Issue 32 - Winter 1999 / 2000
FDF Music camp 1999
July 1999 saw Association members from around the country join their Danish associates in Herning, Denmark for the FDF’s 5-yearly music camp. Here, Geoff Smale from Accrington gives us his views on the camp.
John Foote and myself from the Accrington Band set off on the first leg of a journey which was to take us to the sleepy little Danish town of Herning. The train from Preston was on time and we settled down to enjoy the trip to Gatwick which was to take six hours. The fact that a party of twenty five women going on a hen party to Brighton joined the train at Birmingham meant that the journey was anything but eventful from thereon.
Because of the timing of the trains it was necessary for us to spend the night at the airport, but we filled the time exploring between the two terminals, eating and drinking with a little sleeping. Eventually we saw Ray Lewis from the London Band approaching in the early morning light (a sight for sore eyes? Ed). The party from Halesowen were not far behind and the Chandlers Ford group, ably led by Alex Mould had a slight problem during the journey to the airport, causing them to arrive a little behind schedule (I am sure Alex will not be allowed to forget this.) The party was now complete and the remainder of our trip to the campsite was trouble free.
The campsite was spread over three fields around the main buildings and split into three groups, or parishes which were Rytmen, Tonen and Pulsen (these translate as rhythm, tone and tempo). Our group was accommodated in the Rytmen parish. During the day we had been joined by the party from Doncaster who had made their own way by ferry. The UK party was now complete and we soon found our way around. With over 1200 under canvas on the campsite the sheer logistics of the whole event never failed to impress me. The choice and standard of the three meals each day was just one of them.
The brass bands were arranged into seven levels according to ability and each one was kept very busy every day, with tuition every morning with additional courses in the afternoon. John, Ray and I thoroughly enjoyed one based on reggae and samba! The programme for each band during the week built up to a series of concerts performed for the rest of the camp on the final day. We also had to fit in rehearsals for the concert given by the UK band in the town centre during the week.
The festival was not just restricted to brass bands - during the week we heard drum and fife bands, jazz groups, latin American, choirs and many more. The quality was superb and the evening entertainment, even though there was the language difficulty, was extremely enjoyable. The fact that the FDF produced a daily news sheet, arranged and got media coverage including local television was again a credit to their organisational skills.
Of interest, I learnt that at the age of 18 members of the FDF do not have to make the choice of becoming a leader or leaving the movement, they can continue within the group, still wear uniform and still partake in all the activities.
Friendships were formed both within our own group and with those from the FDF. John and I would like to express our thanks to Simon and his team for all the hard work which went into organising the trip. A tremendous week and an event that we will both long remember.
Cosford
The May Bank Holiday last year saw a revivial of the Assiciation’s superb training courses. David Carter, Association Secretary, tells us of the weekend from an organisers and participant’s view.
Good music, good instructors, good food, good facilities, good price, good fun and good company - what more could you want!
The early May bank holiday will remain in our memories for a long time, as this was the weekend that 125 of us met at the RAF School of Physical Training at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, not for a 'keep fit' weekend but for a superb music training event.
Expert musical tuition was given by five instructors from the Royal Marines School of Music who, through their knowledge and enthusiasm, inspired our young (and not so young!) musicians to reach musical heights they never thought possible. Three training bands were formed, graded at different levels of ability and, additionally, leaders and seniors were given sessions on conducting, basic arranging and on how to teach youngsters to play. The conducting session did bring some funny looks from RAF personnel on site - who were all these people conducting in thin air, with no music and watching their reflections in a window???
There was also time to fit in an hour's marching practise on the parade square led by a corps of drums formed by the percussionists attending. Not quite the massed bands of the Royal Marines beating retreat, but a close second! The RAF has never heard True and Trusty so many times!
At the conclusion of the weekend, each training band performed a 'mini concert' to the others, ending in a rousing massed band performance (True and Trusty again!). Of course, it wasn't all True and Trusty, we did get to play some interesting music - Aces High, Concert Tune, Beauty and the Beast, Moonlight Serenade, Tochter Zion, etc, etc, and what a final performance by our Level one (youngest) band - well done all of you.
When not making music, everyone had a chance to get involved in either swimming, ten-pin bowling, badminton, squash, basketball or football. The swimming session was particular fun and very energetic. We were very grateful to 2 PT Instructors coming in, in their own time, to organise the session. Also thanks to our own Martyn Smith (Eastleigh), Paul Hatton (Halesowen) and Diane Roberts (Halesowen/Eastleigh and now Mrs Farrenden!) for co-ordinating all the sports activities.
