A Weekend in Prestatyn

This weekend (23rd and 24th October) both the Senior Band and the B Band took the 64 mile trip to Prestatyn.  Saturday was the B Band’s trip and Sunday it was the Senior Band’s turn.  For the B Band, the set work was "Partita: Postcard from Home" by Philip Wilby and for the Senior Band, the set work was Franz Liszt's "Les Preludes" arranged by Bram Gay.

The B Band’s Postcard Home...

Saturday 23rd October saw the Pemberton B Band rehearsing round the corner from Pontins Holiday camp - in the local tennis club.

The day didn't get off to a good start as nobody brought any music stands. Making do with cornet cases on chairs, music pinned to notice boards and one handed playing, the band managed their first warm up.

Onto Pontins for yet another warm up in the launderette ( or was that a cold down? ).
Registration and time to focus on the victory ahead (told 'em we should have done the Haka!)

Drawn 9th in a field of 10, the band were eager to get on with it. The first movement was energetic and showed great promise.  The soloists played a solid performance with just a few splits along route. Riding high into the last movement we hit a few rocks and almost lost a wheel - pitty as we had one hand on a trophy til then.

A credible 5th was the final outcome with the adjudicator suggesting that on another day the result could have been different for the top 5 bands.

Happy with the verdict, the band retired to the bar to review the "Ifs, Buts and Maybes".
A well spirited performance by the Pemberton team. Looking forward to a busy Christnas schedule and then Butlins in the new year.

 B Band report by Eddie Hill

The Senior Band’s Liszt...

On Sunday the band arrived at a Tennis Club in Prestatyn just after 9 o’clock.  It was a cold start, but the skies were blue and seemed to be promising for a good day.  The rehearsal was short, just enough for the band to warm themselves up from the frosty morning they left in Wigan.  At 10 o’clock we headed to the Pontins campsite.  We waited for our turn to play; we had been pre-drawn 5th, so not too long to wait after the 11am start!

We embarked on the ‘dressing room’, which was actually the onsite Arcade, and put on our stage uniforms.  There was no where to warm-up immediately prior to the contest, there was only a curtain separating the arcade and registration areas from the main stage.  We could hear band number 4 (Wakefield Metropolitan) lay down their challenge and then it was our turn, just after 12pm.

We took to the stage in our signature, professional fashion – in section order, which looks as smart as our uniforms.  The delicate opening of the piece set great atmosphere, despite a few less secure moments than we had been confident of throughout the week.  This led to the full volume, main theme which demonstrated the band’s full, round sound and technical prowess.

Further delicate playing ensued, which again wasn’t as secure as the band are capable of, however, things could have been worse.  The middle ‘storm’ section of the piece was another chance for the band to demonstrate it’s full sound and technical capabilities.  This was, as always, well-handled.  Following this was a delicate ‘pastorale’ section which heavily featured the Soprano Cornet (John Atkinson), Principal Cornet (Joanne Johnson), Flugelhorn (Carina Halliwell) and Solo Horn (Lynne Campbell), with some additional contributions from Repiano Cornet (Nicola Banks), Solo Baritone (David Marsh) and guest Solo Euphonium (Brendan Wheeler).  Again, this wasn’t as secure as we would have liked.

Further full band sections ensued, with some all-round controlled playing, full sounds, technical virtuosity and tight, ensemble playing from every seat of the band.  This continued with short contrasting sections which again called upon the band’s soloists.  When the band reached the reprise of the earlier main theme, the quality of the band’s sound shone through to an enormous finale.

After leaving the stage, many of the band were unhappy with the overall performance, however some were still hopeful of the judges finding favour with our good sound and technical skill.  However, after a long wait we found out that Dr Roy Newsome and Major Peter Parkes didn’t like our interpretation as much as we would have hoped.  We were placed 9th in a field of 15 bands.  This was obviously not the result we had wanted, although after we had played we knew that the top spot had fallen out of our grasp.

A recording of the Senior Band’s performance can be found at Mark Bentham’s website through the following link:
http://markbentham.webs.com/audiomp3recordings2.htm

With typical ‘Pem Spirit’ the band had an enjoyable, alcohol-filled journey home and will begin rehearsals on the set test piece for this year’s Scottish Open (‘...and when the river told...’ by Simon Dobson) as well as prepare for a busy November of concerts across the North West.

A Busy Weekend for the Senior Band

Friday Night is Music Night
On Friday 15th October, Pemberton Old Wigan DW Band performed their inaugural concert in the new series of concerts at the DW Stadium in Wigan.  With support from the band's sponsor DW Sports and Fitness the band performed its usually varied programme in the Marquee at the Stadium.

The evening began at 7.30pm with the Youth Band performing a 20-minute programme with pieces from their concert at Ashton Music Festival.  As always this was well received by the audience and members of the Senior Band alike.

