A Merry Christmas to you from everybody at Yarnton Band. We have our usual busy Christmas schedule including a Christmas concert in Long Hanborough Methodist Chapel on Saturday 13th December at 7.30 p.m. We will be out and about in Yarnton street caroling so keep an ear out for us. We will also be playing at the carol service in Yarnton Church on Sunday 21st December at 3.00 p.m. where we will be joined by the Scouts, Cub Scouts and, of course, everybody else who would like to come along.
On Thursday 18th December we will be visiting The Red Lion in Yarnton to play Christmas carols. We will expect the locals to be in good voice. On the same evening we have been invited to play at the Yarnton Gardening Club after their A.G.M..
We will also be playing at the William Fletcher P.T.A. carol singing. We would like to take the opportunity to thank the school for their continued support and in particular the caretaker, Carol Smith. Carol is very obliging and takes an interest in what we are doing, occasionally commenting on how well a group is progressing, which is very nice.
We would also like to thank Carolyn Rowland, a local brass teacher, for helping Andy Lake and Cliff Sadler with rehearsals. She will also be conducting some pieces in the Methodist Church Christmas Concert. Guy says that the introduction of other conductors should be a "positive development" for the band. It goes to show that if a group of youngsters is prepared to put in the time and effort, there are people out there who are prepared to help them.
The band are very thankful to our old friends Andy Lake and Cliff Sadler who have been taking Monday and Thursday rehearsals respectively. Both are advanced musicians and teach individuals within the band. Andy has quite a long association with the band now while Cliff has lived in the village for a number of years and has always been happy to help us out.
Woodstock British Legion has given us the honour of providing a player to play "The Last Post" at the cenotaph this year as Alison Reed, an excellent trumpet player who normally plays, is unavailable. This is a very high profile service with dignitaries including His Grace the Duke of Marlborough. Caitlin Dimond of William Fletcher School has bravely volunteered to play.
For the afternoon service in Yarnton church we have found a cracking arrangement of "Cym Rhondda" the well known tune to the Welsh hymn "Guide me o' thou great Jehovah", which many people call "Bread of Heaven" and is sung at the Welsh rugby internationals. John Hughes composed the tune in 1907. It is said that during the First World War the Welsh units sang the hymn in the evenings and the Germans were so taken by the melody as it drifted across no-man's land that they used to hum along.
We have been asked to play at the annual firework display on November 2nd organised by Yarnton Boys F.C. with the Playing Field Committee and we are very pleased to be included. On Saturday 22nd November we will be playing at Yarnton Nursery when Father Christmas arrives by helicopter.
Following the summer holidays the band now embarks on a busy autumn programme with a couple of late summer jobs and then already looming on the horizon we have the Long Hanborough firework display, Remembrance services at Yarnton and Woodstock, and the annual concert.
We start this campaign with our Musical Director, Guy James, unable to attend rehearsals for a short period of time as he will be away on business. It will be important that everybody gives their full support to whoever takes the rehearsals. This is a good time to reflect on how lucky we are to have Guy who, despite having to travel to many different countries with his job, still manages to make the most of the rehearsals.
It was wonderful to see our founder, George Tutte, last week when he came down for a visit. He took the Training Band and it was just like old times. It is as if he has a spell over the children.
Back in the early fifties military bandsmen coming towards the end of their time in the forces might apply for an audition with one of the musical directors from the corporate band scene, such as Sir Harry Mortimer. If the candidate had sufficiently impressed he might be offered a position in one of that conductor's bands, which in Harry Mortimer's case included Fairey Aviation, Fedons and, of course, Morris Motors. Along with the position went a job with the company and a retainer.
This route brought many top brass players to Oxford and their talents did not stop with Morris Motors. Many of them became involved with the local band scene as teachers or conductors and in doing so made quite an impact. By the mid-seventies and early eighties the Oxford area could boast several good quality bands of mainly youth players who had benefitted in some way from the instruction of Morris Motors' players.
Of course, it was the ones who were lucky enough to have personal tuition who benefitted most. One young man, for instance, Robin Taylor, who had lessons with Morris Motor's David Jenkins, went on to have a successful career both in a military band and also with a top brass band. He was solo euphonium for Grimethorpe Colliery Band the year the pit was closed down. "Grimies," of course, duly went on to win the national final at the Royal Albert Hall that very same year, an achievement that even made the national news. Robin was also in one or two shots of the film "Brassed Off" which was subsequently inspired by these events.
