Double Contest Triumph!

Saturday 26th November

What a day!

The Verwood Town Band seem to have a jinx on being drawn to be the first band to play but no worries because the band produced an excellent performance winning the cup for the highest placed 4th Section Band.

But what's more the band came 8th overall meaning it beat at least one 2nd section band. Very well done the Town Band.

As for the Verwood Concert Brass Band - well here is the list of what they won!

Best Bass Section - The Arthur Spencer Trophy - congratulations Duncan Smith, Jane Cotee, Mike Dunnings and Nigel Tiller.

The conductor having the best musical interpretation of the score - The South Wilts Cup - well done Kevin Smith (a very nice belated birthday pressie for yesterday).

Best Instrumentalist - The Kevin Bolton Plaque - VCB's principle cornet player Elaine Close - just brilliant!

The highest placed Championship Section Band - The Christopher Wren Cup - Verwood Concert Brass.

OVERALL WESSEX CHAMPION - The Pitt Rivers Cup - VERWOOD CONCERT BRASS.

The band also had the honour of playing a short concert at the end of the day whilst the results were being collated. This met with great applause from a room full of brass band aficionados.

So all in all a fantastic day and so nice to have done so well at our local brass band contest. Well done all and to all the other bands and special award winners.

Verwood pays its respects

Sunday 13th November

Verwood Concert Brass were honoured to be part of the Remembrance Sunday service and parade.

Having played hymns at the packed church service, the band lead the parade to the war memorial playing the British Legion March where a large crowd had gathered for the wreath laying ceremony.

Very well done to Sophie Howes, Verwood Concert Brass's repiano cornet player, for playing the Last Post with such feeling, plus a rousing Reveille.

Occasions such as this are a reminder that the band is very much part of the community and form an important part of our heritage.

Many thanks to local photographer, John Larry, for use of some of his photos.

 

SWBBA Champions!!!!!

Saturday 5th November

Well done to Verwood Concert Brass Band. They won the South West Brass Band Association 70th Annual Contest in Torquay yesterday.

What's more, principal cornet player, Elaine Close, was awarded the trophy for best soloist. Well done Elaine.

To win the contest was no mean feat as they were up against five very good First Section bands and three other Championship Section bands including Camborne Town who are currently ranked by 4 Bars Rest as being the 34th best brass band in the world. That's against Verwood's current ranking of 167th.

The contest was an 'own choice' event meaning bands can choose which test piece they wish to play. Verwood's winning performance was of Edward Gregson's 'Of Men and Mountains'.

The full results were:
1. Verwood Concert Brass (Ch)
2. Camborne Town (Ch)
3. Chalford (1st)
4. Lydbrook (Ch)
5. St. Keverne (1st)
6. Helston Town (1st)
7. Lanner & District (Ch)
8. Pendennis (1st)
9. Hyde (1st)

Next up - in three weeks time it is the Wessex Winter Contest at the Life Centre in Bournemouth. All the best for that one too and to the Verwood Town Band who will also be competing.

 

Last Night of the Proms

Saturday 15 October

As always the VCB Proms concert is a great evening involving lots of audience participation with flag waving, clapping and singing.

 

To get the audience off to a flying start the Verwood Training Band set the mood by including 'I Vow to Thee, My Country' and 'Land of Hope and Glory' in their set plus, as a tribute to Sir Terry Wogan, a great rendition of 'The Floral Dance'.

Next up were Verwood Concert Brass Band whose set included superb solo performances from Andrew Watson on soprano cornet playing 'Lyrica' and Emma Button on trombone performing 'Traumerei'. The first half closed with a fabulously powerful performance of 'Tocatta from Suite Gothique'.

Opening the second half Verwood Town Band included all three movements of the Vaughan Williams 'English Folk Songs Suite' nicely setting the tone of some patriotism before the return of Verwood Concert Brass Band to close off the evening with all of the traditional last night of the proms pieces.

These included 'Fantasia on British Sea Songs', Jerusalem' and 'Pomp and Circumstance March No1'. MD Kevin Smith really encouraged the audience to full participation reminding them that last year they were singing along to a first section band but this year they were singing along to a championship band so nothing less than championship singing, flag waving and clapping would do.

They certainly were a champion audience befitting of a champion proms concert.

Autumn Coffee Morning

Saturday 8th October

The Training Band performed an entertaining couple of hours of music whilst the audience enjoyed a cuppa and, as you will see from the photo, the delicious homemade cakes as well.

It was a great opportunity for the band to not only play some familiar favourites but also try out some new pieces including those being performed next Saturday, 15th October, at Verwood Concert Brass' big Proms Concert at the Verwood Hub, alongside performances from the Verwood Town Band and the Verwood Concert Brass band.

Cream Tea Picnic in the Park Cross Over

This is a lovely part of what brass banding is about - putting on a free concert in the local community and seeing loads of people turn up to come and listen and enjoy a wonderful afternoon of music . . . and the cream teas, ice-creams and cakes!

Such a lovely day for mid September too.

 

That's it for outside concerts for this year. Fingers crossed for some nice weather again next year.

Summer Concert

Saturday 23rd July

The Summer Concert at The Verwood Hub was not only summer hot temperature but the music was hot too!

It kicked off with Verwood Concert Brass doing a reprise of the start of their winning SCABA Entertainments Contest set with ‘Blackbird Special’ leading straight into Armenian Fire Dance. This was followed by a lovely trumpet duet, ‘Spanish Trumpets’ played by Elaine Close and Emma Graves.

The Verwood Training Band as usual played their up-beat numbers with gusto and showing that the band can play some pretty contemporary music by closing their set with ‘Brassed Up Funk!’ but that was not before MD Mike Dunnings surprised principle cornet player Naomi Selby-Grace with the results of her grade 5 cornet exam result which he announced live on stage – she passed with merit. Well done Naomi.

Verwood Town Band opened the second half which included a couple of piece from the film Brassed Off – ‘The Cross of Honour’ march and a foot tapping rendition of the ‘Clog Dance’. Principal cornet player, Jane Bray, also played a delightful solo piece ‘Share My Yoke’.

Closing the show Verwood Concert Brass kept the lively pace going with La Fiesta and the Earth, Wind and Fire number ‘In The Stone’ and also a superb trombone trio of Emma Button, Georgina Carter and Steve Close playing Cole Porter’s ‘It’s Alright With Me’.

The bands will be playing at a number of event over the summer but our next Hub Concert will be our Proms themed concert on Saturday 15th October. See you there!