Description

Formed in Cirencester around 1986 the JJ Swing Band developed from previous attempts to form a light orchestra and a wind band in Cirencester. With the help of the Cirencester Band, I combined the brass of one group with the woodwind of the other and formed this Swing Band.

The Band members come from all walks of life with perhaps a slight dominance of the teaching profession. We have salesmen, civil engineers, civil servants, ex-bank clerks, a video engineer, a computer engineer, a welder, a gardener a couple of early retirees and one genuine retiree as well as some students.

We are all amateurs and enjoy trying to recreate the type of music made famous by the big swing bands of the nineteen thirties and forties. Most of our music comes from these era's but some has been re-arranged at a later date and when we play for dances then we are required to play at least a couple of numbers that are a little more modern.

The total number that attend rehearsals on Wednesday evenings is twenty five, from this number I have to select as well balanced a band as possible, to perform at our various engagements throughout the year, which vary from Fetes, Garden Parties and providing back ground music at Wedding Anniversaries to the full evening of strict tempo dancing.

Description

The Bandstand is situated off Wye Street, in the Caroline Symonds Gardens. The Mayor of Ross in 1987, Cllr David Fishpool, a keen musician and member of the Ross Town Band, had the original idea of providing a bandstand for the town and made it his Mayor's project. However, although he was able to raise funds for the project, it never got any further until the Ross Lions took the project on some 15 years later. The Bandstand, or Outdoor Pursuits Building, as it was officially named, was finally opened in 2005 and handed over by the Ross Lions to the Town Council.

The Town Council arranges a series of free Sunday afternoon band concerts during the summer between 2.30pm and 4.30pm with a collection by a local charity.

Other events are organised by different groups during the year. The space can be used for various kinds of concerts and displays, as a starting and finishing point for organised walks, for outdoor theatre or charity exhibitions and stalls. If your group would like to hold an event there, please read the letting conditions and return a complete a booking form to the Town Clerk.

Caroline Symonds Gardens, 14 Wye Street,

Ross on Wye,

Herefordshire,

England,

HR9 7BX.