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Click here for News from 2009 Click here for News from 2008 Click here for News from 2007 Click here for News from 2006 24th December 2010 Christmas Festivities
The festive season began for Staines Brass with the arrival of Father Christmas and his reindeer to Staines back in November. A chilly day but at least it was dry this year and there was an excellent crowd gathered who appreciated the early Christmas tunes.
The Wraysbury Christmas concert which the band has been invited to perform at every year since 1993 was again played to a capacity audience. The casual set up of table seating helped make an informal atmosphere. The drinks being served before and in the interval created a lubricated audience for hearty carol singing! The band played a selection of festive music from carols, ballet music (El Cid), film music (The Snowman), swing items (Santa Claus is comin' to Town) and an excellent rendition of 'Huron Carol' from the band's Principal Cornet for the night Ian Graves. The evening ended with shouts for an encore and an invite for 4th December 2011 from our hosts the Wraysbury Jazz Club.
The band's annual concert at St Peter's Church was a more formal affair, although thanks must go to the church for providing mulled wine during the interval. Our huge thanks also go to the choir of Kingscroft School in Staines who made the occasion all the more festive with their selection of Christmas items. The smaller than usual audience was none the less most appreciative of the band an choir's performances. During the concert, the prize draw took place for the 'Friends of Staines Brass and Staines Lammas Band'.
The band's 'Pièce de résistance' for this year has to be "Festivo" at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The band began the concert with a fanfare of 'Joy to the World' and was followed by the St George's Chapel Choir processing to the stage singing 'Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending' with the band and audience joining in with the final verse, a very effective start. The concert was a collection of choral numbers, band pieces, audience carols and readings along with a very entertaining 'Twelve Days of Christmas' which had the audience standing up and down like yoyos!! The band's items consisted of Rodney Newtons's 'Gaudete' which surprised the audience with its upbeat ending. 'Three King Swing' which got feet tapping and had an excellent solo Trumpet from Jason Pickin. A very effective 'Coventry Carol' which began and ended with Mike Jeffries on Tubular Bells and a trio made up of Jolyon Mathews (Cornet), Simon Angel (Tenor Horn) and Jonny Sproule (Euphonium) from the back of the chapel. The band also joined the chapel choir, organ and audience for carols. The Chapel Choir and organist were excellent throughout and the band hopes they added a different flavour to the annual event. The audience seemed delighted with many taking the time to express their personal thanks to the band. The concert was a wonderful experience for Staines Brass and a fantastic way to end what has been a very successful eightieth anniversary year.
Finally, everyone at Staines Brass would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
18th November 2010 Christmas is coming! For the third year running, Staines Brass will be leading the Reindeer Parade down Staines High Street this Sunday the 21st November. The band will be playing carols outside the Emsleigh Shopping Centre from 10.30am before meeting the reindeer & Santa at 10.50am. The procession begins at 11.00am. The start of the Christmas season is here! The next concert Staines Brass have will be for the Wraysbury Jazz Club on Sunday 5th December. Last year saw the Jazz Club hosting the event for the first time & the hall was full to capacity. For tickets please ring 01784 483452
On the afternoon of Sunday 12th December, Staines Brass will be hosting their annual Christmas Concert & are very pleased to welcome some very special guests. The choir of Kingswood Primary School in Staines will be joining the band to add their own festive touch.
On Thursday 16th December, Staines Brass are very honoured to be asked as guest band at the Choir of St George's Chapel Windsor Castle Festivo. Please see the poster for further details.
31st October 2010 Staines Brass Band make an exhibition of themselves!
The exhibition runs for just another week & there is an insightful brochure available covering the band's history compiled by long serving band member & great great niece of the band's founder, Zoe Macdonald. The brochure will be available to purchase at forthcoming concerts or by contacting the band via webmaster@stainesbrass.co.uk The bands would like to thank Jenny Scripps of the museum for all her help in the compilation of the exhibition & will be making an honorary Friend of the band. Many thanks also go to all the museum staff for their kind welcome.
