Go on, yo know you want to

I have actually been doing a fair bit of playing recently, lots of practise / rehearsal on trombone for a concert in a couple of weeks, and a bit on the electric bass for services at Church, and of course my regular nights at CSB on tuba.

I have taken a plunge that I meant to make months ago, I have resigned as MD of the Brass Band, although I have enjoyed the job enormously and found the musical challenge very stimulating, I just don't have the time for the commitment, sometimes family is just more important.

Just like buses

Yes post on this blog are just like buses, they are not big and red, neither do they have two decks, however you can wait ages then two come along together.

I have just been sent some photos from the concert I played a couple of weeks ago and I thought it would be good to share,

Rochester?

I received an e-mail the other day just titled Rochester, I assumed it was something to do with the diocese, this is not unreasonable for me since I was on the Synod and am currently on the committee of the RSCM. I forgot that I also have a customer ( a Methodist Minister) who lives on Rochester Avenue, and it was about their garden.

Of course many people will think first of Mr Rochester the bigamist and love interest in Jane Eyre. I was put in mind of him earlier today listening to Woman's hour on BBC Radio four as they discussed suitable holiday reading, there was much discussion as to the character of Rochester, and Jane's suitability as a feminist icon. Personally I find the Brontes generallyhard work needing a bit more reader input than I am prepared to give.


Mrs T Herself

Next month I am playing in a last night of the proms style concert in Basingstoke, the music has just been sent through to me so I could have a look at it before actually having to play on the day. Even a quick glance immediately told me that I would be using my EEb, the register and the keys just scream EEb, on the CC every single piece would be bit harder, and on the BBb a lot harder. This means that at some point I will have to go up into the attic and get my trusty old customised Besson down. We have quite a small house so I only have the CC (which is in a very large case) and what ever other instrument is in use in the house, the others along with mutes and stuff live in the attic.

Over the last couple of years I have used the CC as my main instrument, but the EEb comes down quite often, when the parts are higher or more active. I have also had quite a few occasions to play the Trombone and the Euphonium, but the poor old BBb ~ Mrs T Herself ~ has not been down for a couple of years. I am beginning to feel a bit like Mr Rochester keeping my mad first wife in the attic while I dally with younger prettier models downstairs.

torch song

Tomorrow the Croydon Band plays in Thornton Heath as the Olympic torch goes past.   I am not sure that I can work up much enthusiasm for the whole Olympic thing never mind the torch relay, but it is a chance for us to be out and playing in the community.

Maybe tomorrow I will get a bit fired up and excited, if I am I will let you know, in the mean time enjoy this alternative use for Baritons

No Tuba

Nobody wants me to play tuba these days, it seems like ages since I last played a tuba in performance; that's not to say that I haven't been playing, I have had my fair share it's just not on tuba.   Of course for the Brass Band I am the stick waver, a position I am still surprised and honoured to hold, and at the Croydn Symphonic Band I am currently on Bass Trombone.   We have had a bit of a change round in the heavy brass section, still looking for a regular Euphonium player we have a "friend" who plays with us when ever he can, on top of that we lost one of our bass players and our bass trombone.   The first trombone is very committed to other things and finds it hard to make every rehearsal, so that leaves our new bass player, just back from Cardiff University, and me.

Having said all that we will be having a full section of three trombones, euphonium and two basses at our concert on Wednesday as well as for the National Concert Band Festival on the 1st of April.   The concert on Wednesday is at the excellent hall at Trinity School, we have played there a couple of times, and the only draw back it has as a venue that I can see is the lack of a bar.   The whole Croydon/Bromley/Sutton area has a real problem in that there is no suitable venue for amateur music outside of school halls.   We have the wonderful Fairfield hall, but this is simply too big, an audience of two or three hundred will just get lost, everything else is a theatre, very good theatres but they all have a presidium arch which causes acoustic chaos for some of us.   What we want are halls like the QEH and the Purcell Room.

