Celebrating 25 Years at the Helm

Thursday 1 December 2011 was more than just another Christmas engagement, it was 25 years to the day since Alan Bourne took over as part-time Musical Director of RAF St Athan Voluntary Band.  Claire, Alan's wife and the Band's principal cornet, tried valliantly to arrange a celebration to mark the event.  However, as Christmas is busiest time of the year for the band, plans were made only to be foiled time and time again!  Eventually, Claire managed to get Alan to the local pub, only after the band had completed a concert for a local Old People's Social club.  Alan was joined by players past and present to help mark the event and other members of the banding community as well as Senior Officer's from the Station sent well wishes.  To say Alan was surprised would be an understatment.

From Alan's first rehearsal with the Band on 1st December 1986 he has steered the band from a group of keen, mainly serving RAF personnel together with some local players who rehearsed in the corner of the Station Rugby club and undertook some local engagements and Mess Nights to a whole different level.  Alan established the first all brass band configuration Voluntary Band in the RAF.  The band took it's first steps into the competition arena a couple of years later when they were initially graded into the Third Section.  Following a rocky start, the band started on the road to victory with re-grading to the Fourth Section and Alan recruiting more players to a band that was quickly building a strong reputation for the quality of performance and Alan's own skills as both a conductor and compere.  The band found it's first dedicated home in a Nissan hut on East Camp and since that time has not looked back.  Through Alan's dedication and hard work the band has a rehearsal facility to match any in the UK as well as the best of the best in terms of instruments and equipment. 

Alan's role became so important to the Station that his position was made full time and the band's engagements rapidly expanded from providing music for official station engagements to over 60 different events in the local area each year.  During his 25 years Alan has presided over some memorable highlights including the 1996 tour to America, flying in the Queen's plane to RAF Northolt for a Mess night, competing throughout the UK and playing in some of the most prestigious and famous venues in the UK including the Arms Park and Millenium Stadium, St David's Hall and the Symphony Hall in Birmingham.  The Band has taken part in The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales Brass Band competition every year since 1996, often in two different sections on the same day with great success over the years.  Alan has also steered the Band to the National Finals on no less than five separate occasions.  The band currently competes in the local Championship Section and the players are already looking forward to a fine day in March 2012 at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea for the Regional Qualifying contest in which they will be playing Goff Richards' "Cross Patonce" in the Second Section with their sights set on a sixth Final's apearance in Cheltenham in September 2012. 

 
And now for Christmas Music....

The band completed the contest season in November by taking part in the Championship section in Blaenavon.  The aim for the contest was to improve on the last contest and try to take the level of performance from the rehearsal room on to the contest stage.  Despite a few hiccups in the run up (missing music and a last minute dep to name a couple) the band were happy with the performance and we met both our aims.  We finished 6th in a strong field of 8 and it was the best performance of a test piece of the year.

The following week and we were back in the bandroom to practice for a concert in the Porthcawl Pavillion with PAODS.  This concert has become a highlight of the band's year and is always very enjoyable.  The only shock to the system was the sight of the Christmas folders!  With the second half of the concert featuring some more festive pieces we knew it was time to say hello to Jingle Bells et al for another year.  With over 20 engagements including playing carols in town centres, Christmas Concerts and even playing on Penarth Seafront for the Santa Fun Run to look forward to, we will be well versed in all the festive favourites come Christmas Day!!

Fresh Faces

The band are pleased to welcome two new cornet players to the back row.  Tomos Evans and Tim West have joined us on second and third cornet.  Both are also members of the Cardiff University Brass Band and we are pleased that they have agreed to help strengthen the cornet section prior to the Blaenavon contest.

A Successful Couple of Weeks

The band has been busy over the last few weeks, we recently competed in the West Wales Contest and gave a promising performance of a piece that we are continuing to develop.  Hopefully, with a few more weeks of work, we should be able to improve on our placing in the Blaenavon Contest on 19th November.

Following swiftly on from the contest, the band played at a Poppy Appeal Concert in Pontycymer.  This was well recieved and the band enjoyed performing to such a large and enthusiastic audience. 

Last weekend it was the Band's turn to host a concert.  It was the Band's Annual Concert.  With a last minute change of venue, we were pleased to play to a full house and again the performance of both the band and the Caerphilly Male Voice Choir was well received by the audience.

With a well earned weekend off this weekend, we will then be performing at our usual events in the run up to Remembrance Sunday culminating in the parade through Llantwit Major on the day itself.  The following weekend is the Contest and the weekend after that the Band are pleased to be returning to Porthcawl Pavilion to join PAODS for the 3rd year in a row.