25th October 2010 More success in Wales After taking a couple of prizes at the Welsh Open Entertainment Contest at Porthcawl in South Wales earlier in the year, the band returned to the land of daffodils & leeks to compete at the Pontins Brass Band Championships in Prestatyn, North Wales on Saturday 23rd October. The week leading up to the contest was certainly a testing time for the band with Susan White going into labour on the Tuesday leaving a position on the trombone section to be filled with only one rehearsal before contest day. After many phone calls, we finally got through to Kevin Bird of Brunel Brass who agreed to help the band out. Unfortunately, he could only make the rehearsal on the day of the contest, so the part was swiftly emailed to him & the only time he got to hear the piece in it's entirety before we got to the stage was whilst we were in the control area listening to band number one. We were band number two!! We also had difficulty getting all three percussionists to rehearsals due to their own commitments & the first time they played together was during our performance on the contest stage. However, both of the adjudicators made extremely positive comments about the percussion team made up of Mike Jefferies, Joey Smout & Simon Jones, who usually plays tenor horn. C Brian Buckley commented on his remarks 'Perc enhanced the impact of the music throughout without distraction' & 'timpani is excellent to end' whilst Kevin Wadsworth added 'Percussion adds life throughout'.
So a huge thank you to the few that helped the band pull together a good solid performance under the direction of a very tired but euphoric Melvin White, which saw the band take second place winning £1200 in prize money along with a commemorative cup. A great weekend was had by all & we hope to return next year.
Mike Jefferies with the cup for 2nd prize
25th October 2010 Amelia Rose White Pictures as promised of Amelia Rose White with her daddy Melvin, & her mummy Sue!
19th October 2010 An early surprise!! A huge congratulations to Susan & Melvin White on the birth of their daughter Amelia Rose who arrived this evening at 21:02 weighing in at 5lb 4oz. Amelia has arrived a few weeks early but she is doing ok as is her proud mum. We eagerly await a photograph.
18th October 2010 Heading up north to Prestatyn This weekend will see Staines Brass competing at the Pontin's Brass Band Championships at Prestatyn Sands for the first time in over 10 years. The band has been busy rehearsing Darrol Barry's 'Flamborough Seascapes' & hope to perform it well on Saturday.
17th October 2010 Museum exhibition An exhibition will open in Staines Museum on Saturday 23rd October celebrating 80 years of Staines Brass Band. A week later, the exhibit will be officially opened by the Mayor of Spelthorne, & the band's president, Cllr John O'Hara at 2pm on Saturday 30th October. The exhibit, which has been put together by Zoe Macdonald aided by David Larmar & Jenny Scripps, will be running for a very short period of time so please check out the museum's website for opening times & contact details. http://spelthornemuseum.org.uk/
17th October 2010 A future player? All of Staines Brass would like to congratulate Euphonium player Ian Dewhurst & his partner Karen on the birth of their son. Matthew Christopher Dewhurst arrived safely at 4.40am on Friday 8th October weighing in at 7lb.
22nd September 2010 80 Years of Music Making
Staines Brass celebrated its 80th anniversary year by holding a Proms concert at St Peter's Church in Staines on Saturday 11th September. The band's guest Musical Director for the evening was Capt Glen Jones who was received extremely well by the loyal audience & band members alike. The band started the concert with the march 'Spelthorne' which is named after the borough in which Staines belongs. The piece was written by Darrol Barry to celebrate the opening of the bandroom in 1990. Many of the items selected for the night were chosen for their relevance to the band's history such as 'Eventide' arranged by Rimmer. This piece was played by the band in the very first contest that they competed in. Another piece with strong links is Goff Richards' 'Country Scene' which is the title of the band's only recording to date, which is on audio cassette! Soloists for the evening were Simon Angel (Tenor Horn) who gave a lyrical rendition of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' & Jason Pickin (Flugel Horn) with a swinging 'Beyond The Sea'. The band performed two pieces of music as dedications. The first was Chick Corea's 'Spain' for the current football World Cup holders & more poignantly, in memory of all the victims of September 11th, 'And the Mother Did Weep' by Carl Jenkins. The concert ended with the traditional Last Night of the Proms numbers which included Henry Wood's 'Fantasia on British Sea Songs', 'Jerusalem' & finishing with Edward Elgar's 'Pomp & Circumstance No 1'. This part of the concert always produces lots of singing & flag waving much to everyone's delight. During the evening, the drawer for the 'Friends of Staines Brass & Staines Lammas Band' took place & the results can be seen here.
