardly feel our fingers.

Despite the indifferent weather, many people turned up to support the event and listen to us. We would like to thank Jeff Taylor and his team of volunteers for organising the event and making the band welcome.

The band would like to thank Mac and Clare for putting on a BBQ for the band afterwards.

The band returned to John Coles Park to give a concert to a large audience on a very hot and sunny afternoon. Summer band concerts have taken place since 1923 when the park was first opened and fortunately for us, they are still as popular as ever. We again squeezed into the historic bandstand to perform two programs of music that included lots of new arrangements that we have been busy rehearing recently.

A favourite on the day that received warm applause was a Phillip Harper arrangement of ‘Fat Bottom Girls’, originally a hit for the rock band Queen. The music was brought to life by Ali Woodman on his new drum kit who fortunately for us, offered to help us out. Roger Taylor could not have played it any better! Fanfare & flourishes, Tara's theme and Star Wars were also performed for the first time.

The band would like to thank Dan Jones for conducting us at short notice. Dan is new to conducting, having built up a fine reputation as a musician for both the City of Bristol and Flowers band. Despite only having two rehearsals with us, Dan led the band with confidence and style and I am sure that we will be hearing a lot about him in the future as his conducting career develops.

May 2009

The Sound of music returns to Wotton hill
The Sound of Music returned to Wotton where the band maintained its 99 year old tradition of welcoming spring on top of the town’s very own mountain.

We performed as always in front of the walled enclosure, over looking the town. We were impressed by the very large audience who had hiked up the hill to join us on a beautiful May morning. The crowd of over 200 may even have been a record for this event!

Next year will be the centenary and we are looking to mark the occasion in style. If you have any suggestions or ideas on how we could do this, please contact the band. We have already tried booking Julie Andrews but she has already got a prior engagement on a hill, somewhere in Austria.

The band returned to the lovely Gloucestershire village of Tytherington to take part in their annual May Day village fete. Unfortunately, the weather was wet, cold and windy. Some band members even expressed the opinion that they were used to playing Christmas carols, outside of Tesco’s in warmer conditions! Despite this, a large audience huddled together to hear us perform three short programs of music.

The band was delighted to return to the Parade Gardens and take part in the Bath Band Concert season 2009. Regular concerts now take place up to September.The floral park overlooking both Pulteney Bridge and the weir, is the perfect place to relax and listen to a brass band concert. For the second year running, Wotton band squeezed into the famous bandstand and performed two programs of music. The band would like to thank the very large and appreciative audience for their support and the many kind comments that we have received since.

We would also like to thank Dave Tutty (Bass) for travelling down from London and helping us out at short notice.

Weston Super Mare band competition

Wotton band decided to participate in this years Weston contest where we chose to play ‘Music for A festival’ by Philip Sparke.

Despite being a continuous long piece of music, it does fall distinctively into three sections of contrasting styles. The band found this to be a very enjoyable piece of music but also very challenging and difficult to play well!

Due to the busy concert schedule that we have at the moment, we were not able to devote as much rehearsal time towards it as we would have liked. The band came off the stage feeling very pleased with our performance. Unfortunately, it was not good enough for us to win any prizes as we were beaten on the day by some better bands. However, we had a very enjoyable day in Weston and would like to thank Colin Rossiter, North Somerset Council and Weston Brass for organising a fantastic event.

The Wotton community have been very big supporters of their local brass band and we were very proud to be asked to perform outside of the Town Hall. Despite overcast and cold conditions, a very large crowd gathered to listen to us. Many locals commented that they had never seen so many people in Wotton, all at once!

We would like to thank Janet Walshe and her team of organisers for inviting us and the day’s success means that this could become a bi-annual event. Roll on 2011.