The band is sorry to say goodbye (at least for now) to Eb Bass player, Brian Cummings and Flugel Horn player, Jon Woodman.

Brian has been with the band for almost 10 years and, as well as being a valued and reliable playing member, he has also played a big part in the running of the band as a Committee member, playing a major role in the organisation of last year's band tour to France and also in the recent rewrite of the Band's constitutional documents.

Brian has promised to stay in touch, and will be helping us with the organisation of the next band tour planned for 2014 ... So thank you for everything you've done Brian, and we'll see you soon!

Jon joined the band around 25 years ago, playing Flugel for most of that time, and also playing an active role as a committee member for many years.

Like Brian, Jon will stay in touch with the band as his wife Jo is still Band Treasurer and a playing member.  We thank Jon for all the work and solo playing he has done for the band over the years and look forward to his return when he has a bit more time on his hands!

On Saturday 15th, a small group played at the Wedding of Adam and Katie Mason.  The band played a selection of traditional carols outside the church as guests arrived for the wedding ceremony and again at the reception as guests arrived for drinks.

The couple thanked the band for making a fantastic contribution to their wedding and said the feedback they had received from their guests was incredible.

The band would also like to say a big thank you to Phil Anderson who stepped in to play Euphonium for us, allowing other members to attend Pat's memorial service.

On Saturday 15th December St Andrew's Church, Miserden was full for a moving thanksgiving service in loving memory of veteran bandsman Pat Etherton.

Uniformed members of Wotton and Chalford Bands, conducted by Ken Wear, paid the most appropriate tribute by playing some fovourite pieces of music and accompanying the hymns.  Pat's son Richard joined the cornet section.

The combined band played Elgar's 'Spring' before the service began and during the service the 'Cossack march', 'Deep Harmony', 'Shepherd's Song' and 'I Dreamed a Dream'.

Pat's widow Irne and other members of the family, together with many neighbours and friends, were welcomed by the Rev. Val Bexon and there were heart-warming eulogies from Band Secretary Ian Ford, and the Chalford Band Chairman, Derrick Witts.

As the congregation left the church the band played the 'Radetsky March'.  The family invited everyone for mince pies and mulled wine at the nearby Carpenters Arms after the service.

Pat would have loved it!

Our annual Christmas Concert took place at Kingswood Village Hall on Sunday 9th December.  The varied programme included a selection of Christmas music, along with Euphonium Solo, Varied Mood from Alan Bruton.  The Training band also treated the audience to two performances - a selection 'Things that go Bump in the Night' in the first half and Christmas music in the second half.

As always we have many people to thank for helping to make the evening a success, from decorating the hall, providing refreshments, manning the door and helping with the raffle.  A big thankyou to Robert & Suzanne, Nora, Geoff, Rita and Julie.  The band is also really grateful to Stan Rodman for building a beautiful garden feature that we were able to auction for band funds - Thank you Stan!

We are very sad to announce the passing of Pat Etherton, our much loved Bass Trombone player who died after fighting a long illness.

 Pat was a very happy, cheerful and kind hearted man. He could always be relied upon to cheer band members up with his endless supply of jokes and anecdotes and he really was the life and soul of the party.  His one line comments would often diffuse a moment of tension in the band room. 

 His grey beard always made him easy to recognise in the band and he would often receive puzzled looks due to being right handed but playing a left handed Trombone!!!  When asked he would just say “it was how I was taught”.

 Pat played with Wotton for 11 years and previous to this, spent an incredible 44 years playing with Chalford Band.  He appeared at 6 national finals and in 2007, received a 50 year service award by the Gloucestershire Brass Band Association (GBBA), alongside his great friend Mac Chappell who was privileged to share every moment of Pat's banding career.  Pat could also be seen playing with Bideford Town Band who he would visit during his annual summer holidays in Devon.

 His dedication and contribution to Wotton is a testament to senior stalwarts and Pat has demonstrated that brass banding isn’t just about young people. He was a very active man who lived every one of his 82 years to the full and really loved Wotton band and we are all going to miss him. 

 We would like to pass on our sympathy and condolences to Pat’s wife, Irene, five children (Patrick, Richard, Jacob, Bridie and Sophie), Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren.

 RIP Pat

On Sunday 11th the band led the Remembrance Sunday parades at Wotton in the morning and at Dursley in the afternoon.  Our thanks go to Ian Ford who (as always) performed an excellent Last Post and Reveille at Wotton, to Brian Chappell and Diane Ansell for conducting the hymns during the wreath laying (Wotton & Dursley respectively), to Tim Hancock for playing the bass drum for us again, and to Julie Ashby for representing the band by laying the band's poppy wreath in Wotton.