4th September 2010 A Blast from the Past
The band is pleased to have Capt Glenn Jones as Musical Director for the evening. Capt Jones is the Deputy Chief Instructor at Kneller Hall, the Royal Military School of Music, and is also the Musical Director of the British Airways Band. Tickets are available on the door or contact Katie Baldwin on 07912 557113
6th August 2010 Friends of Staines Brass & Staines Lammas Band Prize Draw June's prize draw took place during Staines Bands' AGM. For the results, click here.
11th July 2010 What a difference a year makes!
The band performed a varied programme of traditional & popular pieces which went down well with the large audience. Soloists for the day were Keith Maxwell (Trombone), Simon Angel (Tenor Horn), Richard Pemberton (Flugel Horn), John Spencer (Soprano Cornet) & Johnny Sproule (Euphonium).
6th May 2010 St George raises funds for 'Help for Heroes'
The concert began with Staines Brass performing a range of pieces by English composers including Elgar, Vaughan Williams & Holst, opening with a contemporary but very suitably entitled piece 'Walking with Heroes' by Paul Lovett Cooper.
The
second half of the concert began with the 18th Century Band of H
The band are pleased to announce that we raised £1000 for 'Help for Heroes' which is largely thanks to the money taken for the raffle, ticket sales & donations, with thanks to the generosity of local businesses Roberts & Co florists & The Bells pub & restaurant. Also, Staines Brass would like to thank the musicians of the Band of HM Grenadier Guards for helping to make the event a great success which added a different element to our concerts as well as donating 4 tickets for this year's Queen's Birthday Parade to the raffle.
25th April 2010 Friends of Staines Brass & Staines Lammas Band Prize Draw The prize draw took place during Staines Brass' concert on Friday night. For the results, click here.
22nd March 2010 Contest News Yesterday, Staines Brass competed in the 1st section London & Southern Counties Regional Finals in Stevenage. Although the band didn't perform to our best capabilities, we still managed a very respectful 4th place out of 17 bands. On hearing the recording of our performance, we can hear that there were some quite splendid musical moments. Our congratulations go to our neighbours, Friary Guildford Band & Egham Brass Band, who were placed 1st & 3rd respectively, who now go on to represent our region in the National Finals of Great Britain in Harrogate.
13th March 2010 St George's Day Concert in support of 'Help for Heroes'
As around a third of the band's members are linked to the Armed Forces, we felt it would be appropriate to raise funds for 'Help for Heroes'. The band is also pleased to welcome along the Woodwind Ensemble of the Band of Her Majesty's Grenadier Guards to perform during the concert which starts at 7.30 pm & tickets are priced at just £7.
2nd March 2010 Mayor's Charity Concert On Sunday 28th February, Staines Brass performed at St Peter's Church in Staines for the Mayor of Spelthorne, Cllr Caroline Spencer, to raise funds for her chosen charities. Her charities were One-to-One, Help for Heroes, and Guiding in Spelthorne. The concert included the successful programme from the band's recent competition in Porthcawl & a second half tribute to the Armed Forces.
21st February 2010 Sun, Sea & Silverware!!!!
Yesterday, Staines Brass ventured over the Severn
Bridge into South Wales to compete in the 13th Welsh Open Brass Bands
Entertainment Championship. After an early start from the bandroom in the Lammas Park, the band arrived at the rehearsal
venue, the Royal Air Force Association Clu
The band was drawn number 10 to play which meant we would be playing around 5.30pm so we had a little while to take in the scenery. Although it was a little cold, the sun was shining & the views of the sea looking across to the snow covered mountains was stunning. So, the time came for the band to perform our short entertainment programme on the very hot stage which was a sharp contrast to the somewhat freezing marquee that was erected outside for the bands to change in & leave instrument cases! Our first item was Ravel's 'Bolero' which has been arranged by the band's Musical Director Melvin White. The piece begins with a solitary drummer in the form of John Parks, stood alone at the front of the stage. The Tubas soon provided the bass line before John was joined by the Flugel Horn which was being played today by Jason Pickin. Next to take over the melody line of the piece were Euphonium, Johnny Sproule, & Tenor Horn, Simon Angel. The Trombone section were next, followed by Soprano Cornet & the Tenor Horn section. Once each section had completed their turn, they made their way to their usual seats which was at sometimes a little difficult as the stage was quite compact. Eventually, the whole band was on stage & the piece reached it's climax. The second piece was an arrangement by Chris King of Chick Corea's 'Spain'. This piece opens with the adagio from Rodrigo's 'Concerto de Aranjuez' & then switches to a fast, steady samba-like rhythm in which the main theme & an improvisation part are repeated. Our third item featured Susan White on Trombone in a rendition of 'Shout' which was written by Rob Wiffin. It is a Latin-jazz piece that is also influenced by the tradition of including a 'shout' chorus towards the end of a jazz arrangement. The adjudicator David Read congratulated our fine soloist on her playing which was outstanding. 'Mother of God, Here I Stand' was the band's penultimate piece & featured Jason Pickin (Flugel), Simon Angel (Tenor Horn), Tony Howes (Baritone) & Johnny Sproule (Euphonium). The piece is part of John Tavener's 2004 work 'The Veil of the Temple' & is a piece of simple elegance. From Mr Read's adjudicator's remarks, this was his favourite piece & complimented the soloists & band on creating a wonderful atmosphere. The band's finale piece was the last section of Dean Jones' 'Glorifico Aeternum' which is built around a combination of traditional & contemporary worship songs including 'Now thank we all our God' & 'The King of love my Shepherd is'. The audience gave us great applause throughout our performance but a special thanks has to go to our Number One fan, Adrian Manic! I'm sure he felt very lonely being our only supporter in amongst the rather large Welsh audience!
