Earlier this week, our Starter Group (made up of players who are at the very start of their musical journey) and members of the Training Band paid a visit to Rodley House, Lydney!
​
It was great to be able to entertain the residents with a combination of solos and group performances, earning our aspiring musicians some valuable, confidence boosting, experience of playing in public! Many thanks to Rodley House for having us.

There’s more to banding than just playing music…
​
During the pandemic, when the band couldn’t rehearse together, we were able to meet up for walks during the summer evenings. One of these walks has stayed on as a tradition for us - the annual post-rehearsal glow worm hunt! Although they’re not the easiest creatures to spot, they are fabulous to see (and very other worldly) when you do! This year we spotted a whopping six!

Lydney's Outreach Programme to local schools continued last week with a visit to Lydney CofE School. Our planned ‘Proms in the Playground’ turned into ‘Proms in the Hall’ because of the weather but we were joined by Matilda, one of the pupils at the school, on cornet!
​
The school hall was buzzing, especially with the crowd pleasers Baggy Trousers and Sweet Caroline, before the finale of British Sea Songs, which just got faster and faster and faster, much to the kids’ delight.

Last Friday, four members of the band - Dougie, Herbie and Sadie from the Training Band, and Ian from the Town Band, took grade exams. Under the tuition and guidance of Kerry Ford, they had been working for months to prepare pieces, learn scales, hone their understanding of music.

​We're really pleased to announce that they all passed: Sadie - Grade Two, Herbie - Grade Four, Dougie - Grade Five, Ian - Grade Eight. ​

Lydney Town Band are very pleased and proud to announce the wedding of their Musical Director, Thomas Dunne to the band's Solo Horn player, Samantha Ford. The couple first met at the National Youth Brass Band of Wales course in 2014 when Tom was Principal Euphonium and Samantha was First Horn. They met again, a year later, at the same course, hitting it off immediately and romance blossomed – love at first sight!
​
During the wedding ceremony, held in Gloucester, the couple made the obvious choice to have the music played by a brass band and called upon their many banding friends. Players were drawn from their own band Lydney Town, and friends from a host of other bands including Tredegar, Flowers, Filton Concert, Forest of Dean Brass, Bream and Pendennis. The bride’s processional music was ‘Can’t help falling in Love’ specially arranged by the band’s conductor Gareth Trott. The music also included a world premiere of a piece entitled ‘Dau Enaid yn Un’ (Two Souls as One), which was specially composed for the wedding by a close friend Malcolm Hannaford-Waddington.

The best man and Master of Ceremonies was Sion Rhys-Jones, Tredegar Town Band's Principal Euphonium, who kept things organised with his commanding voice and jolly wit. A wonderful, enjoyable wedding day was made even more memorable by having friends from so many different bands getting together to celebrate Tom and Samantha’s special day.

Over the next week, Kerry Ford, the Band's Youth Development Officer will be visiting local primary schools to try and inspire interest in brass banding amongst the pupils. On Monday 10th July, she will be visiting Woolaston Primary School and on Thursday 13th July, an ensemble of Town Band players will be visiting Lydney CofE School to put on a mini-Proms in the Playground. In September, the Band will also  be offering free lessons at Primrose Hill School to try and encourage them along to the Starter Group! 

Speaking about the Band's outreach programme, Kerry said: "It's never easy to maintain the development of young brass players so that there is a healthy balance in a brass band. It is a competitive world, with lots of activities to attract a youngster’s time and attention. Getting them interested in playing a brass instrument is can be tricky but once they’re hooked the benefits are endless - learning about teamwork, self-discipline, a new whole language, a sense of belonging and making friends for life. It is a wonderful hobby."

If you'd like to know more about introducing brass into your school, please get in touch!