This evening, we celebrated Christmas with our Christmas Concert at the Mount of Olives Church, Coleford!
Alongside the usual array of carols, the audience were treated to a beautiful solo from our Principal Horn, Samantha Ford, with In the Bleak Midwinter. We closed the first half with the epic Santa-Claustrophobia and opened the second with the magic of The Muppets Christmas Carol Overture, before we closed the show with Schneewaltzer (audience participation included). Many thanks to our brilliant hosts! Next up: on Wednesday, we’ve got a double feature! We will be performing at the Azalea Memory Care at Lydney Community Centre (1:30pm onwards) and to the residential homes of Lydney in the evening! The carolling season began for Lydney on Saturday morning as we entertained the shoppers outside Lydney Tesco.
We've had some changes to our Christmas plans! Next Wednesday, a Band ensemble will be performing carols at the Azalea Memory Cafe held in Lydney Community Centre, Naas Lane from 1:30 - 2:30pm.
On Saturday 16th December, unfortunately our 'Carols 'n' Things' event at the Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop has had to be cancelled but we will instead be performing at the Rising Sun, Moseley Green from 5:00pm! Come along, grab a drink and enjoy some festive cheers with us! Christmas is nearly upon us and we’ve got another fabulously busy season ahead of us!
the first time in four years for a Christmas Concert in Chepstow. The Town Band is returning to the Mount of Olives Church, Coleford on Sunday 10th December! You may remember that last year’s concert was cancelled due to snow so fingers crossed Jack Frost stays away this time. We hope we get chance to see you at one of our events next month. Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band both returned to the Gloucestershire Brass Band Association (GBBA) Contest on Sunday for the first time in four years...and both bands enjoyed great success!
First up was the Training Band, led by Kevin Ford. They performed a five piece set which opened with Concert Overture and was followed by Irish Blessing, which featured a quintet of players from across the band. Next up were two well-known classics - Beyond the Sea and Bohemian Rhapsody before the band finished with Kenilworth March. The band on stage featured a number of new players who've joined the band over the last twelve months, who were taking part in their very first contest. Their brilliant performance was recognised when the Training Band received a Gold Award from the Adjudicator, Stephanie Binns. Next, the Town Band took to the stage for the March and Test Piece Contest. They opened their set with Swan Road, the march composed by Thomas Dunne for the Band's 130th Anniversary in 2022 and based on Camille Saint-Saëns' The Swan. For the test piece, Philip Harper's magnificent Kingdom of Dragons was chosen - a piece which has special resonance for many players in the band including those who performed it with Gwent Youth Brass Band in 2010. We were elated to take home The Maxie Cup for Best March (Third Section), The AR Watkins Cup for Best Test Piece (Third Section) and the Haydyn Evans Trophy for Best Percussion Section! Players from Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band came together this morning to take part in the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, St Mary's Church.
Lydney Town Band returned to the Wychavon Festival of Brass following our success at last year's contest. This time, we came with a nautical themed set of original music composed and arranged by our Musical Director, Thomas Dunne and Malcolm Hannaford-Waddingham. The audience's voyage aboard 'The Good Ship Lydney Town' started with Out of Portsmouth, a new march composed by Malcolm and dedicated to Clare Rawlyk. Our Solo Horn, Samantha Ford performed a wonderful solo as part of Ar Lan y Môr, a traditional Welsh love song, before there was swashbuckling drama in A Lofty Ship to Lee - featuring Herbie on telescope and Louise on pirate flag! Next, Thomas' arrangement of Felix Mendelssohn's Calm Sea brought some music needed peace to proceedings before we ended our set with a rip-roaring arrangement of the sea shanty Johnny Come Down Hilo - drunken sailor/trombonist included!
We were really pleased with our performance and absolutely thrilled to get third place! In addition to this our Principal Cornet, Kerry Ford, received the Dave Hodgetts Memorial Trophy for Outstanding Contribution - a well deserved recognition! We had an absolutely incredible time on Saturday evening at our 2023 Celebration Concert. Lydney Town Hall once again played host to this fabulous event which brought together both the Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band.