CSB Strike Gold

Last Sunday the Croydon Symphonic Band, played at the Colchester round of the National Wind Band Festival.   Despite an absolutely horrible journey (for me because of my bad back, for others because a lorry shed it's load of Christmas Trees on the A12) we all arrived i decent time, had a run through ad then hit the stage.
The consensus of opinion in the Band is that we played as well as we could have, and quite possibly as well as we have.   I am glad to be able to say that the adjudicators seem to have agreed and given us a Gold Award.    couple of years ago BASWE introduced an extra, higher, standard of a Platinum award, and now it is only Platinum award winners who get an automatic invitation to the finals, gold award winners have to wait.   Given the standard of our performance we are hopeful of an invitation to the finals, which we are especially keen to be at this year, since they will be help at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Well we followed that with a fund raising concert lat night (Saturday) for Ifield Church.   As well as the program we played at the festival we added a few repertoire numbers including my favourite show selection - Les Miserables.   I get a tremendous kick out of playing with this band, I have been with them for well over 30 years now, and I think that overall we are better now than at any time in the past.   However we are short on numbers in the heavy brass, a shortage that is about to become critical as our first trombone is leaving due to a change in his work.   In consequence I don't know what part I will be playing when we start up again after Christmas, at various times this term I have played Bass, Bass Trombone, First Trombone and Euphonium.   The only one of these I would not be happy commit to would First Trombone.   I am not a tenor player, I never have been and never will be I just can't play up there.

How many Tuba players does it take to change a light bulb? None we can't reach that high.

Mrs T allowed out!

Yes Mrs T has had an outing.   Last week I played in Croydon tow centre with the All Saints Concert Band.   I was originally booked to play euphonium, but after being let down at the last minute i ended up on Bass with the euph part being covered by one of the trombones.   Now the thing about this gig is that we had to play standing up.   A few years ago I decided that I didn't lie playing standing up and wasn't going to do it, after all that's why I didn't join the Arny.

Because I wasn't going to play stood up I cut the marching lugs off my EEb, and my strap won't fit the CC therefore my only option was Mrs T the original mighty BBb.   It was only after I had got into Croydon and started to play that I fully realised what I had done.   It is over 2 years since I last played a BBb in concert pitch and could not get my brain around the fingering.   I half expected to use EEb fingering by mistake, but I actually ended up using more CC fingering.

I'm not sure why I enjoyed this outing, since I was struggling with the instrument and I hate playing stood up or on the march.  I can only think that it must have been something to do with the company.

Horsham

On Saturday I played with the All Saints Concert Band, on the Bandstand in Horsham Town Centre. Horsham is a fairly traditional market town in Sussex, and on Saturday, yes there was a market. It is quite unusual to have a bandstand in the middle of town rather than in a park, but it does mean that lots of passers by get entertained, indeed I gather the bandstand is something of an attraction.

Finally a picture of yours truly playing the "New Toy" in anger. Final proof that it does get played for "real"

Tuba!

I just had a look at how many members of "Blogger" list Tuba as one of their interests - 388 - now that seems like quite a lot for what is a pretty esoteric sort of interest, but then there are a lot of people out there in cyber land, and if there are 388 members of blogger interested in all things tuba then I hope some of them are reading this - let me know if you are

I copied this picture ages ago and can't remember the story behind it, but the instrument looks truly awesome if you know anything about it let me know - please.

Stuck at home

I've been getting a bit frustrated this week, my daughter has been struck down with the dreaded lirgy, and since my wife can't take time off work I have stayed in with the young one. Having planned a full week out in gardens not only am I getting a bit stir crazy but also I'll be missing the money that I would have been earning.

On a better note (pedal C that's one of my favorite notes) I have been out to a rehearsal with a band I play with occasionally. The Surrey Yeomanry Band http://www.surreyyeomanry.com/ used to be the regimental band, but have now survived the Regiment but quite a few years. Not so long ago this band was struggling both with lack of players, and lack of ability. A new conductor and a few new recruits has transformed the ability and sound of this Band. They are now playing some challenging music, but more impressive to me they have a "sound". The sound they have is in the model of a Guards band with a wall of sound, big warm and mellow. This is not so surprising really since the conductor was trained in the Irish Guards, and quite a few of the players are ex-guards as well.

Just to add to my fun it was a real treat in an amateur band to sit next to a totally competent tuba player, again since the guy in question is currently with the Coldstream Guards again his playing was not a surprise, but finding players of that quality in a local amateur is a treat indeed.

Tonight I will be with my own band, Croydon Symphonic, http://csb.watchfresh.com/content.html This will be the first rehearsal after our last concert, so it will be interesting to see what music we will have out for the next concert which will be in Greenwich Park, then a more formal one in St John's Smith Square.

The photo on the right is from our Christmas concert last year, we played to raise money for a locally based charity Five Talents UK. www.fivetalents.org.uk

If you have been thank you for reading - I will post more tomorow