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 We had a rather special delivery at the bandroom this morning!
Following months of planning, fundraising and preparation, we finally took possession of the external storage unit that has been an ambition of the band's for a long time. Our current bandroom, which dates back to the 1950s, serves us brilliantly as the home of the Town and Training Bands as well as the Starter Group. Unfortunately, in recent times, its storage areas have reached capacity and items have started encroaching into corridors and teaching spaces. This new addition will allow us to continue the work that the Band undertakes in developing and teaching the next generation of brass musicians in a much more comfortable, less cluttered and relaxed space 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! 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! Next month, we'll be bidding a fond farewell to our first trombone player, Alasdair, who is heading off to university. We've got a really exciting autumn programme of concerts and contests coming up, including our 2023 Celebration Concert at Lydney Town Hall!
If you or someone you know might be interested in joining us, please get in touch! We'd love to hear from you. 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 Enormous congratulations to Ben! Last week, he attended the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain Summer Course in Norfolk and won the Con Buckley Award for Percussion, which recognises the best all round percussionist on the course!
He's pictured here with Andrea Price, Musical Director of Wingates Band and former principal percussionist of Black Dyke Band. Previous winners of the award include Jordan Ashman, BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2022, and Mark Landon, Principal Percussionist at Foden's Band. |
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March 2024
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