Description

Championship Band based in the heart of the Royal Forest of Dean.

The band was formed in 1923 from three smaller bands in the village and it was known as the Lydbrook Reed & Brass Band. Its first conductor was Mr. Maynard Childs.

Mr. Maynard Childs was conductor for 12 years before being succeeded by Mr. Neville Barnett (a cornet player with the band) who held the post for over 30 years before ill health forced him to retire.

Robert Morgan MBE took over from Neville Barnett in 1966 and conducted the band for 12 years before returning to the Principal Cornet seat when another local boy, Lyndon Baglin, returned to the area and became their Musical Director.

Lyndon led the band from 1979 to 1988 which was a significant period in the bands history. With Lyndons dedication and leadership during that time the band progressed from the 3rd Section to the Championship Section. Brian Howard took over the baton in 1991, leading the band for a further 8 years. In 1994, with the band in the First Section, they achieved their greatest contest success when they took the runners up prize in the National Championships of Great Britain at Wembley Conference Centre.

In 1999 Brian led the band on a tour of a lifetime, visiting South Africa and Zimbabwe and performing in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Victoria Falls and Harare. Since then the band has toured on a number of occasions visiting Holland, Hungary and Lithuania.

Following Brians retirement in 2000 the band has engaged a number of different conductors for concerts and contests, including John Berryman, Philip Harper, Ian Holmes, Steve Sykes, David Williams and, from Norway, Tom Brevik.

In 2010 Ian Holmes (Director of the University of the West of England Centre for Performing Arts) was appointed as the bands Musical Director. Ian has played Tuba with the Sun Life Band and is also an accomplished pianist. His teaching roles include Head of Brass at Clifton College and Director of Music at Colstons School in Bristol.

Many players have come through the ranks at Lydbrook over the years and moved on to play in some of the countrys top bands. They include Lyndon Baglin (Euphonium), Brett Baker (Trombone) Bill Smith (Eb Tuba), Steve Smith (Euphonium), Robert Morgan (Cornet), Vaughan Davies (Cornet), Stewart Baglin (Euphonium/Tuba), Guy Garrett (Euphonium).

Lydbrook Band must be unique in having only had three secretaries since its formation; Arthur Toomer (1923-1948), Archibald Price (1948-1978) and Robert Morgan (1979 onwards).

Like many community bands Lydbrook has been fortunate to have some great fund raisers on their committee. The hard working non-players have raised many thousands of pounds for band funds over the years. This has enabled the band to build its own bandroom and buy new uniforms and instruments for the senior and training band.

Rehearsals are Wednesday 7.45pm and Sunday 6.30pm at,
The Bandroom
Upper Lydbrook,
Glos.
GL17 9LQ

Description

Blackpool’s Winter Gardens will once more be ablaze to the sound of music as the Brass Band Spring Festival takes place.

Promoted by the organisers of the British Open Brass Band Championship (the oldest musical competition in the world still in existence and that started in 1853) around 1800 amateur musicians will compete in three separate competitions as they dream of competing against the finest bands in the world, at the British Open which takes place at Symphony Hall in Birmingham every September.

The qualification process sees promotion and relegation for competing bands in the three tiered contest and makes this event one of the toughest and competitive days in brass banding.

Each of the three competitions will see twenty bands in each section try to impress the two adjudicators who hear the musical performances from behind a covered curtain. All of the three competitions have a set piece of music to perform.

In the Grand Shield (where the top two will qualify to compete against the defending champion, Valaisia Brass Band from Switzerland at the British Open in the autumn) the competing ensembles are faced with performing Peter Graham’s 2014 work, The Triumph of Time.

In the middle section, known as the Senior Cup, the set test piece will be Frank Wright’s arrangement of Guillaume Balay’s ‘Diadem of Gold’.
Finally to complete what promises to be an enjoyable day, one of the renowned Salvation Army composer Eric Ball later contest works -‘A Kensington Concerto’, which will be heard in the Senior Trophy.

The action starts at 10.00am in the morning with the results of all the competitions being announced after all the music has taken place and the judges have made their decisions, not long after 6pm.

Tickets can be purchased on the day from the Winter Gardens box office or Ticketmaster on 0844 856 11 11

Winter Gardens, Church Street,

Blackpool,

Lancashire,

England,

FY1 1HL.

01253 625 252 (Winter Gardens)