... and the rest of December was taken up with our hectic Carolling Schedule when we play in small groups in our quest to raise funds to cover the band's costs for the year ahead.

In total we played at 27 carolling sessions, from local high streets to supermarkets and even Gloucester Services, and as in previous years, this fantastic effort was well worthwhile, and our thanks go out to all the band members for sharing the load, and to all those who have generously donated to us over the festive period.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the band over the past 12 months and Happy 2004 to you all from everyone at Wotton Silver Band!

Our last formal concert of the year was our annual Christmas Concert at Kingswood Village Hall.  We played a selection of Christmas music, including a great performance of 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' from our Principal Cornet player, Jules Farron.  However, as always, the real stars of the night were our amazing Training Band who put on a great performance and then joined the main band to play 'Jesus Christ The Apple Tree'.  Congratulations to all our young members - they are absolute superstars!

On Wednesday 7th we joined Yate Community Choir in the Chipping Sodbury Lions annual Christmas Concert.  This lovely event was very well-attended and, as always, was a really Christmassy event with a wide variety of Christmas music from classics to popular songs and with plenty of carols to sing along to aswell.

Our thanks go to the Lions Club for organising this lovely concert and also to Liz Martin and the Yate Community Choir for a great, entertaining performance.

On Saturday 28th, we returned to Dursley to take part in the Royal British Legion Poppy Proms.  It was great to see this popular event back after a break of a few years due to Covid.

The concert featured an entertaining programme from both the band and the fantastic Dursley Male Voice Choir, and we were also treated to a tremendous performance by the very talented pianists from the choir - Barrie Cooper and Matthew Sharpe.

It was lovely to see this special event back to full force and we hope it will once again become a fixture in our annual calendar.  Thank you for inviting us Dursley & Cam RBL!

We were absolutely delighted to see such an amazing audience and so many young faces at our family-friendly concert  on Saturday 14th.  This concert of TV and film music included popular tunes from the Wallace and Gromit films, Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars, Matilda and many other family favourites.  A highlight was a fun performance of Bare Necessities from our Solo Eb Bass player, Andy Symes, who at one point appeared on the shoulders of a bear!

We were also very fortunate to have been joined by Paul McLauchlin from Brass Bands England, who ran an excellent, fun-filled session for all those who wanted to have a go at playing a brass instrument.  Thank you so much Paul.

Our thanks also go to Renishaw for allowing us to use their amazing Innovation Centre to hold our concert, and for the brilliant Renishaw staff who were there to help us on the day.

If you are interested in our Training Band, please take a look at our Training Band page, or send us an email at learntoplay@wottonsilverband.co.uk

On Sunday 24th we were finally able to play our Proms Concert at the Plough Micropub in Charfield (postponed from July).  This afternoon concert was really well-supported by an enthusiastic, flag waving crowd.

This lively concert included a variety of music, from Broadway show tunes, to popular music from the 70's to the 2000's and also featured our soprano player, Marcus Dunstan, playing the theme tune from Bond film 'Live & Let Die'.  As always, the concert included the Last Night of the Proms favourites.

Thanks as always to the Plough for a warm welcome and another well-organised event.

Wow!  Our friends at Cold Aston Village Fayre are a hardy bunch!  Despite the complete wash-out summer we have had, they ploughed ahead with their annual fayre on Saturday 5th and provided us with the biggest gazebo ever to ensure we stayed dry on what must have been one of the wettest afternoons of an already wet summer.

As always, the village really looked after us and we thank everyone who came along to watch our performance in the pub courtyard

We hope the fayre was a success for Cold Aston, despite the weather and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

July turned out to be a bit of a wash out for our engagments.  We are hoping to reschedule our cancelled trip to the Plough in Charfield, so keep an eye on our 'What's On' page for a new date!

The one July event that did go ahead was our concert in the bandstand at John Coles Park in Chippenham where, despite the very stormy weather, we did manage to perform a full programme!

We are really grateful to the wonderful group of hardy souls who stuck with us for the whole performance - we really appreciate your support!

Our first July performance took place on Sunday 9th on the bandstand in Keynsham Memorial Gardens.  Once again we were very fortunate with the weather (look at the colour of the sky in the photos), so the park was busy, helping us to attract a large and appreciative audience.

Congratulations to our brilliant soloists - Ken Stout on Flugel Horn playing 'Only in Sleep' and Mandy Norman on Euphonium playing 'In Christ Alone', and also to our Trombone section for their rendition of the entertaining 'Frolic for Trombones'.

