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! There’s only three days to go until our Celebration Concert at Lydney Town Hall on Saturday evening!
Lydney Training Band will be playing alongside the Town Band and they’re going to be offering an opportunity to see the fabulous upcoming talent that resides within their ranks, including those pictured below who will be taking on starring roles of their own! Emma and Ruth (not pictured) will be taking on a Whitney Houston classic, Sadie and George (not pictured) will slow things down with a wonderful and soothing classic from 1913, before the Dougie and Herbie help bring things to close with one of the biggest musical hits of the last 50 years! It promises to be an incredible night of entertainment and music, so don’t miss out! Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start, with a retiring collection. We can’t wait to see you there! Lydney Training Band performed at the Forest Showcase Food Festival this morning, entertaining the crowds who had come along to enjoy the good weather and great food on offer at the Speech House.
Well done to our soloists who helped add an extra special element of star power to today's performance - including Dougie, Sadie, Emma and Louise and the Horn Section! On Friday night, the Town Band and Training Band had a joint rehearsal in the Town Hall ahead of next week’s Celebration Concert. It was a great opportunity for the two bands to practice the massed band finale and for the players from the Training Band to hear the Town Band in action - and vice versa!
The Celebration Concert promises to be a fabulous evening of entertainment, showcasing a whole host of talents from around both bands! Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start next Saturday - there will be a raffle, with refreshments available from the Town Hall bar, and a retiring collection 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'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! 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! This Sunday, our team of intrepid runners from the band will be taking on the Severn Bridge 10k!
For two members of the team - Kerry and Louise, our Principal Cornet and Flugelhorn player respectively, this will be their very first 10k race and a massive achievement after months of training! We’re over 60% of the way to our fundraising target of £1,000 to help fund a new storage unit at the bandroom, which will help us make better use of our tuition spaces for the benefit of our aspiring musicians in our Starter Group and Training Band! If you’d like to sponsor the team, head on over to:https://www.justgiving.com/.../lydneytownbandcontainerfund Summer is nearly over but Lydney Town Band have got a great season of events planned to keep you entertained as the leaves turn brown and the evenings start to draw in!
Our Autumn 2023 programme kicks off on Sunday 3rd September with a bandstand concert in Stratford Park, Stroud - a rare trip to the other side of the river for us! On Saturday 23rd, we'll be supporting a fundraising event for the Forest Foodbank at St Mary's Church, Lydney. Following on from the success of last year's 130th Anniversary Concert, Lydney Town Band and Lydney Training Band will be returning to Lydney Town Hall to celebrate all the successes of the last twelve months! And finally, in November, the Town Band will be competing in the Wychavon Brass Festival and the GBBA Own Choice Contest, where Lydney Training Band will also be returning for the first time since 2019! There's just two weeks to go until the Severn Bridge 10k, where a team from the Band will be amongst the throngs of runners!
As part of the challenge, they're looking to raise money for a shipping container for the Band which will help us make better use of our bandroom and facilities. Anything you can give in sponsorship would be greatly appreciated! If you've already donated - thank you so much! If you'd like to give but maybe can't at the moment, you can still help out by sharing this link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lydneytownbandcontainerfund 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. 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! One of the biggest priorities for brass banding today is inspiring and developing the next generation of players. On Saturday, at the marvellous venue of Scarr Bandstand, Lydney Training Band joined with training/academy bands from Ross on Wye Town Band, Cinderford Band and Lydbrook Band for the annual Rising Stars at Scarr concert. It was an opportunity for the bands to showcase some of the Forest's brightest new musical talents before coming together for a massed band finale!
Lydney Training Band played their first concert of the summer this weekend! It was a pleasure to be able to support The Orchard Trust’s summer fair.
The concert was an opportunity for a number of our players to get experience of playing solos in public too! Principal Cornet Dougie (pictured) performed the Barbara Streisand hit, Evergreen, before his fellow front row cornets Herbie and Sadie performed Under the Broadwalk and Annie’s Song respectively. The Horn team performed the Beatles song, Yesterday, and were followed by our Baritone team, Elaine and George, who charmed the audience with Edelweiss! You can next see the Training Band at the Rising Stars at Scarr concert on Saturday 24th June from 2pm! |
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March 2024
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