On Friday 19th October the Training Band played its first concert without the main band.  The concert was a huge success - the band played brilliantly and was very well received by the audience.  A big well done to Diane for preparing the band so well and for arranging the concert.  Also, thanks very much to Ian, Ken and Phil Anderson for helping out on the night.

The members of Wotton Training Band are very busy in rehearsals for their first concert without the main band.  The concert will take place on Friday 19th October at St James the Great Church in Dursley.  The concert begins at 7.30 and tickets, priced at £3.50 are available on the door or from the band.  

September was a very sociable month for the band, beginning on Friday 7th with a fun night at Swindon Dog Racing Track.  The highlight of the night was the 'Wotton-under-Edge & District Silver Band race' and the picture shows our Chairman, Bruce Davies, presenting the prize to the winning dog (well the dog's owner).  Thanks so much to Mark for arranging such an enjoyable (& different) evening!

The band also got together on the evening of Saturday 29th at Cotswold Edge Golf Club to watch slide shows and videos of our tour to France earlier this year.  It was great to share memories of the tour and to see friends who helped us out -not just our great guest players, but also our fab tour guide, Edward and brilliant coach drivers, Stan and Adrian.  Thanks very much to Alan and Jon for arranging the evening and preparing the superb films and slide shows!

On 1st September the band travelled to Devon to take part in the South West Brass Band Association's Brass Band Festival at The Exmouth Pavillion.

The competition was well attended and included bands from 1st to 4th sections.

The band performed an adjudicated 25 minute programme inside the Pavillion in the morning, and then played a further short concert in the gardens outside in the afternoon.

We were delighted to be awarded 5th place and received some really positive feedback from adjudicator, particularly complementing the band on its attention to detail and tidiness.

The adjudicator also complemented Euphonium player, Alan Bruton on his excellent performance of Benedictus - well done Alan - you did the band proud as always!

On Sunday 29th the Band played at the EDF Family Fun Day at Barnwood, Gloucester.  We were really pleased to be able to get a picture of ourselves with the Olympic torch during our break!

We hope that the day was a great success for all at EDF (despite the stormy weather).

On Saturday 14th we played in our home town of Wotton at the annual St. Mary's Church Fete.  The concert took place inside the church this year due to showery weather and included a brilliant 15 minute concert from Wotton Training Band.

The first engagement of the band's busy July schedule took place on the afternoon of Sunday 1st in the sunshine at Bath Parade Gardens.  The programme of light music included solos 'Apres un Reve' from Ian Brown on horn and 'Benedictus' from Alan Bruton on Euphonium.

On Sunday evening we returned to the Rugby Club marquee to provide the music for the Stinchcombe Proms, a community event in aid of St Cyrs Church.  

As usual, the second half of the concert included all the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ favourites - Fantasia on British Sea Songs, Jerusalem and Pomp and Circumstance, expertly conducted by the band’s Deputy MD, David Lawrence - thanks David for a marvelous job!

The concert was expertly compered by Terry Pascoe, and also featured the beautiful singing voice of Sasha Northover.  It was really well supported by an enthusiastic, Union Jack-waving audience and we hope it was as successful a night for the church as it appeared to be.  

The Saturday following the French tour our 2nd Cornet player, Charlie Poole, took part in the Gwent Youth Brass Solo Competition and came second in the slow melody class after playing ‘Bless This House’.  He was awarded his prize by Tom Hutchinson and Chris Thomas of the Cory Band who had been the adjudicators. This week he has also received an invitation to be part of the cornet section in the National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain and will attend a summer school in Repton in July.  

More great achievements from Charlie ... We are so proud of you!

The band has just returned from its first ever overseas trip.  51 players and supporters met at 5.30am on Saturday 2nd June to begin the longest journey in the band’s 118 year history, taking in Wotton’s twin town - Beaumont le Roger in Normandy, Paris and Disneyland. 

After a day of traveling, Sunday morning was spent sightseeing in the town of Evreux (near Beaumont le Roger) or at Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, and then in the afternoon we travelled to the very picturesque town of Beaumont where we were made to feel extremely welcome throughout our visit. 

The first concert of our tour was held in the beautiful church at Beaumont.  A large audience was entertained by a variety of music including solos - ‘Benedictus’ from Alan Bruton on Euphonium and ‘On With the Motley’ from Bruce Davies on Soprano Cornet, and the band concluded the concert with the rousing French National Anthem which was very much appreciated.   

The band presented the town with a piece of Bristol Blue Glass commemorating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and we were then invited to a drinks reception where we had the opportunity to meet with members of the twinning association and local councilors.  The evening concluded with a meal at the Lion d’Or in Beaumont, where even the youngest members of our tour group were made to feel extremely welcome. 

We cannot thank Beaumont-le-Roger enough for the hospitality shown to us and the tremendous support for our concert.  We are extremely proud to be associated with the town through the Wotton Twinning Committee, and hope that this will be the first of many visits for Wotton Silver Band. 