The Town Band's opening set featured the world premiere of five brand new pieces written by our Musical Director, Thomas Dunne, and local composer, Malcolm Hannaford-Waddington. This nautically themed set included a lovely arrangement of Felix Mendelsohn's Calm Sea and the toe-tapping, fun-filled sea shanty Johnny Come Down to Hilo (drunken sailor included!) Next up, the Training Band featured a number of the upcoming talents within their ranks, including Emma and Ruth performing the Whitney Houston hit One Moment in Time, and George and Sadie with Sunshine of your Smile, before the band closed their set with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody! During the second half, the Town Band entertained the audience with a range of highlights from their summer concert programme including the manic Baggy Trousers, the sublime Hymn to the Fallen and the majestic finale of Kingdom of Dragons. The bands then came together for their massed band finale closing the show with The Proclaimer's 500 miles! We'd like to say a massive thank you everyone who was involved in the organisation of the show both in preparation and on the day, and a thank you to everyone who came along - there's something very special about playing to a home audience! This afternoon we've started putting the finishing touches to the programme for this year's Celebration Concert! We're going to be celebrating the successes and progress of the last twelve months at a very special concert in Lydney Town Hall on Saturday 14th October!
It'll be an opportunity to see both Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band perform a range of pieces, including several world premieres and some old favourites, before we finish the evening with a massed band finale! Doors open at 6:30pm, for a 7:00pm start. Entry is free, with a retiring collection - the Town Hall bar will be open for refreshments and we'll have a raffle with a range of fabulous prizes on offer! We had a great time at St Mary’s Church last night! It’s such a fabulous venue to have the opportunity to play in and we received a very warm welcome at yesterday’s fundraiser.
Thank you to everyone who came along, got involved with the activities and enjoyed the music! All in all, £280 was raised for the Forest Food Bank and Lydney Training Band - an incredible amount! We’d like to thank the organisers for inviting us along, the volunteers who were on hand at the interval with tea and some lovely cakes, and to Tom and David for this brilliant photo of us! We've got a new addition to this autumn's concert schedule! On Sunday 8th October, Lydney Training Band will performing at the Forest Showcase Food Festival at the Speech House, right in the middle of the Forest! This is a really vibrant event that we've had great fun performing at in the past, with loads of food and crafts stalls available - perfect for a well earned post-concert snack!
Last year, Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band came together for a very special concert to celebrate the band's 130th Anniversary and it was an incredible night. It was an absolute thrill to perform in Lydney Town Hall to a full house!
On Saturday 14th October, we're returning to the Town Hall with a special Celebration Concert. We'll be looking back and celebrating the successes of the last twelve months including our second place finish at the Wychavon Brass Festival and the ongoing work of Lydney Training Band to develop the next generation of brass players! This year, entry is free with a retiring collection! The concert starts at 7:00pm with doors open from 6:30pm. There will be a raffle and the Town Hall bar will be open for refreshments! It is with great pleasure that we welcome Neil Crowe as a member of Lydney Town Band on Bb Bass. Neil, a previous member of the band, was part of the team that helped build the successful Lydney Training Band. It's great to have him back in the Lydney Band family.
(L-R: Thomas Dunne, Musical Director, Neil Crowe and Kevin Ford, Chairman) This weekend, we're packing up our instruments and taking a trip over to Stroud! Lydney Town Band will be performing at Stratford Park Bandstand on Sunday from 2:30pm! Bring a picnic and a blanket and settle in for an afternoon of music and entertainment! If you get there early, you can take the opportunity to visit the Stratford Park Arboretum - said to rival the nearby Westonbirt!
Enormous congratulations to our team who all successfully finished the Severn Bridge 10k! Thanks to all the marshalls and stewards who helped out along the way .
We also managed to hit our fundraising target of £1,000!!! Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our fundraiser! Big thanks also to everyone who shared it online on our behalf! Your help means that the Band is one step closer to getting a storage unit which will allow us to better utilise our facilities to continue the brilliant work of Lydney Training Band in developing the next generation of brass players! |
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May 2024
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