The
journey
was made very worth while as the band won 2 prizes much to all
of our amazement. Firstly we were awarded the Porthcawl Town
Council Cup for the band with
10th February 2010 A Trip To The Seaside!
24th January 2010 December's Update First of all, Staines Brass would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. December 2009 proved to be quite a busy month for the band. Here is a brief round up of what the band got up to! Sunday 6th December Wraysbury Jazz Club Christmas Concert This was the 1st year that this event had been hosted by the Wraysbury Jazz Club after taking over the event from the Wraysbury Music Society. And what a fantastic job they did! The band was given a very warm welcome by the full to capacity hall & it really felt as if the festive season had begun. Tuesday 15th December Hampton Wick Carols & The Old Red Lion, Staines This night proved to be quite a busy night for several members of the band. It was an early evening start at Hampton Wick to provide the music for carols around the Christmas tree preceded with a short parade. The residents of Hampton Wick seemed to really enjoy the band's playing with many coming up to the players to express their feelings! Then it was off to The Old Red Lion in Staines where the band receives a very warm welcome every year. The singing by the pub's patrons was enthusiastic as always. Thursday 17th December Christmas Concert at St Peter's Church
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Yesterday
on Saturday 10th July, Staines Brass returned to St James Park in London
to give an afternoon concert for the Royal Parks. The band played last
year on the 11th July & on that day the weather was very unkind. What a
complete contrast this year. With temperature in excess of 30 degrees
Celsius, the band decided not to play in their band jackets & bow ties.
Staines
Brass took to the stage on St George's Day, aided by the
Woodwind Ensemble of the Band of Her Majesty's Grenadier Guards,
to raise funds for 'Help for Heroes'. Thanks to the marketing
for the concert, St Peter's Church was nearly full to capacity
with a very supportive audience.
M
Grenadier Guards marching down the aisle in period costume. The
woodwind ensemble then performed their selection of music before
Staines Brass joined forces to provide the evening's finale
which included Sparke's Jubilee Overture.
On
St George's Day, Friday 23rd April 2010, Staines Brass will be
hosting a concert at St Peter's Church, Laleham Road, Staines.
b (RAFA) in Porthcawl
where we received a very warm welcome by Tom the secretary.
Before rehearsal started, the entire band ascended on
Finnegan's, an award winning fish & chip shop. The service we
received from Cheryl Jones & staff was fantastic but that may be
because Cheryl is an old friend of Band Manager Jason Pickin! 
the most entertaining stage
presentation. Before Jason Pickin had time to sign for the
trophy, he had to turn back to the stage to receive
the Eifion W Rogers Cup for the highest placed 1st Section band
not in the prizes. Although we then knew we had not been placed
in the top 3, we were still extremely pleased with the result as
we came away with 2 trophies & more prize money than the band
that came 2nd! At least that contributes to the cost of the
coach! 
On
Saturday 20th February, 
Staines Brass once again hosted their Christmas
Concert at St Peter's Church in Staines & was pleased to see so
many people in the audience. After a packed programme of
seasonal favourites, the band & the audience opened the doors to
a blizzard of snow! During the concert, the prize draw for the