Following a busy period, Yarnton Band has not taken on any more jobs until September, although we will continue to rehearse throughout the summer apart from a two-week break in August.
Although there are people away on holiday, the summer rehearsals can be very beneficial. This is especially so for those who are given the opportunity to stand in on a more difficult part, or for Training Band players to have a go in the Senior Band. Often in these cases they do so well that they stay in that position.
We have also found over the years that we gain a few new members during the school holidays. Presumably having exhausted all other forms of entertainment that the village has to offer over such a long period of leisure time, youngsters find themselves in the bandroom. In fact David Williams, who conducted Yarnton in the seventies and was considered to be one of the finest horn players of his day, had started back in the Forest of Dean in just the same way. So, the next David Williams could be in Yarnton at this very moment, you never know.
Incidentally, we now practice in the William Fletcher Primary School on Monday and Thursday evenings. I just can't get out of the habit of calling the bandroom 'The Bandroom', if you see what I mean.
This month the Senior and Training bands were both invited to play at two summer fetes, a William Fletcher School and Kidlington Church. The weather was good and both events were well attended. We hope the music contributed to the good atmosphere and maybe encouraged people to stay longer and spend more money! Many band members certainly did.
The Band's Summer Social was at Woodstock smimming pool one evening. After a swim, an energetic game of rounders helped people warm up again. Will this become another annual event?
The Band A.G.M. was held at the William Fletcher School recently and was well attended. The retiring committee had agreed to stand en bloc so there was no need for any panics or lock-ins.
Since the era of the Martin Slade's Chairmanship the AGMs have consisted of short presentations by the committee officers and musical directors, Any Other Business and awards for the six-monthly most improved player from both the Training Band and the Senior Band. Both bands perform a short programme and then wine, fruit juice and nibbles finish off the evening.
Throughout the summer we will be busy playing at summer events such as the William Fletcher School Fete and we are already taking bookings for the autumn.
At the local Brass Band Association Contest for solos, duets and ensembles for players of all ages, Yarnton Band once again enjoyed an excellent day. Throughout the day we collected eight first prizes, eight second, four third, seven merits, the cup for the most entries under nineteen, and also the cup for the youngest competitor, Aine Buller.
The adjudicators for the day were Mr John Winterflood of Swindon Pegasus, who trains bands of all ages and standards, and at the last minute the President of the Association, Mr Ron Sudworth, who has achieved much as a player, conductor and band trainer and whose oratory is second to none.
Sitting in the main hall at the end of the day for the prize-giving ceremony and watching Yarnton players walking up one after the other to shake hands with the President and receive their cups and medals was good for all of us. The players have worked hard and the parents have given a lot of support. In fact all the players shared in some success or another.
For Guy and myself the cup for the most entries under nineteen is particularly pleasing. The phrase : "Every player counts" is not to us just nice rhetoric, it is a fact. To be a strong band, as in any team game, you need strong players in every position.
Finally, from a community point of view and as we now rehearse at the William Fletcher School, it is good to report that four of the pupils: Caitlin Dimond, Alice Gilkes, Hayley Cox and Carys Goodwin all featured in the prizes with Caitlin and Alice winning their respective solo sections.
In the local Brass Band Association's Winter Contest we were again joined by just one other band, this time Marsh Gibbon. The format for the contest is a march and a test piece, both our own choice. We came first in the march and second in the test piece. In the test piece we paid the price of choosing a piece that the band as a whole could not really play properly. Even so, we won the march, and the players can now see the standard Guy is looking for.
It seems that we are not the only band involved with charities concerning the Chernobyl disaster. 'Floss', as everybody knows her, of Brackley Band, is very active in the Chernobyl Children's Life Line charity and has actually visited Belarus. Listening to her account on the telephone left me in no doubt that it is a very worthy cause.
Des Stimpson, also of Brackley Band, is an excellent horn player and one of our local arranger/composers. He has composed a piece called 'Waltz for Bela' and dedicated it to Floss, with the publisher agreeing that 50% of the music sales go to the charity. As I write, we plan to perform the piece at the Vetka concert at Long Hanborough School on 29th March, and hopefully both Floss and Des will be joining us for the evening.