We were all fed very well by the RAF (three hot meals a day plus our Tuck Shop run by Pam and her team from Halesowen.
I was pleased to make presentations on behalf of the Association to Squadron Leader Martin Green, who made it possible for the weekend to be held at RAF Cosford, and to the Royal Marine instructors, BdCSgt Andy Hill, BdSgt Paul Johnson, BdCpl Billy Monaghan, BdCpl Graeme Smith and Cpl Bugler Chris Boulton. I have also expressed thanks to Major Chris Davis, Mmus BA(Hons) LRAM RM, Director of Music, Royal Marines School of Music, himself a former Eastleigh BB brass band musician, who made arrangements for the instructors to be present.
I would particularly like to thank John McIntyre for all the very hard work liasing with the RAF during the planning stages and for his work over the weekend (even if he did 'chicken out' of the swimming session after only one width - well, at least he had a go - I didn't!). Thanks, too, to our Chairman, Don West for taking the devotional periods - all based on a musical theme, and to our Vice-Chairman, Ian Caldwell for ensuring everyone had the right music at the right time - no easy task.
Finally, thanks to all the staff who shared all the duties over the weekend and to all the young people who came and made it all such fun.
See you at the next one!
Contest 1999
There is one job involved with the contest that is more difficult than all the others. It isn’t the conductor’s or the soloist’s, but that of judge. Betty Anderson, who judged last year’s Contest in Nottingham writes here her views. Please read it - there is a lot of very useful information and tips in it.
It gave me great pleasure to accept the invitation, for the third time, to adjudicate at the 1999 Boys' Brigade National Brass Band Championships, held in Nottingham.
For an adjudicator, this contest is quite an involved task, being asked to award separate marks for the hymn tune, the test-piece, and finally the soloist and the remaining programme section.
Having been asked to give my general thoughts on the contest, I will begin with the hymn tune section.
I think that it would be a great help to the bands if they were to play three verses instead of two as at present. It would give the conductor a much better opportunity to vary the structure of the performance. If, for instance, the second verse were to have a different texture, the tune being played on the horns or euphoniums, it would give a far more interesting performance - this being a very critical part of performing, you must interest the listener.
As the hymn tune opens the programme, serious thought should be given to the choice of hymn. For less experienced players to play to an audience, it is wise to choose opening music that is at a comfortable level of sound, in other words, it is dangerous to expect them to open with music that is unnecessary difficult to play well. The best bands in the land would rather not open a programme with very quiet gentle playing!! - and of course, how well the band plays in its opening music has a great influence on the remainder of their performance.
In the Small Band Class, again the choice of suitable music is the first obstacle that a conductor must face. Do make certain that the players will be able to cope when seated on a stage, it is all so much easier in the rehearsal room.
The music needs to have a variety of rhythms and colour in the chosen pieces. To have three waltzes in a four item programme lacks variety, as does one that contains two rock and one blues number in a four item programme.
If music is selected that is arranged for a full band, it is essential that the parts are rearranged if necessary, so that all the important parts are covered in the instrumentation that you have.
A traditional march is always a good choice, but it is not always wise to put it at the end of the programme. There were many tired lips trying to cope with a final march!
There was only one soloist in this class, and I was sorry not to be able to reward him with a prize. I think it would encourage others if there was a prize for the best soloist in this class.
Now the Open Class. As was to be expected, there being more experienced players in these bands, there was a noticeable improvement in the playing from when I last adjudicated - so well done to all concerned.
My earlier comments about the choice of music - make sure that your players will be able to cope - lots of variety and colour - do not leave your heaviest piece until the end of the programme unless you are certain that young lips will last. Also remember that many of you have to make long journeys to these contests, and it all has an effect on the young players on the day.
Finally, I would like to give my thoughts on the object of the pre- contest rehearsal. When I was regularly taking bands to contests, I had a set procedure for this very necessary and very important time.
