Merry Christmas from Verwood Concert Brass

Saturday 3^rd December

A small group went to play carols in the restaurant at the end of Bournemouth Pier for a family open evening.  Ann and Sean enjoyed playing ‘statues’ with the 5 year olds and the whole group joined in the dancing to swell the numbers.

It was a very starry night in a magnificent setting and a great start to all the Christmas jobs.

Friday 9^th December

All Saints Church Southbourne

A group of 12 players played and accompanied carols to a packed audience at this annual event. The box of stands didn’t arrive until 7.20 because of traffic chaos in Bournemouth so we had to work very quickly.  No time to warm up so we just carried on regardless. 

Weekend of 10^th and 11^th December – Groups all over the place!

Carols at Moors Valley Christmas Tree Sales.

 

John Brown’s Garden Centre.

Saturday night:  The Training Band with helpers played at the Verwood Christmas Extravaganza on Ferret Green.

 

Sunday Afternoon.

Verwood B accompanied carols and played ‘A Christmas Piece’ as a feature.  The event was very well attended by both young and old.

Saturday 17^th December

The Christmas Concert at the Hub

For the first time ever, the band put on a matinee and evening performance with a very different format.  A professional narrator told the story of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and the bands performed a programme of totally Christmas music both on and off the stage.  Some in the corridor, some on the floor and some in the wings!  We have to thank Ian Harris who put the whole programme together.  It took a lot of work by many people but the bands all worked together really well and it was greatly enjoyed, so definitely worth the effort.  

 Thanks to all our conductors on the night, Kevin Smith, James Haigh and Ian Harris and a huge thank you to Tim Bond who donned Victorian costume and narrated the story brilliantly.

Weymouth Pavilion - Saturday 26th November 2011

Verwood ‘A’ enjoyed an outing to Weymouth this weekend to take part in the Wessex Brass Band competition.  They played Land of the Long White Cloud by Philip Sparke, conducted by Kevin Smith.  The mood was very upbeat and nobody seemed to mind playing first although results seemed a long way off.  Perhaps 7^th overall was a little disappointing but an improvement on 2 years ago with only Championship and 1^st Section bands in higher positions.  Everybody is looking forward to Torquay.

Training Band Fund Raising Coffee Morning

The VCB training band, under the baton of Ian Harris, entertained over 75 people at its fund raising coffee morning event which raised more than £230 towards band funds.

 

The band invited members of the public to pop in to the Verwood Memorial Hall at any time between 10am and 12am on Saturday 5^th November to sit and have a cuppa whilst listening to the band play its fantastic variety of music including superb solo performances from some up and coming players. These included:

 

Ellie – Cornet

Callum  –  Baritone

Jason – Cornet

Anne – Piano

Plus a quartet of experienced Euphonium players – Sean, Angela Moran, Richard Mullins and Ian Harris.

 

As well as the playing there was a raffle and stalls selling cakes, jewellery, bric-a-brac, pre owned books and games.

The band continually needs to raise funds to pay for many things like new music, band uniform and the purchase and maintenance of instruments and has recently become a registered charity to help make donations go that bit further.

The band have been very fortunate in not only receiving money from donations and sponsorship but through having two special trombones given to the band by supporters  Peter and Christine Harris. What’s special about these trombones, known as pBones, is that they are made of plastic. Compared to a normal ‘brass’ trombone they are half the weight, more durable and a fraction of the cost and yet make a fantastic sound. This makes them ideal for young beginners, like Rhys.

This is a real innovation in instrument manufacture but we are not expecting to change the band’s name to Verwood Concert Plastic anytime soon.

The training band is always on the look out for new or rusty players, young or old, and have a variety of instruments that can be hired at a very reasonable cost. So for anyone interested do come along to a training band rehearsal held in our band hall on Monday’s during term time from 6.45pm to 7.45pm.

A Great Night at the Proms

On Sunday 10^th October, Verwood Concert Brass delighted their audience with a proms concert.  Playing to a full house, soprano cornet player, Mark Marsh skilfully played the Intermezzo from Cavelleria by Pietro Mascagni.

The player featured in the programme was Sophie Howes who played with the Training Band from the age of 10.  She then progressed to third cornet in Verwood’s main band.  Now, at the age of just 20, Sophie is the principal cornet player in Verwood ‘A’ and played a superb solo which showcased her talent.  This was Rusalka’s Song to the Moon by Dvorak, a very challenging piece, executed brilliantly.

The Training Band continues to choose more and more challenging music with their finale of Bach’s Toccata in D Minor attracting prolonged applause.

Verwood B also continues to improve.  They, too, chose a difficult programme and the audience seemed to particularly enjoy H G Amers: The Wee MacGregor Highland Patrol, particularly tricky for the solo cornets and the four remaining players at the end of the piece, not to mention the percussion which Dominic Buswell tackled extremely well.

Ian Harris’ rendition of Rule Brittannia arranged for Euphonium left the audience wondering how he could muster all that puff!  Truly spellbinding.

Supporters were in good voice when it came to Jerusalem, so much so that they demanded it as the second encore and the finale of the 1812 nearly lifted the roof.

Mike and Helen Tie the Knot

On 9^th October, Mike and Helen finally said ‘I Do’, to become Mr and Mrs Dunnings, much to the delight of all their friends and family.  They held their reception at Club 31 in Verwood who did them proud.  More friends joined them in the evening for dancing and a great time. Mike and Helen took the floor to Elton John’s ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ from The Lion King.  

They spent their honeymoon in Jersey, but not before taking part in the Hub concert the following evening, how’s that for devotion to duty!

Incidentally, as you can see from above, it was a great concert despite one or two wishing that the music wasn’t quite so loud.  Mike and Helen were presented with ‘A Honeymoon Gift Box’ on the night, which proved to be an interesting gift!!

Verwood Concert Brass goes Quackers at Potterne Park!

The Verwood Rotary Rustic Fayre is always a good event and this year did not disappoint.  The band played three sets which drew a large crowd.  Never before have there been a set of 4 timps at Potterne Park but the percussion section excelled themselves.

Our fundraising raising duck race followed. 1,000 small plastic ducks were hurled into the River Crane and then followed a perilous route to the finish line. Duck number 644 was a clear winner.  This was followed by duck numbers 205 and 723. Congratulations to the three prize winners.

 

Retrieving ducks was an interesting exercise as some of the river is well over a meter deep.  One or two got rather wetter than planned and the water was pretty cold but it was a very successful event!

Training Band Dodge the Showers and have a Great Summer Barbeque

Sat July 16th - The Training Band's performance at Wimborne St. Giles Flower festival was highly praised by their audience. They enjoyed a barbeque in Clare & Patrick's garden. The decision on the venue was left until the last minute because of the mornings torrential rain but the evening weather was kinder and Ian Harris - a man of many talents - cooked burgers and chicken to perfection.

The hosts Patrick & Clare (above)