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Christmas Concert December 2011
As people arrived at The Evesham Arts Centre on Sunday 4th December our Training Band got everyone in the right frame of mind as they presented music in the foyer. Very well done to them & many thanks!
Then into the main auditorium where the near capacity audience witnessed the Band and their special guests, The Evesham Community Choir, in top form sharing the stage area and with their items inter-mingled.
From the opening bars of Troika by Prokofiev it was clear that the Band meant business. The Choir then gave it’s first items and throughout the evening impressed both the audience & the Band alike with their array of music, ranging from Simon & Garfunkel to Rutter.
The Band then introduced a more sobering few minutes with their tribute to the men & women of our armed forces in the form of “Benedictus” from The Armed Man (a Mass for Peace) by Karl Jenkins. This featured our Principal Euphonium Paul Horner but with important duet passages with both Byron Tucker and Stephen Lane on flugel & cornet respectively.
“Light as Air”, “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Lightwalk” then followed, the latter (in big band style) featuring Byron Tucker in the flugel brake, played in true professional style.
Ho! Ho! Ho! What Christmas event is complete without Santa and on this occasion he (aka Stephen Lane) present “Yuletide Gallop” on the post horn. Extremely entertaining & very well played!
The concert concluded with “Santaclaustraphobia” a medley of Christmas songs but presented in the Avonbank style with each section standing to present their solo passages. Never was “When Santa got stuck up the chimney” so apt – ably performed by our Bass Section.
The audience were more than ready for an encore & were certainly not disappointed by “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” which sent them home with their feet tapping & wanting more (the true sign of any good menu – we offer our appreciation to our MD Nick Smith!).
The Band gives it’s thanks to FABB and to members wives for their help on the night and for the hard work that went into making this a most enjoyable and successful event.
Leicestershire Brass Band Association Autumn Open Contest
Yet another place in the frame!
Sunday 27th November 2011 saw the Band competing against 7 other bands and winning a very creditable 2nd prize at the Leicestershire Brass Band Association Open Contest held at Loughborough.
Our MD had chosen one of the brass band classics, Eric Ball’s Resurgam. This is a very difficult piece of music and was chosen deliberately both to test the Band at a higher level and to show off it’s finest qualities.
The opening few bars are generally regarded as being extremely testing but Avonbank got off to an extremely secure start courtesy of the baritone, trombone & euphonium sections with the flugel and solo horn concluding the initial section in fine style (and getting special mention from the adjudicator).
The more rhythmic sections were negotiated fairly well and Stephen Lane, our Principal Cornetist, was complimented on his expressive playing during the long solo passage.
Whilst it’s true that this was not an error free performance the Band acquitted itself very well generally. In particular the adjudicator noted the extremely warm sound and great attention to dynamic contrast.
Having been drawn number 2 we had little option to adjourn to a local pub (local CAMRA pub of the year) and sample a few well earned pints. A most enjoyable & successful day.
Royal British Legion 90th Anniversary concert
Having concluded a busy summer season (including band stand performances in Bromsgrove, Leamington Spa, Evesham & Droitwich) The Band commenced it’s Autumn/Winter program on Friday 14th October with a concert in St Peter’s Church, Bengeworth, Evesham.
This year the Royal British Legion is celebrating its 90th anniversary and Avonbank could not let this pass without giving our own special tribute to this worthy organisation. All proceeds, totalling £474, went to the Poppy Appeal.
The Band was in fine form presenting a variety of music with something to suit most tastes. This included first time performances of the extremely difficult arrangement of “Top Hat, White Tie & Tails”, theme music from the musical Cats and a very fitting finale which combined Auld Lang Syne with The Last Post. Our MD Nick Smith once again came up trumps!
Our soloists deserve special mention. In addition to 3 players that had performed regularly throughout the summer (Mike Pawson, Byron Tucker & Paul Horner) we also premiered the cornet due “Well Did You Evah?” featuring Stephen Lane & Simon Ibbotson. Not to be left out, our solo trombone, Andrew Scarborough, rose out of his chair on several occasions to present his solo lines in true Tommy Dorsey fashion.
All in all an extremely enjoyable evening.
We salute the Royal British Legion and the men & women of our armed forces.
Pershore Midsummer Brass 2011 - Saturday 9th July saw Avonbank again join numerous other bands to give individual programs of music.
Although this is not a contest each band is clearly keen to impress we were delighted to be placed towards the end of the evening, sandwiched between higher section bands (Staffordshire & Sovereign).
The band started in fine style with the march Simoraine and it was clear from the outset that Avonbank was not at all intimidated. Our Musical Director Nick Smith had chosen a well balanced program that included new items such as “Haven’t Met you Yet” (a Michael Buble hit), The Avengers and a very exciting arrangement of Jesus Christ Superstar (arranged by Alan Fernie) together with the more established pieces Born Free & the lovely melody Hine e Hine.
No program is complete without a solo but on this occasion Avonbank featured three – all are seasoned performers and were on fine form. Mike Pawson on soprano played Flowerdale (from Hymn of the Highlands by Philip Sparke), Byron Tucker on flugel turned our minds to the film “Brassed Off” by featuring Concierto de Aranjuez and finally Paul Horner on euphonium gave the evergreen Blaydon Races.
This was a most enjoyable and successful evening. Our loyal supporters were there in force (our continued thanks to them!) and were certainly not disappointed by what they heard.
New Chairman – we are delighted to announce that Andrew Scarborough has been appointed as Band Chairman. We look forward to even greater things under Andrew’s stewardship. We take this opportunity to express our thanks to our “retiring” Chairman, Alan Jackson, for his efforts and hard work.
Massed Bands – on 26th June Avonbank joined 3 other bands (Celebration, Cubbington & Tewkesbury) to play to an enthusiastic audience in Evesham Park as part of the Evesham Festival of Music. Each band gave a 25 minute program followed by several massed items conducted by each Musical Director in turn, starting with our own Nick Smith who gave his usual clear & professional direction.
Whit Friday Marches – (Photos) the Band made its customary trip up the M6 on 17th June and participated at no less than 8 venues. Although first prizes eluded us the Band played very well and was proud to perform alongside several top bands including Fodens & Wingates who seemed to follow us around the circuit.
Having stayed “up North” overnight most members enjoyed a very pleasant & interesting Saturday at Quarry bank Mill, a National Trust property, where we gained a real insight into 18th/19th Century working conditions. We then ventured to the nearby town of Cheadle where we gave a concert in St Cuthbert’s Church – the varied program, which featured several of our soloists, was very well received. At the conclusion we adjourned to a local hostelry for a little light refreshment before retiring back to our hotel. A very enjoyable weekend!
St Richards Hospice – On Sunday 12th June we were privileged to play a varied program to luncheon guests at an event arranged specifically to raise funds for the hospice, an extremely worthy cause.
Weston Super Mare Contest – (Photos)The Band gave an exceptionally impressive rendition of the test piece Suite Gothique to gain 1st Prize! True to form our Bass Section was again nominated as the best in the section.
St George’s Day – a very busy day with 2 programs being performed early afternoon as part of Evesham’s Asparagus Festival (several items are featured on You Tube ) and then a performance in the Town Hall at night as part of St Georges Day celebrations. We were delighted that vocal soloist Becky Fearnley could join us at the Town Hall – Becky acquitted herself extremely well & many thanks to her.
Regional Contest, March 2011 – drawn number 1 The Band produced an excellent performance and fully deserved 3rd place, just missing an invitation to play at the National Finals. However based on an impressive and consistent 3 year performance record we were promoted to the 2nd Section and look forward to the challenge of competing at the higher level from January 2012 onwards.