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On Monday, the Lydney Starter Group returned to Goode Court to perform their Spring Showcase, ably assisted by a cohort of players from Lydney Training Band! These events are a fantastic opportunity for new players to build their confidence at playing in public as part of an ensemble and performing solos to a fabulous audience, who always make our team feel so welcome. The evening saw a wonderful variety of music with 16 solo and duet performances, including highlights from the recent Bailey Lane End Music Festival and trial runs for players' upcoming ABRSM exams, as well as a brass quartet version of Yellow Submarine.  Throughout the year, we run a monthly prize draw which helps provide funding for the work of Lydney Town and Training Bands, as well as the Lydney Starter Group. The income generated helps towards buying a range of band essentials such new music, new instruments, and uniforms (band ties, polo shirts etc). The draw is open to all, players and non-players, friends and family of the band members and entry is available for just £1/month! If you'd like to find out how to join draw, just get in touch for further details.  As we reach the end of 2024, we would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and extend our thanks for the ongoing support we have from across the local community and beyond. This year has been one of continued development and success across Lydney Town Band, Lydney Training Band and the Lydney Starter Group! Throughout 2024, the Town Band proudly represented Lydney on the contesting stage, achieving our first outright contest win in over twenty years at the Wychavon Festival of Brass, taking Third Place in the Third Section of the WEBBA Regional Championships in March and qualifying for the National Championships of Great Britain, and retaining the Best Percussion Section Award at the GBBA Own Choice Contest. Our fabulous Training Band also returned to the GBBA Own Choice Contest in November, winning their section and retaining their Gold Standard Award. The Starter Group has continued to provide the ideal onboarding point for aspiring musicians and in Spring, undertook a showcase tour of the area's residential homes. Players from both groups also enjoyed success at the Bailey Lane End Festival during the summer! We were also able to celebrate the enormous contribution that Roger and Ken Powell have made to the Training Band and Starter Group, when the pair were shortlisted for the Brass Bands England 2024 Services to Youth Award. Special shout outs go to the team that undertook the Severn Bridge 10k and the Portishead 10k to help raise money for new instruments; to Louise and Matt for brilliantly portraying the protagonists of our Wychavon entry: The Tale of the Princess and the Dragon, as well as Adrian for his deft trombone work at the story's climatic finale; to the Town Band's Musical Director, Thomas Dunne, for his incredible work in helping us achieve our contesting successes; and to Kevin and Kerry Ford for all of their hard work in the continuing development of the Training Band! Onwards to 2025!!! Yesterday evening, the Lydney Starter Group (plus a few Training Band helpers) entertained the residents of Rodley House with their Christmas Showcase!  If you have ever attended one of our rehearsals, you might have noticed two stalwarts of the band: Ken and Roger Powell. They're two of the band's longest serving current members having joined over 60 years ago. Since the establishment of Lydney Training Band in the mid-2000s, they have also acted as tutors guiding well over 100 players at the start of their musical journeys. We found out this week that in recognition of their years of service to developing the next generation of brass players, they have been shortlisted for the 2024 Brass Bands England Services to Youth Award!
On Monday evening, the Starter Group (ably assisted by members of the Training Band) continued their Spring Showcase Tour with a visit to Goode Court. There was a full programme of music on offer, ranging from our newest learners to our most experienced players. It was great to have performances from our adult learners too! In total, we entertained the residents with 16 solos, four duets and a trio of ensemble pieces. Highlights included Bobby and Rylan playing their first duet, Etta’s spotless performance of the National Anthem and Kip with his red trombone. We’re so proud of all of them! Thanks to Roger playing the role of photographer.  Yesterday, Kevin and Kerry were presented with a token of the Training Band’s esteem as a thank you for all their hard work over the last year. Many thanks to Jessica for organising it and Wren for doing the presentation honours!  Congratulations to our latest cohort of young musicians who passed their grade exams earlier this month: Jonah and Wren (Grade 1), Sadie (Grade 3), Millie (Grade 4), Herbie and George (Grade 5).  On Monday 18th March, the ladies and gentlemen at Rodley House, Lydney, were treated to a brilliant springtime showcase of talent by the Lydney Starter Group. The group of 16, including new starters and three adult learners, performed a range of solos, duets and ensemble performances including Abide with Me and Peppermint Tango! Five of the players: Autumn, Shiann, Kaiesha, Cora and Kip made their solo debuts. Kip on his red Trombone looked like he was really enjoying himself.