Following the Youth band was the Senior band's programme which started with a rousing rendition of the Kenneth Alford march "The Thin Red Line".  This was followed by the  beautifully lyrical Soprano Cornet Solo "La Califfa" played by John Atkinson.  This gorgeous melody is from the score to the unsuccessful film "Lady Califf".  Following this was the band's tribute to George Formby "Turned Out Nice Again".  This was put together for the band for former Eb Bass player, Andrew Myers, and features the songs "Blackpool Rock", "Leaning on a Lamp Post" and "When I'm Cleaning Windows", including lots of singing from the band, and some solo singing from Alec Banks, Dave McGlynn, John Don-Duncan and David Marsh.

The band's second soloist then performed a piece written by a former conductor of the band, William Rimmer, in the difficult cornet solo "Hailstorm" ably performed by the band's principal cornet Joanne Johnson.  Following this was a reprise of the "Pizziwato Polka" that the band played at the Wychavon Contest almost a month ago.  A change of pace and style then led to another Wychavon item, "Jewish Wedding Dance", displaying the band's technical virtuosity.  The first half then concluded with "MacArthur Park", which has become one of the staple items on the band's concert programmes.

After a short interval, the band kicked off the second half with a lively romp through the latin number "Tico Tico", which featured various sections of the band.  Following this was the Agustin Lara work "Granada", in which the band's bass trombonist kept interrupting and was eventually kicked off stage!  At the end of the piece the conductor, Mark Bentham, decided that he was a bit harsh on Jason Nowell and so let him play a solo - even with a pint of lager on stage!  Jason played "Show Me the Way to Go Home" and with many comedic moments the piece was a huge hit with the audience (and the band!)

Following this was "Bohemian Rhapsody" which again featured the band's vocal skills, opening with unaccompanied lady voices which are joined by the men, singing in harmony.  After over a minute of singing, the band then begins playing through the Darrol Barry arrangment, with some additional sung moments in the middle and at the end of the piece. The band followed this with the lively, cheerful Harold Arlen number "Get Happy", before concluding the concert with "Symphonic Dances from West Side Story".  This substantial work is a real test for the band, but especially at the end of a concert programme.  The band coped very well and were encouraged by the audience to do an encore and chose "You Are My Sunshine" which is a song sung by Wigan Football and Rigby fans, and again included some singing from the band.

St Michael's Church, Swinley
The following evening the band were in concert action again, at our annual Swinley concert, in front of one the most appreciative audiences we perform to.  We began in the same manner as the night before with the march "The Thin Red Line" followed by the Soprano Cornet Solo "La Califfa", featuring John Atkinson.  Following this was the "Introduction to Act III of Lohengrin" by Wagner, a rousing work which displayed the band's sound and technical skill.  Joanne Johnson then reprised her version of "Hailstorm" by William Rimmer, before another performance of "Pizziwato Polka" and "Jewish Wedding Dance" from the Wychavin programme.  This first half then finished again with "MacArthur Park".

This time there was a thirty minute interval while members of the audience enjoyed some cheese and wine before the band returned to play the "Symphonic Dances from West Side Story" which was even better than the night before!  The final soloist of the evening was Carina Halliwell in a superb rendition of the Chuck Mangione latin solo "Children of Sanchez" from the film of the same name.  The Latin American theme continued with another rendition of "Tico Tico".  The band then reprised "Bohemian Rhapsody" with the same vocal skills as the evening before.

To conclude the band then played through the "Last Night of the Proms" set as is typical for many concerts at this time of year.  First, "Fantasia on British Sea Songs" by Sir Henry Wood, followed by Hubert Parry's "Jerusalem".  The final item of the night was "Pomp and Circumstance No. 1" by Edward Elgar, which ofcourse features the song 'Land of Hope and Glory'.  The audience sang their hearts out through all of these pieces, and so we finished with a blow through the 'Land of Hope and Glory' section of "Pomp and Circumstance No. 1".

The Band's Busy Schedule Continues
On Sunday 17th October, the band were back in the band room to begin its week-long rehearsal schedule for the 'Pontin's Brass Band Championships' at Pontins, Prestatyn next Sunday (24th October).  The band will be rehearsing every night, except Thursday, on the set test piece "Les Preludes" by Franz Liszt arranged by Bram Gay, which was the test piece at the British Open in 2001.  The piece is a real test for the band's soloists, particular for Soprano, Cornet, Flugel and Horn, with some very exposed sections for the soloists.

