Summer Update

The Band ended the first half of the year with an excellent performance at Brass on the Grass in June. However, due to adverse weather this became Brass in the Church as the concert had to move into the Church. This obviously restricted the audience size, but we were delighted that the event still raised £1,000 (helped by the Band reducing its’ fee to help swell the funds).

When we include our previous concerts this year, Baking for Brass and the VE Celebrations at Lawford, we are very proud to have helped to raise £1,600 for good causes whilst performing to very appreciative audiences.

We are already working on an exciting programme for our autumn concert which is on Sunday 19th October at 3.00pm. ‘Sunday Afternoon at the Movies 2’ – the sequel! This follows on from last year’s successful concert, we know that this is a popular theme and there was so much music we did not include we look forward to playing a whole new selection.

Over the next few months rehearsals will continue, but with a few more empty seats than usual as players join tours with other musical groups, attend Brass Band Summer Schools and have their own holidays. However, there is still much valuable technical work that can be done with the smaller groups.

On a personal note, I am very honoured to have been nominated, by members of the band, for the Brass Band England Conductor of the Year Award. Brass Band England is an organisation which was founded to support Brass Bands at all levels. As well as promoting Brass Banding, they lobby government and various groups and provide valuable resources to help Bands meet safeguarding requirements as well as providing training on such areas as marketing and financial management. An extensive list of nominees was reviewed and BBE have selected 7 Conductors, a panel from the National Brass Band Conductors’ Association will select the overall winner. I will travel to Durham in September to attend the awards ceremony which will be at the end of the 2025 BBE Conference.

I trust you all have a great summer and look forward to seeing you later in the year – as ever thank you for your support.

Kevin Jordan
Musical Director