The band was led by Kerry Ford, with support from tutors Roger and Ken Powell. There was a fun rendition of Wonka’s welcome played by Rhys and Sadie (a brother and sister team) and a wonderful version of the Floral Dance by adult learner Lisa. Our young trombonist Edith played a beautiful rendition of ‘Jupiter’, and there were many more to enjoy. Youth Development Officer Kerry Ford said, “With 15 soloists there was an amazing variety of music and the audience at Rodley House sang along to Daisy Bell and The Pink Panther. It was just great to see some new brass talent in the making”. The Starter Group are appearing at two other residential venues this spring as part of their performance tour. Their next concert will be at Goode Court on Monday 15 April. The tour is a great way to build confidence and develop team working skills, enabling the new players to move on into the Training Band as quickly as possible with their new found skills. Today marks International Women's Day! Lydney Town Band is immensely proud of having so many wonderful and committed women who contribute to our organisation, particularly in Lydney Training Band and the Starter Group, where they continue to set a superb example for the next generation of musicians who are coming through the ranks.
The Lydney Town Band Monthly Prize Draw has been a key fundraising tool for the band for many years. In recent times it has contributed funds towards the purchase of the Band's storage unit and its new band jackets, which we were able to debut at the 2023 WEBBA Regional Finals. The draw enjoys support from band members, their families, as well as friends and supporters of the band (even a cat...) and has a guaranteed prize of at least £30/month (see below for last year's winners). New entrants are always welcome and can join at any time of the year from as little as £1/month. For further details of how to join, please contact Kerry Ford (Band Secretary)  We had a busy Monday evening in the Lydney Band Room. The Starter Group had a rehearsal then presented a wonderful 'Mini Concert'. Under the guidance of Kerry Ford, ten of the fourteen players played short solos, some after just a few weeks of joining the group. The supportive audience were also treated to some band pieces to add to the superb evening. The future continues to look very bright for Lydney Band.
Last night we celebrated an incredible twelve months of progress and success at our Annual Achievement Awards, held at Watney Hall, Lydney. Band Chairman, Kevin Ford, opened proceedings welcoming members of the Starter Group, Training Band and Town Band with a recap of what each ensemble had achieved over the last year before moving onto the awards! The band's newest members in the Starter Group and Training Band received achievement certificates recognising the hard work and progress before we moved onto the Training Band awards. The winners were:
  
We would like to wish you Merry Christmas from everyone at Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band! Enormous thanks to everyone who has come out and supported the band over the festive period. We hope you enjoy this video.
It was an absolute pleasure to play for the ladies and gentlemen at The Priory in Llandogo. The children and adults from the Starter Group were all prepared with their solos and duets - 16 in all. It was a great opportunity to hear from four debut soloists: Louie, Cora, Mia and Etta. With assistance from members of the Training Band, the ensemble performed Marching Marines, Away in a Manger, Peppermint Tango, and Once in Royal David’s City.
The highlights included our new starters nailing their debut solos, when the audience started singing along with Bobby’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ and Jonah’s ‘We Three Kings’, Rhys with his best elf hat and ‘Jingle Bells’, George’s rendition of ‘The Christmas Song’ and the amazing band version of ‘Away in a Manger’. The styles of music were all different and the soloists made them sound truly wonderful. Feeling nervous and still doing it deserves massive praise and they received a fabulous applause and a big pat on the back for their efforts. I was so proud of everyone and its all looking very positive for the future of Lydney Band. Well done everyone. What a super way to say hello to Christmas cheer and goodwill. A big thank you to The Priory for their wonderful supportive audience. Kerry (Development Officer |
