The band travelled down to Bournemouth, where they faced 17 other bands in a tricky Open format contest. They managed a 3rd place finish with their rendition of the March 'Army of the Nile' but it was their stunning performance of John McCabe's 'Cloudcatcher Fells' that gained victory over top section opposition, with Josh Ruck scooping the 'Best Conductor' prize and the band's Bass section being selected as the best on the day.
On Saturday 13th September, the band made their way to Porthcawl to take part in the 2014 Miners Entertainment Contest, an open format contest with 12 entrants from the fourth - second section.
Drawn 8th, our 20 minute entertainment programme began with a band favourite, Sandy Smith's arrangement of James Swearingen's 'Valero', swiftly followed by a march from the famous Welsh composer, T.J.Powell entitled 'The Bombardier'. The band then turned to an arrangement of the timeless melody "How Great thou art" by Peter Graham which featured the band's Flugel Horn soloist - Steve Ruck. Steve's rendition of 'Swedish Hymn', was very well received by the audience! Not to be outdone, two of our percussionists - Becky Musto and David Crowe - then performed the quirky xylophone duet 'The Two Imps'.
In 2009, Andrew Baker composed the set work for the 3rd section regional competitions in the United Kingdom. 'The Once and Future King' was received with great critical acclaim by both audience and players alike. The band chose to play the final movement of this suite for brass, 'Badon Hill' as their fourth piece of the set before finishing with the ever popular arrangement by Ray Farr of J.S.Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor'.
The band were pleased with their performance but unsure where Paul Holland would place them in the overall rankings. As the results progressed, our first success came with the "Best Solo Instrumentalist on the Day", for Steve's excellent performance of 'Swedish Hymn'. This was swiftly followed by the "Most Entertaining Stage Presentation" award, which was a great reward for our efforts. However the best was still to come as we were then awarded 1st Prize overall and the "South Wales Miners' Challenge Trophy", with an invitation to the Open in February 2015, where we will compete against bands from the First and Championship section.
On Sunday 18th May, the band headed to Weston Super Mare to compete at the 46th annual own choice contest, held at the Winter Gardens. The band chose to play Eric Ball's 'Resurgam' which, despite performing to a high standard, failed to resonate with the two adjudicators, Paul Cosh and Stan Lippeat. The band was disappointed to have finished in last place, but remain proud of the performance they achieved.
The band came 3rd from 7 in the March contest with their performance of "Army of the Nile". In the Test Piece contest they managed 7th place from 13 with "Purcell Variations".
With a performance including a solo from Andrew Jones, our Solo Horn player, the band took fourth place from 7.
The band took second place on the Second Section with their performance of "Oceans".
The band performed "The Plantagenets" in the Second Section Regionals.
The Gloucestershire Brass Band Association 75th Anniversary took place in 2012 and many bands from around the area were invited to perform at Highnam Court. Conducted by Steve Ruck, the band performed "It's Raining Men" as an opener, followed by "Misty" with soloist Carol Kear on Flugel Horn, before finishing with "Mack the Knife".
"It's Raining Men"
"Misty"
"Mack the Knife"
In 2011, the band performed a Summer Concert at St. Mary's Church in Newent.
"Aces High"
"Pastime with Good Company"
"Carrickfergus"
If you have any questions about our the band or wish to book us for an event, please contact our Band Manager - Andrew by email or via our Facebook Page...
The band takes its safeguarding duties seriously and is aligning with the Bandsafe guidance provided by Brass Bands England.
To raise a concern with the Band, please contact our Safeguarding Lead - Liz Sheridan...
We are proud to have our own purpose-built Band Room with rehearsal space, storage and kitchen facilities, thanks to the efforts of past members.
The band rehearses twice a week at our Band Room in Drybrook. If you fancy a blow, please get in touch to arrange to join us.
Thursdays, 8.00pm - 10.00pm
Sundays, 7.00pm - 9.00pm