On Monday, the band left Normandy and travelled to Paris where we played a lunchtime concert in the stunning setting of the Jardin du Luxembourg bandstand.

After the concert many of us took the opportunity to do some sightseeing in Paris, including a trip down the River Seine. 

The following day we set out for Disneyland.  Whilst the players prepared for our late morning concert, most of our supporters ventured into the park to make the most of the ‘Disney experience’.  However, they all returned to support us (most of them sitting in the front row of the audience sporting a wide variety of Disney ears!) 

We played a programme of light music including ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ and ‘Elizabethan Serenade’ on stage in Discoveryland at the impressive Videopolis Theatre, and then spent the rest of the day soaking up the ‘Disney experience’. 

First of all, a huge thank you to our Soprano player Bruce Davies who first suggested the idea of a tour a year ago.  Bruce headed up the Tour Committee and was a first class Tour Manager - thanks Bruce - it probably would have taken another 118 years without your input!

A big thanks to Emma Metcalfe for designing the brilliant ‘France’ logo that we wore on the back of our tour t-shirts and displayed on the tour bus, our itinerary packs, tour folders, etc. (and also for putting up with Bruce while he has been somewhat ‘focussed’ on the tour!) 

First and foremost a massive thanks to our Tour Musical Director - Paul Hemmings who spent much of May on the M4 commuting from his home in Reading to Wotton to get us into shape for the tour.

We are almost ready for the band's first European tour in it's 118 year history.  The fund raising events have been extremely successful and we thank all our supporters, friends and local businesses who have helped us to raise the funds we needed to make the tour possible.

The band leaves Wotton on Saturday 2nd June to head to twin-town Beaumont-le-Roger in Normandy where we perform a concert in the church on the evening of Sunday 3rd.  The following day we leave Beaumont for Paris where we perform a lunchtime concert in Jardin du Luxembourg on Monday 4th, and a concert at Euro Disney on Tuesday 5th.

The band played at the lovely village of Hillesley near Wotton-under-Edge, for their annual Summer Fete on Saturday 26th May.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the band played a vairied selection of music under the baton of Paul Hemmings, who is briefly joining us as Musical Director for our tour to France.

On 30th April we held the draw for our 'Win a Band Concert for £10' competition.  The prize was won by Chipping Manor Dental Surgery in Wotton-under-Edge and we will be working with them to plan a charity concert for the work they do with 'Bridge2Aid' (a partnership that supports the emergency dental training of a Tanzanian Clinical Officer).  More news on this to come, but in the meantime congratulations to Chipping Manor and a huge thank you to everyone who took part!

On Saturday 28th April, the band performed a concert at St. Mary’s Church, Wotton-under-Edge with the wonderful organist Nigel Davies.  The concert included individual performances from both the band and Nigel, who is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and has been Director of Music at Dursley Parish Church since 1992.  The concert also featured a number of pieces combining both band and the St Mary’s church organ, which is famed for having been played by George Frederic Handel.  

The concert featured solos 'Apres une Reve' from Ian Brown on Horn and 'Benedictus' from Alan Bruton on Euphonium, and band and organ joined together for music including 'Suite Gothique' and 'Procession to the Minster'.

The concert, which is was a first for Wotton Band, was a great success and the band will certainly be looking to perform similar joint concerts in the future.

We are holding a draw where the prize is a concert by Wotton Silver Band at a time of date of your choice.  This could be an event you run annually, a special celebration (wedding, birthday party), or a fund raising event of your own, and could be inside or outside.  To enter, all you need to do is send us a cheque made payable to ‘Wotton Silver Band’ or transfer us the money and we will send you a ticket.

For further details contact Jo on 01453 887774 or jo.woodman2@gmail.com.

The band is delighted to announce the appointment of Ian Dickinson as our new Musical Director. Ian Studied music at the Cambridge College of Arts & Technology in the 1970‘s. He moved to Bristol in 1974 to join the Stanshawe Band, which later became the Sun Life Band (SLB).

Ian spent 20 very successful years with SLB, initially as Assistant Principal Cornet and then on Flugel Horn.  Apart from traveling much of Europe and performing regularly for the BBC and recording many records and CDs, the band had many competition successes, including the runners up awards at both National & British Open Championships, culminating in gaining the Open Champions title in 1990, followed by The World Music Festival title in Kerkrade in 1992.

Ian has been conducting bands for many years and until recently had a very successful spell with Portishead Town Band, whose rapid progress saw them rise from the Second Section up to the Championship Section under his direction.

Ian brings a wealth of experience, both as a player and a conductor.  The band is excited by his appointment and looks forward to working with him in the next chapter of our long history.