Well, the Senior band have now finished for Christmas, after a busy end of the year. Since October the senior band have been oerforming either on the concert or contest stage every weekend until last weekend, the 12th of December. On 4th December was the band's first Christmas concert. Because of the snow, we had to cancel our planned rehearsal on 1st December, so we began the evening with a brief rehearsal of music for the Christmas programme. We arrived at Trinity United Reformed Church for rehearsal at 6pm, before we played to the audience from 7.30pm. As always, this was a huge success. This is a fantastic acoustic to play in, and the audience are always very receptive!
The following day, was the highlight of the Christmas season for the Pemberton organisation. At Aspull Civic Hall, all three bands shared the stage in our self-promoted concert for our friends and families. The Youth band kicked off the concert with their usual youthful spirit, as they entertained the audience with a selection of Christmas items! The B Band then took to the stage and displayed some of their own Christmas items, with highlights being a solo by Danielle Marsh and a duet from the new Euphonium team of siblings Helen and Robert Don-Duncan. After a short interval, which featured the annual raffle where numerous prizes were given out, the Senior Band took to the stage and played a selection of their Christmas programme, including solos from Joanne Johnson and Nick Birch.
For the Senior Band, the next performance was at Dean Wood Golf Club in Upholland, Wigan, where we have given a mid-week Christmas concert for a number of years now. On Wednesday 8th December we performed to a packed golf club, with their usual welcoming reception. We were treated to warm mince pies at the interval, and were very pleased to play a selection of music from our most recent concert programme as well a second half jam-packed with Christmas themed music!
Next for the bands was our inaugural Band Dinner, on Saturday 11th December. The band enjoyed an evening of food, drink, music (not provided by ourselves for a change!) and some anecdotal stories from Gilbert Symes. We also paid tribute to some of the people involved in the organisation for their hard work over year. The evening was a great success, and we must thank Carina, Joanne, Jennifer, Christine and Sue for their hardwork in making it such a wonderful evening! We also thanked some of our members who are now leaving the band, David Marsh, Lisa Thompson and Rebekah Caldwell. For a more detailed tribute please visit the News section of the band website.
The next day, Sunday 12th December, with some sore heads, the Senior Band had its final day together of 2010, with two concerts. At lunchtime, we played a concert for our sponsor David Whelan, in front of members of the Wigan Rugby team and the manager of the Wigan Football team, Mr Roberto Martinez. This was a highlight for some of the female members of the band, as well as the Wigan supporters within the band! The band thanked Mr Whelan for his continuous support with a gift from the organisation. We were treated to a fantastic hotpot after the short concert courtesy of Mr Whelan and we took full advantage of his hospitality!
A few hours later, we were at Longton Bowling Club for another short rehearsal followed by a concert at the only venue we perform at twice a year. The first half of the concert was made up of music from the Silver Screen, including Born Free, Where Eagles Dare and Concerto d'Aranjuez. The second half was our final run-out of our Christmas music, which as always, featured some audience participation, where they got the chance to show off their vocal 'talents'! The band shared one or two beverages and mice pies at the Bowling Club before going their separate ways for 2010!
After a very busy few months, the Senior Band are happy to now be on a break until Januray 5th, when we will return to rehearsals in preparation for the Preston 'Brass at the Guild' contest, the Regional Championships and a possible CD recording in March!
The B Band have also been busy with concerts, and we will hopefully be able to provide you with a report of them before the year is out! The B Band are also still rehearsing over the Christmas period in preparation for their contest assault at the Butlins Mineworkers Championships at the end fo January!
If you have been at one of our concerts this year and would like to share your own personal highlights please leave a comment here on the blog, or at our Facebook fan page. Alternatively, e-mail the band at pembertonband@hotmail.co.uk for a more private comment.
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all our members, friends, family and supporters!