Do not try and improve the performance - if you can not play it by then, it is really too late to try and gain extra points. I would never let the band play right through a piece - you need to let any soloist take as much rest as they want - take very great care of the players lips, don't worry about the high notes they will be there. Most importantly, I never let my bands play well at that last rehearsal - so often I have heard bands say "We played so well in rehearsal" - so a little telling off and just a little praise, and it is the conductors job to take them onto the stage so that they sit on the edge of their chairs and have 100%+ concentration. As the players were going onto the stage, I always insisted that they smiled as they went past me - after all, playing in a band must be a pleasure - that's what it is all about.
And one last word to all the conductors - so much of these thoughts of mine are aimed directly at you - so much of the outcome of the bands performances are entirely in your hands. Indeed a great responsibility!
Poet’s Corner
Alex Ogilvie, Tenor Horn player with the 7th Doncaster band has written this poem about his musical family. Since this was written, mum has joined too!
I play in a band of brass,
The instruments shine like glass.
I play the Tenor Horn
Until my lips are worn.
I play in a band of brass,
Who march on road or grass.
My sister plays the flugel –
To practice is a struggle!
I play in a band of brass,
We sometimes play in mass.
Dad plays the B flat bass –
It makes him red in the face!
We play in a band of brass,
We are really first class.
The Chandlers Ford Pages
Our readers at Chandlers Ford have been busy putting pen to paper and tell us of their recent happenings
Player Profile
Name: Luke Wood
Age: Fourteen
Band: 1st Eastleigh
Instrument: Euphonium
Likes : Music
Hates: Football and most sports
As you can see my name is Luke Wood and I come from Chandlers Ford. I will be writing for Chandlers Ford Band in each issue of the NatBrass news, hopefully getting other members of the band to write bits of each article. I hope you will find them interesting...
Firstly, hello from Chandlers Ford! We hope you had a great summer and a great time in Denmark for those of you who went. We look forward to meeting up with all of you again in March. These are just a few things our band has been up to over the past few months.
We all enjoyed the contest of 1999 and were pleased with our results. Our training and hard work certainly paid off.
In the first weekend of May '99 about 15 members of our band joined with others from all over the country for a packed weekend full of non-stop instrument playing, fun and sport. We had instructors from the bands of the Royal Marines based in Portsmouth to give us a few tips and we were privileged to be able to use the RAF base in Cosford, near Wolverhampton. There were several practice sessions each day split at three different levels in terms of ability and also classes on conducting, composing/arranging and instructing. There was also an opportunity to go bowling, swimming, football, basketball, badminton or all of them! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and would definitely go again if the opportunity came up (which I hope and think it will).
Denmark
Jonathan Westmacott writes
On the Friday night before we went to Denmark, the members of our band who were going stayed over at the Church. In the morning we had to leave really early so we got to the airport in time. On the way we ran out of petrol in the middle of the motorway so we had to be towed by the police for a while! Then three people had to run to the nearest petrol station to get petrol to see us to the airport! When we landed in Denmark, someone took us in a bus to the site where we were staying. It was pouring with rain so we had to take everything from the bus to our tent as quickly as possible. After we had arrived and settled we started the band practices. I started off in band five, but then went to band four. We had these tags around our wrists so that we could be identified as on the camp and so that we could get our food. The practices were in a school, which was being painted, so it smelt quite a bit!
We went to Legoland and my favourite ride was the dragon ride. We went swimming a few times and every day we had a service in Danish, which I couldn't understand! I really enjoyed myself though.
We had few engagements over the summer because a huge amount of preparation was needed on this side of the channel to ensure that everything went smoothly once we were there.
Band practices resumed in early September and it didn't take long for our attendance to level out. In October, nine players were invited to join with four from Halesowen to play for Simon Farrenden (our bandmaster) and Diane Roberts' wedding. We all enjoyed playing for them and afterwards we got a free meal! Other members of both bands came to the service.
Coming Soon
As we are now entering the Christmas period our weekly practices are now in full swing and as usual we have a packed programme for the festive period. These vary from Victorian shopping evenings with a meal at McDonalds to school fayres, and from charity concerts to carols in shopping centres. Our practices continue until December 17th and our engagements, until Christmas Eve.
We also continue our annual tradition of playing for a morning at Marwell Zoo just down the road where we receive free entry, mince pies and a drink, and a quick look around Santa's grotto all before midday. It's usually great fun (when the marquee isn't leaking as it was last year!) and if you don't want to do any of the above, you can just look at the animals.
We are all looking forward to the contest of the millennium year in Glasgow and are confident that we will see an improvement in our results. We are looking forward to the challenges and fun this year. See you in March!
