The band began with the Kenneth Alford march 'The Thin Red Line', which demonstrated the band's full, rich sound and poise. Following this was the first soloist of the evening. Joanne Johnson played a showcase solo written by a former conductor of the band William Rimmer, 'Hailstorm'. As always, the band's principal cornet player stepped up and played with great soloist prowess and impressed her peers in the band as much as the receptive audience.
We then moved into the German Romantic Opera repertoire of Wagner, to play the 'Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin'. It was then time for the band's second soloist of the evening and his first solo as a fully-fledged member of the band, having agreed to join after Perth last weekend. Nick Birch chose to play the Mario Lanza hit 'Be My Love' which displayed his rich sound and musicality beyond his tender years.
There was then a reprise of our novelty item from the Wychavon programme, 'Pizziwato Polka'. The band next moved into the first item, of many, that featured our vocal talents 'Turned Out Nice Again', a medley of Wigan singer, George Formby, songs. A reprise of another Wychavon item 'Jewish Wedding Dance' showcasing the bands technical and virtuosic skill led into our regular concert item 'MacArthur Park' which closed the first half.
We opened the second half with our usual item 'Tico Tico', featuring all sections of the band. Our third soloist of the band then stood up to play 'Children of Sanchez' by Chuck Mangione. Carina Halliwell played this with her usual sweet sound and cool, jazz style. The Harold Arlen number 'Get Happy' then again featured all sections of the band, before our final soloist of the evening Jason Nowell romped through 'Show me the way to go home', with added comic effect.
Our next item was another vocal showcase, 'Bohemian Rhapsody', where the band sang almost half of the song, with a large section sung a capella, i.e. unaccompanied. This is always well received. Our last item was 'Symphonic Dances from West Side Story' which is a real tour de force for the band, demonstrating not only great technical skill, but also the ability to quickly change style between the songs from the musical featured in this selection.
The Alderley Edge were very appreciative of the whole concert, and so we treated them to our usual encore 'You are my sunshine', which features the band's vocal talents yet again. The football/rugby themed scarves also add to this item when we waved them from opposite sides of the band. Our first venture to Alderley Edge was a pleasant one and we hope to return again in the future.
We are now about to begin our series of Christmas concerts, starting this weekend at Trinity United Reformed Church on Saturday and then all three bands will perform at Aspull Civic Hall on Sunday where we would love to see you all there. For more details of these, and all concerts through December, please visit the website, our Facebook Events Page or e-mail the band for more information.