Thanks to Keynsham Town Council for the invite and for all the organisation behind the scenes - it was an absolute pleasure to play for you.

In the heat of the afternoon on Saturday 24th we performed on the lawn at the National Trust's Newark Park near Wotton-under-Edge.

We are really thankful to the National Trust team for making us so welcome and comfortable in the heat, providing us with water and hats & generally looking after us.  It was a great pleasure for the band to perform in such beautiful surroundings so close to home, and we do hope to be invited back (the last time the band played at Newark Park our drummer, George, was a baby, so we do hope to return a little sooner next time!)

Thank to everyone who came along to watch the performance - our first concert with our new Musical Director, Jim Bennett.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Musical Director, Jim Bennett who joins us this month.

Jim was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, and after schooling in Bedford went on to study trumpet at the RCM under Paul Archibald and Andy Crowley, where he also took a unit in conducting under Neil Thomson.  After leaving the RCM, Jim worked as a freelance player in and around London, including work as an orchestral player with The Senesino Players, The Chiesa Consort and the London Orchestra of Academia; studio work for Nickelodeon, AdelphoiMusic Ltd and the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra; and jazz residences at The Belfry, Knightsbridge and The Sun and Doves, Camberwell.  He was also Musical Director for Punchdrunk Theatre's production of Faust.

In 2009, Jim and his wife Rebecca moved from London to Somerset, where he continued in his playing career and also started conducting more regularly, including 9 years with Gillingham Imperial Silver Band.  He also conducts the Yeovil Concert Band and the Sherborne Youth Band, as well as standing in on various occasions for Glastonbury Brass and Sherborne Town Band.

Jim has taught at Bedford School, Clayesmore School and for various music services, but is currently taking a break from teaching to look after his young family, with whom he now lives in Street.

Jim is thrilled to have been passed the baton at Wotton Silver Band and is very much looking forward to working with the band both in the contest arena and on the concert stage, and above all, continuing to share our passion for music with you into the future.

It wouldn't be the first Sunday in May without our traditional hike to the top of Wotton Hill, where we welcome in the Summer with a selection of hymns and marches.  We were delighted to see a wonderful crowd of people who had turned out to watch us at what must be our most iconic (and totally bonkers) engagement of the year.

Special thanks go to our solo cornet player, Andy Elliott who kindly, and expertly, took on the job of Musical Director for the day (we are also informed that he plays percussion... Is there anything this man can't do?)

Thanks to everyone who came along to watch us - it's fantastic to see so many of you!

.....

... and later that day (7th May) we came down into the town to take part in the Coronation Party in Market Street, as coffee and cake was served by Wotton Heritage Centre and The Keepers - Wotton Area Community Hub.

After a lively performance we listened as the town's Crier, George Carpenter, delivered the Coronation Proclamation before everyone joined together to sing God Save the King.

Many thanks to Wotton-under-Edge Town Council for organising the party in celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III, and thank you for inviting us to play a part in such a special day for our very special town.

On Saturday 11th we competed in the 1st Section of the West of England Brass Band Championships in Torquay.  We were pleased with our performance of Phil Lawrence's 'A Day in the Life of a Knight', and although we were a little disappointed not to finish a little closer to the prizes, we congratulate the bands who did do well - in particular, our neighbours, Chalford who were clear winners on the day after a first class performance.

The trip to torquay also gave us the opportunity to spend some great social time together, and our thanks go out to Julie who arranged the accomodation and meals for us all - a first class job as always!

We look forward to returning to Torquay next year where once again we will be competing in the first section.

As usual, February sees us busily preparing for the Regional Brass Band Championships in Torquay.  The competition will be taking place on Saturday 11th March at the Riviera Centre, and this year's First Section test piece is 'A Day in the Life of a Knight', by Phil Lawrence.  The piece was originally composed in 1988, and is highly thematic, telling a story in the form of an imagined film score.

We will be performing the piece for the first time at the Oxford & District Brass Band Competition later in the month ahead of our trip to Devon!

We are delighted to finally tell you all about what we were up to last August! Here we are during the recording of an episode of the BBC drama series 'Father Brown' which can now be viewed on iPlayer. You will be able to see and hear our performance on live TV soon or if, like us, you can't wait, you can find it on BBC iPlayer - Series 10, Episode 6 'The Royal Visit'

father-brown-series- https://www.bbc.co.uk/.../father-brown-series-10-6-the-royal-visit