Accrington
Tyrann Castle tells us
Recently members from 1st Eastleigh and 2nd Eastleigh BB/GB drove for miles and miles and miles to a little church in a little village, Rishton near Accrington. We arrived late on Friday night and on Saturday morning we endured a three hour band practice ready for the evening concert which went really quickly. After this the members who didn't attend the AGM went Ten Pin Bowling (I think we were the lucky ones). In the evening we performed our concert in the Town Hall which was really great! There were more people than usual coming to hear us play! Sunday morning we played in the Rishton church service. The band (about 50 in number) nearly outweighed the Church congregation!
After lunch we had to drive miles and miles and miles all the way home again. Was it worth it? I'm not going to answer that because I might regret it later. It was good to see some old friends though.
Annual Get Together 1999 Accrington
In October, the National Brass Band Association holds its Annual Get Together. This year we were hosted by the 1st Rishton Company. Darran Purnell, one of the Junior Section players in the 22nd Nottingham Band tells us about his weekend.
We set off from home at 7.30 in the morning and headed up the motorway to Rishton. We arrived at 9.45 and unloaded our bags into the hall where we were sleeping that night. Rehearsal started at 10.00 so we got out our instruments and music and sat down. It lasted 2 hours and we got through 15 different pieces.
After rehearsal we had dinner and got ready to go bowling. That afternoon we went to a bowling alley in Burnley. My group had 1 game and others had 2.
When we got back we had tea and got changed for the concert in the evening. When we were ready we set off for Accrington Town Hall. We arrived and went to set out our seats and stands and put our cases in a spare room. We sat down and waited to begin. In the band there were more than 70 players. My friend Joe and myself played the trumpet, my mum played cornet, and Bob who took us played Baritone. The concert lasted one and a half hours with a break. At the end of it we packed up and headed off towards Rishton. We stayed up until 12.30 and then went to bed (that early? - Ed!).
The next morning we had breakfast, changed into our uniforms and played in the church for their service. After the service, we packed our bags and put them into the car, had dinner and then said our good byes.
I really enjoyed my weekend in Rishton. The next one is in Doncaster and I hope I can go there too.
More about Denmark...
The 7th Doncaster contingent didn’t travel with the main party to the FDF Music Festival, but instead travelled over land. Roly Bottomley, Eb Bass player writes here about the adventures they faced with their long journey.
Setting off at 4 o’clock from Doncaster there were 12 of us, 4 in Ted Needham’s car, and 8 of us in Don Ogilvie’s Nissan 8 seater. We were all in good spirits, looking forward to 12 days of travel & music. We arrived in Hull and boarded the good ship Norsun for the overnight sailing to Rotterdam.
Next morning we awoke to find that we had already docked at 8.30 am. After a leisurely coffee and croissant we disembarked at about 10.00, climbed into the cars and set off for Hamburg. The weather was fine on our journey, and we stopped three times in some very nice lay-bys, which were more like camping sites, complete with toilets and tables. After being suitably refreshed with coffee and sarnies we set off again and arrived in Hamburg at 19.00 to be met by the minister of a church, who allowed us to stay in the flat above the church as long as we didn’t mind roughing it, so we unloaded the sleeping bags whilst the ladies got a dinner ready for us. After a lovely meal some of us went for a walk around the town, then back to bed.
In the morning we had breakfast, loaded up the trailer, and set off on the final leg of our journey to Denmark at about 10 o’clock. We arrived in Herning at about 5 o’clock, just in time for our first Danish meal (incidentally, there wasn’t a sign of bacon all week).
For the rest of the week we more or less followed the same routine, with band practice in the morning followed by lunch. Afternoons were more or less free time for the first few days, and then on Thursday we went on a ‘find the blue thread’ trip, which consisted of teams going round the town looking for clues to solve to take you to the next clue and so on. I found this quite exhausting but interesting. On Thursday the UK Boys' Brigade Band gave a concert in the main square at Herning which went down very well. On Friday afternoon, the level seven band gave a concert in the same square, followed by a short trip to the Legoland theme park, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
Saturday afternoon came around all too soon, and we packed up camp, loaded up the trailer and set off for Hamburg, where we camped in the same church as on the outward journey. Sunday morning we again loaded up and set out for Rotterdam, to board the good ship ‘Norstar’, arriving back in Doncaster at 11.30 on Monday morning, all the better for the trip.
