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Our first concert of the new decade was held in the delightful St. Martin's Church, Womersley as has become regular event for the band. We are always made very welcome on our annual visit here.
As usual it was something of a cold evening, but the warm welcome from the organisers soon made up for that. Unlike 2009, we had an almost a full compliment of players this year and we even tried a new formation in the tight space available, which seemed to work well. This always a tricky concert to prepare for, as we have very little time to organise a new program of music after the end of the festive season finishes.
The wonderful acoustics of the church hall is perfect for the sounds of our band, and the concert went off smoothly and was very well received by the audience and organisers. Steve Brewis stepped up as compare for the evening in his usual witty way and introduced the sections of the band in between the music.
Judith very kindly gave us special praise at the end of the concert, which was then followed by some lovely refreshments as usual, all prepared by the organisers.
We already look forward to performing in this lovely church next year.
Some photographs of this event can be found on our gallery pages.
We were asked to perform at St. John's Parish Church in Goole to support their ongoing efforts to raise funds to repair the church spire. This was a new venue for us and we are always delighted when we are asked to perform in a new location like this. It had been a glorious day and the church looked spectacular in the sunshine as we arrived.
We were met and greeted by the event organiser Beryl Beck-Taylor and their vicar, the reverend Tony Sophianou who were most welcoming and very keen to see that we were settled and happy with everything. It wasn't long before the band were set up and the audience started to fill the hall. After a warm welcome by the vicar, the concert got underway, with the band leaving off jackets as it was such a lovely, warm evening. The church acoustics were prefect for the music, and at the interval all the people we spoke to seemed to be enjoying the event. The organisers had arranged refreshments for everyone, and before long the second half was underway, filling the hall with a variety of style of musical pieces which we hoped would appeal to everyone.
All to soon the concert was over, and we received some wonderful comments from the vicar in his closing comments and the audience seemed delighted as we burst back into life one more time with an encore of New York, New York. It was a lovely event and we have made some lovely friends here. We hope to be able to return soon to play for them again.
Some photographs of this event can be found on our gallery pages.
Well what a night that was. Even if I do say so myself, I believe that was one of the best concerts we have put on for quite a long time. This seemed to be backed up by the audience members, who gave out a loud, spontaneous cheer as we completed our last piece for the night, followed by a standing ovation from many areas of the house. It was great to see that all our hard work in rehearsals and preparations for the concert itself had gone down so well with this very appreciative audience.
It was quite a demanding programme from a playing point of view, and many hours had gone into rehearsals of the many familiar movie tunes that was the theme of the evening. We even managed to finally get the troublesome projector working just minutes before the start of the concert, which allowed us to project scenes from several of the movies that we were featuring, which appeared to have gone down well from the audience point of view. Many film genres were covered, from cowboys and indians, gladiators, pirates to magicians and more, so there was plenty for everyone to enjoy. Several pieces even had them singing along to our music, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves a lot.
This was helped because the second half had most of the band in costume, and Ian (dressed as Harry Potter) introduced the various costumes to the audience, only to finally pick out lead trombone Alex, who had not dressed up, and was sent out of the hall in disgrace before we continued the concert with "The Pink Panther" only for Alex to return moments later from the back of the hall in full Pink Panther costume, playing along as he did the panther walk around the hall, to the greatest delight of everyone.
There was a tad of sadness to announce on the day, as it was announced that Gill & Roy Simpson had now organised their last Patrons' Concert in the role of Patrons' Secretaries, as they were standing down immediately following the concert, after 11 years in the position. They have looked after our Patrons so well over those years, building the scheme into the success it is today. Following a lovely speech describing their achievements and hard work they had put in over those years, they were presented with an engraved crystal ornament, flowers, and awarded a lifetime honorary membership to the Patron's Scheme. So I doubt this will be the last time we see them at one of our concerts, hopefully. It was also announced that Lisa Thorpe would be taking on the role, and our Patrons would soon be getting to know her. Lisa had recently returned to the band after being away for 12 years, as she was one of the original children who performed in the band's early days when it started up as Knottingley Schools Band. Other awards were presented throughout the evening, as the band broke into "Congratulations" to the surprise of two band members, as it was Graham and Susan Deans' 40th wedding anniversary the day after the concert, and the band presented them with a lovely food hamper. Jennifer Turner was also presented with flowers from the band as she had recently stepped down from the role of Band Secretary after several years to make time for her new life, after getting married to Andy earlier in March 2010. Her role has already been taken over by Ruth Price, mother of Matthew and Louise who play in the band. The last announcement made on that evening was that Kim and Andy Preston, both band members, had become parents to a whopping 9lb 5oz baby boy just a couple of days before the concert. Proud dad Andy still managed to take time to play at the concert and was proudly showing off pictures of his handsome new son to people back stage.
All the excitement of the evening was started off at the Patrons' VIP reception party before the concert began, as this is something we do each summer as a way of thanking our Patrons for their support. Refreshments were made up of strawberries and cream, jam & cream scones and various mini quiches which where available for our Patrons to enjoy, where they also had the chance to chat to some of the band members before the concert got underway. This was carried through to the interval where other light refreshments were added to the food left over from the VIP party for everyone in the audience to come along and enjoy. Thanks go to Diane and Gill for all their hard work in preparing all the refreshments in advance, and to all the helpers who gave their time to assist once we got underway. Whilst not everyone got a mention by name on the night, we really do appreciate everyone's help.