The ODBBA Solos, Duets and Ensembles contest will be held in Cowley on 6th April, and once again we will be encouraging all our players to get as involved as possible. As the contest runs all day, you might as well join in as much as you can. Although last year the band was extremely successful, our main aim is to get everybody involved – a definite case of not the winning but the taking part.
In the deep winter, with the cold evenings drawing in quickly, the band room has a warm, vibrant and sometimes studied atmosphere as we tackle the test pieces for the winter and spring contests. By the time you read this, we will have already played in the Association's winter contest (full Band) and will be working towards the solo, duet and ensemble contest on 6th April.
We also have a concert on Saturday 29th March at the Manor Church of England School in Long Hanborough, in conjunction with the school choir, with the proceeds going to the West Oxfordshire Vetka Association. Vetka is near Chernobyl, in Belarus. For more information you can visit their Web site
With the contest on 6th April in mind, we will be holding the Yarnton Band solo contest at William Fletcher School on Sunday 16th March. Guy likes everybody to have a go. It is an opportunity to try your solo in contest conditions (under pressure), and also benefit from the comments of an external adjudicator. It also serves as a strange exercise in bonding, a sort of "show your worth to the rest of the tribe", which is duly appreciated. There is a class for everybody from the beginners' group right through, to an 'O' section - in which yours truly will be competing.
After a couple of years of saying we really should, Yarnton Band is now on the Internet. It is still very new and we need to develop a healthy culture of contributions from around the band. Our Web site has already attracted a young adult who wishes to learn an instrument, so that's an extremely positive start.
From now until early April bands across the country will be working up 'test pieces' to play at the various contests. There are contests throughout the year, but the winter and early spring are traditionally the times of year when bands look to improve both as individuals and collectively, as they learn not only the test pieces but also a few new pieces for the summer.
Yarnton Band at the moment is different from most in that we are mainly a youth band. Because of this we enjoy periods of rapid improvement - it never ceases to amaze me how quickly youngsters learn, but at the same time they have other interests and the older ones start to disappear to university, etc. The effect is a more gradual improvement for the band as a whole.
The Oxford and District Brass Band Association's winter contest will be held at Cowley on 16th February. Last year we won and Emma Sherratt won the Best Instrumentalist award. This year, with one or two of our better players not available, the Musical Director will not commit as to whether we will enter until he has assessed how the young replacements are settling into the more responsible positions.
A Happy New Year to all of you from everyone at Yarnton Band. We hope you had a good Christmas, and if you heard the band playing in the village over Christmas we hope you enjoyed it, as we certainly enjoyed playing. The band's profile in the community is very important to us, and we really appreciate the support we receive.
If any of you are organising a function this year that you would like the band to play at, please don't hesitate to contact us. Also, if anyone would like to come along and learn to play, we rehearse at the William Fletcher Primary School on Mondays and Thursdays from 6.30 p.m. until 7.15 p.m. for the Training Band and from 7.30 p.m. until 8.45 p.m. for the Senior Band.
The band started last year in fine form, winning more than our share of cups and medals at the local contests. We then played a full summer programme. Although one or two of our players have had to leave for university, etc. we have welcomed aboard others. The younger players in the Senior Band are continuing to improve, and as opportunities arise in the solo positions there are young players ready to take them. The Training Band has also had a good year; talented individually, they also combine nicely as a group
We turn into December and Christmas, which means that, if you live in Yarnton, the band will be playing under a street lamp near you. The designated dates are 16th and 19th December and I'm sure you will be listening out for us. We will also be playing for congregational carol singing at William Fletcher School on 12th December at 7pm, and again at Yarnton Church for a Christmas Songs of Praise with readings on 22nd December at 3pm.
A merry Christmas to all of you from everyone at Yarnton Band.
The Band recently entered the local brass band association Entertainment Contest held at the Abbey Hall, Abingdon. The format is that each band plays an 18-minute programme and marks are awarded for the music and for deportment. There were only two bands in our section this time, and we came second in both music and deportment.
The band which beat us - Wantage Youth - is part of a real success story. Over the last twenty years or so they have built up to around one hundred and fifty playing members. These are divided up into two senior bands, the youth band, plus training bands. This gives you a bit of flexibility doesn't it?
For our part we managed to scramble all our available players and were more than happy with our performance. We are entering another one of those transitional stages at the moment, with a few of the older youth players, as it were, going on to university, etc. This is always an exciting time, however as opportunities are created for others..
In the month of November we take on what is now becoming a tradition of:
We hope to see you at some of these events.