Another view of Denmark !
Keely Rogers, Halesowen’s star journalist tells her account of the music camp. A number of photos were taken, and these can be found at the NatBrass website. If you haven’t got access to the ‘net then either go to a net cafe or ask one of your bands younger members!
For me and I believe for many of us Denmark was a learning experience, not only did I learn a lot about music, I also learnt a lot of things that I had not previously known about people in our band and the others - this has contributed to a more unified band since arriving back home.
I went to Denmark with high hopes, I would become a virtuoso, learn to speak Danish, and get a tan! Of course none of these actually happened but then again I had based those dreams on what I had experienced last time, and as anyone who was present at the last one will tell you, this time could not have been more different!
On arriving it rained, and I mean RAINED. It also did not help that instead of being on two sites all of the English were stuck together because of crossed wires with Flensburg, our hosts, however this worked out for the best and we got on like a - ahem - tent on fire. However, the rain continued for the first few days and caused a few short fuses. One day it was particularly bad, and I found myself and my comrade Sian bailing out a flooded tent while the little ones were inside drying out. This was not even half way through the week and already I was counting the days till I could come home and get a decent nights sleep and a bath, although I'm sure that feeling was unanimous!
So what did we do that afternoon, soaked through and very miserable, we did the only sensible thing and went swimming! Hey, we thought we may as well make the most of being wet already! Especially since Nick, our driver, decided to stop the mini bus in a big puddle outside the baths that we had to wade through!
But all was not lost, after preparing to throw my sun cream away (more room in my case for Danish coffee!!) out came the sun and spirits were lifted! This was helped by an ingenious idea by Eastleigh, on Thursday morning we were all dragged from our beds and made to do aerobics! So Thursday was known as 'Happy' day and anyone not smiling would be "dealt with" and we know how scary those lads can be so sure enough it was smiles all round!
Of course, even with all this chaos, our respective classes were still attended. The English were in three of the seven bands, band 4, band 5 and band 7. The number stood for the level, 1 being the lowest and 7 being the highest. I was in band five and because there were an overwhelming number of English in this band the conductor agreed to speak mainly English, however this English became increasingly Danish towards the end of the week and I found myself relying on hand signals and my Danish friend Nanna for instruction! But still all was not lost, we played two concerts as a band and even a brief panic about a tornado hitting Halesowen did not stop the concerts from being a success! By this time it was getting incredibly hot and of course it was me who, after suffering the earlier drenching, combined with the blistering heat was taken ill but all was well again after a lie down and a lot of water intake!! There was also a bout of stomach upsets, no doubt caused by the amount of chlorine in the water! Although luckily I escaped that one!!
The hospitality shown to us by the Danish hosts, especially the kitchen staff, was incredible. Their English was limited and our Danish was worse so hand signals it was again! I thought that being a vegetarian would mean a diet of lettuce because vegetarianism is practically unheard of in Denmark, but no, every evening Sian and I, both veggie, were cooked a really nice meal which was wholly appreciated!
Every evening there was a tent called 'Senior Sommer', where anyone over the age of 15 could go and relax. Some nights were pretty lame but the last night was brilliant, the music was really good and everyone had a really good time, although after hearing "Barbie Girl" sung in Danish it will never seem the same...
The other tent was called 'Cambodia Tent', this was a mission tent which served the most delicious cake and even nicer coffee! The younger ones were usually found here after dark because it had no age restriction. It had a nice atmosphere and was open till late, and so this is where a group of us found ourselves on the last night after being chucked out of the Senior Sommer! Here we all decided we were hungry and we decided on a trip to Herning, the nearby town, was in order. So we left everyone else asleep in Pam and Caz's tent and headed there. Sure enough there was a chip shop open and after eating and seeing an alarming number of cyclists for that time in the morning, headed back to camp for an hours sleep before leaving the next day!
So there I was, slightly browner, with a lot more musical ability (although not quite a virtuoso!) and extremely tired! However I was met by a wonderful site at Gatwick, there was Bob, our band master, there to meet us! A very welcome site! The first thing I appreciated was how I could suddenly read signs and so not have to risk getting lost on the way round the corner!
I was glad to finally arrive home but with hind sight it is clear to see how much Denmark changed me, hopefully for the better, I really enjoyed myself and have my name down for the camp in five years!!
But, Mark, have you discovered where the football is yet...?!
Tak!