At the same time the 'B' Band are rehearsing for the third section of the same contest, which will take place on the Saturday (23rd October), where the band will be playing Philip Wilby's "Partita for Band - Postcards from Home".  This piece is a depiction of Wilby's childhood memories of growing up in Yorkshire, which comes in four movements, 'Towers and Chimneys'; 'Churches: Lord of the Dance'; 'Pastorale: Sunday Afternoon'; 'Coronation Day Parade'.

The next blog update will be after the contest next week, where hopefully we will be reporting on a sucessful weekend on the contest platform!

New Facebook Fan Page

We have just launched a new Facebook Page to run along side the Website, Facebook Group and ofcourse the Blog.  Through the Fan Page, you will be kept up-to-date with the latest news and every time a new post is added to the Blog we will announce it on the Facebook Fan Page. 

To visit the Fan Page, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pemberton-Old-Wigan-DW-Band/123551494365628 and then click "Like" so that you can be kept up-to-date.

To visit the band's Facebook group, go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=189051550298 and click "Join Group" if you haven't already.

For help, or for further information leave a comment here, on one of the above Facebook links or you can e-mail the band at pembertonband@hotmail.co.uk and we will do our best to help you!

Fleetwood Contest 2010

Sunday began with typically autumnal weather when both bands embarked on the hour-long coach trip to the seaside town of Fleetwood to participate in the North West Counties Brass Band Association contest at the Marine Hall (pictured below).



Marine Hall and Gardens (photo: Wikipedia) - the sun wasn't shining on Sunday!


Following the Fourth and Third sections, the Youth section began just after lunch.  With only three bands in the section the draw of little consequence, however, Pemberton Youth were pleased to be drawn second behind Astley Youth and in front of Fred Longworth High School.

Astley Youth conducted by Helen Minshall kicked off the section with "Music from Cantara" by Kenneth Downie, which was used at the National Youth Brass Band Championships Schools Contest in 2008.  Astley displayed some fine soloists and some good ensemble playing from this confident young band.

Pemberton Youth, conducted by John Don-Duncan, then took to the stage.  Mr Don-Duncan chose to play "Summer Fantasy" by Kees Schoonenbeek , which was the fourth section Regionals Test Piece back in 1990.  The Youth band played a confident opening and a bold first movement. The second movement displayed the band's more controlled, quiet side, with some excellent solo contributions from Euphonium, Flugel and Cornet. The final movement opened with a strong Trombone, Bass and Euphonium/Baritone lead followed by excellent full band playing. Further solo contributions from Trombone, Cornet, Euphonium and Horn led to full band sounds finishing this fresh performance.

Fred Longworth High School's ensemble, of what appeared to be 50 musicians, conducted by Miss H Robinson, then played "Adventures in Brass" by Ray Farr. The work plays on themes such as Carmina Burina and America, with the middle movement loosely based on Ravel's Pavane and the last movement quoting ,material from the opening movement. This was a performance of good ensemble and solo playing.


After a lengthy results ceremony for the Fourth, Third and finally Youth section, the Youth band were disappointed to have been placed last by adjudicator Colin Hardy.  However, the two bands that were above them in the section were predominently teenagers whereas there were a number of players in Pemberton Youth that were new to the instrument and were much younger then their higher placed counterparts.  There was one prize for the Youth band, however, when 8 year old Lauren Barkley was announced as the youngest performer in the section.


After a long wait, following the Youth Band's results, it was time for the second section, in which the 'B' band were performing in due to their local grading.  The 'B' band were drawn third following Flixton and before Lostock Hall Memorial in this seven-band section.


The 'B' Band, conducted by Peter Ashley, played the descriptive work "Oceans" by Goff Richards. This was performance of some merit, with some well-shaped phrases, tight ensemble playing and some moments of excellent direction. There was also some notable solo work from Alex Nesmejanow (Horn), Bob Grant (Euphonium), Barbara Grant (Baritone) and Peter Zingle (Bass Trombone).  A special mention must go to Danielle Marsh whose solo efforts were commendable and especially considering this is the 21-year-old's first contest as the band's principal cornet - well done Danielle!


After a long wait for the results, which followed the joint Championship and First Section, for the second time in one day, a Pemberton Band was holding up the bottom of the results table.  The other bands in the section, Besses o'th' Barn, Greenall's, Lostock Hall, Flixton, Co-op 2000 and Blackpool are all well-seasoned in this section, so the 'B' Band need not feel disheartened by this result.  A valiant effort and a good day had by all members of the two bands ensured that the 'Pemberton Spirit' was alive and kicking in Fleetwood!

The next outing for the any of the bands is next Friday (October 15th) when the Senior Band will be performing an exciting concert in the first of a new series at the DW Stadium.  This first concert is entitled 'Friday Night is Music Night'.  The next night the Senior Band are again in action, this time at St Michael's Church, Swinley.  For more details please visit the band's website or e-mail the band at pembertonband@hotmail.co.uk