Some photographs of this event can be found on our gallery pages.
The parade went off well enough, and everyone lining the streets seemed to enjoy seeing us lead the procession. But things fell apart with the organisation both before we started and at the end of the parade in the ground, and no-one was available to point out where we were to park the band's trailer or set up for the main concert after the parade was over. In the end, we were placed in a corner of the field, away from the main area where no-one was able to be seated and listen, and our playing was drowned out by the noise coming from the entertainment stalls in between us and the main area, which also had its own sound system drowning out our playing further. We did indeed put on a good performance as usual, to the few people that did pass by and stop to listen for a while. But we can understand why other bands in the past have decided not to support this event again, and unless things change in the future, we will probably join that group. It really isn't worth a large group such as ourselves all giving up the best part of a Saturday, to be treated this way.
Following our successful first trip to St. John's in Goole earlier in the year, we were delighted that they asked us to come back and perform another concert for them. We had prepared a new program of music for this event, and the varied tunes beautifully filled the lovely church hall with music which was very much enjoyed by the audience and organisers, who were very helpful, and most appreciative of the effort we put into making it a special evening for them. They were a little disappointed that fewer people attended the concert than they hoped for, but are determined to try and get more people in for our next visit in May 2011. We already look forward to that, as it is a lovely place to perform.
We shall remember them ...
Due to conditions, it is with great regret that we had to cancel our attendance at this event. Standing and trying to play in sub-zero temperatures makes it difficult for fingers to play and worst still for the body, with having to take in lung fulls of the freezing air. We wish the organizers well with the event, which still went ahead, and we hope to be with you next year.
The weather improved after a long cold and snowy spell, enabling people to get out of their homes at last, and come along and enjoy the concert. And what a lovely performance it was too, even if I do say so myself. The band played well which fulfilled all the hard work that went into all the rehearsals. Everyone particularly enjoyed Steve Sainty's solo on the big Bass which deservedly earned him the loudest applause of the night from the very appreciative audience. They even joined in to sing along with many of the favourite festive pieces that we perform each year now.
The seasonal refreshments at half time, all organised and prepared by Diane, were enjoyed by all. The second half was a great success with many of the band members really getting into the spirit of the theme for this year's concert, by wearing pyjamas in readiness for another night's sleep before Santa arrived. However, the special man in red made his own appearance towards the end of the concert, giving out early treats as gifts to the delighted audience. A great night of music and entertainment was had by all.
The lead up to Christmas in recent years has seen KCB perform a wonderful joint Christmas Concert sharing the stage with our friends, the excellent Pontefract Choral Society led by their conductor, Paul Dewhurst. It is always a delight and a privilege to perform alongside this excellent local choir. The concert got underway with several songs from the choir, followed by some pieces from the band, and even the audience. got a chance to join in with Christmas hymns in between the sessions. The second half followed much the same pattern, and included a special piece, "Christmas fantasy" which both groups had been rehearsing to be performed together on the day. This turned out to probably be the highlight piece of the event, as the combination of voice and brass merged together so well in the church hall.
As normal, the organisers provided plenty of home made festive refreshments which were enjoyed by everyone. Once again this was a very special Christmas Concert on the lead up to the big day itself. If you get the chance in the future, you really should try to attend yourself.
We joined our friends at the Five Towns Christian Fellowship in Castleford for two events this year. The day started off with an ensemble playing at a carol service in the morning, and then the full band set up on stage along side their own male voice choir. It was a bit tight for both groups but everyone joined in helpfully to get everything organised. Once the doors were open, it was a delight to see the hall fill to the overflowing (literally) with people eager to see the performance.
Once underway, the band performed a few festive pieces and then the choir sang a few songs. You would not have known it was their first live performance in front of an audience, as they were very professional in their approach and sounded like they had been together for years. Well done to them. The second half had the band and choir doing more pieces, and we finished off with a joint piece with the band joining in the last two verses of one of their songs, as we had rehearsed just prior to the concert. The event was wound up with plenty of festive refreshments supplied by the organisers and everyone there told us how much they had enjoyed the whole thing. It was a delight to be a part of such a warm, friendly and entertaining concert like this, enjoyed by such a full and appreciative audience What a lovely way to enjoy the proper spirt of Christmas. We already look forward to joining our friends here again in 2011.
The lead up to Christmas wouldn't be the same without our annual visit to the wonderful residents at the Grove Nursing Home in Knottingley. They are always delighted to see us and despite a good number of years under their belts, they all enjoyed clapping and singing along like youngsters to our Christmas songs and carols. It is such a delight to see their faces light up with the excitement a brass band brings to them, as many remember with glee, brass bands, such as the Salvation Army, visiting their streets in years gone by.
We sent an ensemble to this event, as we have discovered in the past a full band is a little too overpowering for this venue (it has to be performed indoors at this time of year) and for their advanced years. We are always made so welcome by residence and their helpers, that we always look forward to visiting them at this time of year.
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