Once that is over it's time for Christmas music.......

Comings and Goings

Over the last few weeks the band have seen a number of changes in the playing ranks.  We have had to say farewell to some sadly missed players, welcome some new players and welcome back others.

Goodbyes

Sadly the band's 3rd cornet player, Norman Partridge, decided to finally hang up his cornet for good after retiring from contesting earlier in the year.  After a brief spell in hospital he decided the time was right to stop playing.  The band all wish him a long and healthy retirement.

Victor, Norman's son, also decided to take a break from banding when his Dad retired.  Hopefully, he will return to playing soon.

Another player taking a break is Rachael Lewis, again we hope she returns soon.

We have also had to say goodbye to Charlie Lewis.  Charlie is currently in Italy for part of her degree.  We look forward to welcoming her back to the ranks of the horn section in the next academic year.

Welcomes and Welcome back

After an enforced break from the band Julie Mahoney has had to step down from the trombone section for the time being but we are pleased to welcome her to the Euph/ Bari bench where her experience and versitility is already proving invaluable.

New to the band is Dan Lewis who has joined on Bass trombone, the seat being vacated by Claire Higgins who has moved to 1st trombone.  Tim Pickles also joined the band prior to the Eisteddfod on 2nd Horn.

The band has also welomed back the students from Cardiff University that have been home over the summer.  Mary Light has returned on 1st Horn, Jacob Cooper to 2nd Trombone, Holly Clacey to 2nd Cornet.

Karl Haldenby has also returned after a period working away in London.  He is currently playing BBb Bass.

Bandstand Marathon

On the 25th September, the Band took part in a event to ensure that the Nation's bandstands were ringing out with music.  Across the country brass bands were asked to perform in the hundreds on bandstands that are in parks, town centres and seafronts.  We played out part and performed an afternoon concert in the Barry Island bandstand. For more information on this annual event please see the Bandstand Marathon Webite www.bandstandmarathon.org.uk/







3rd (Again)!

The band took part in the first ever lower section Miners' Welfare Eisteddod in Porthcawl on the 17th Sept.  This was particularly significant as the news had just broken that the miners trapped in the mine in the Swansea Valley had just been discovered and sadly none had survived.  The organsiation behind the event are there to provide support to families in this situation.

The Band revised the programme used in the National Eisteddfod earlier in the Summer with the addition of the Peter Graham arragement of Crimond.  Off an early draw, the band came away with the 3rd prize.  Again, this was a little disappointing but fair based on the performance.


The band look forward to making this well run and enjoyable event a feature of the band's year.


Then and Now

Following on from the article below about the purchase of new basses, whilst trawling the photo archive, there was a photo of the bass section when the band purchased their first set of 'new basses'.  These were second hand Besson Sovereigns but were far superior to the ones the band had originally!

 

The photo on the left was taken in 1992 at the National Finals - 19 years and two sets of basses later, Lewis is still there!


A Sad Farewell

On the Monday 1st August 2011, the Band joined hundreds of people at St. Tydfils Church, Llysworney to say goodbye to David Gordon.  David sadly died on Saturday 16 July 2011.

David joined the youth band along with his wife Wendy when he decided it was time to educate their three children in the ways of Brass Banding. He joined the Senior band  on solo cornet with Harriet, his daughter (also on cornet) and ,when she departed to study for a Degree in Medicine at Edinburgh University, he was joined by his youngest son Chris on Baritone.  Alex, his other son, continued to play regularly on a Tuesday night until starting college.

After David's death, Chris made the difficult decision to continue rehearsing with the band and wished to play at the Eisteddfod.  Harriet supported him in his wish and travelled up to Wrexham with Chris on the day of the competition.

The funeral was attended by well over 300 people wishing to pay their respects to a very popular member of the community and someone who made an impression in whatever he did. 

RAF St Athan Voluntary Band wishes to extend their sympathies to the Gordon family at this time.

3rd at the Eisteddfod 2011

The band has just returned from another successful weekend at the Eisteddfod, this year held in Wrexham.  Although we were unable to repeat last years 1st place, we were placed 3rd.  The band were slightly disappointed with the placement but enjoyed performing the fairly experiamental programme.  With the band taking part in the Miners' Eisteddfod in Porthcawl in September, hopefully we can polish the performance and do even better.

The band had a great weekend despite difficult circumstances and many people made a supreme effort just to be there.  The band would also like to thank the players that helped us out on the day making the performance what it was and the weekend so enjoyable.


New Basses

After many years of waiting, the band were awarded a grant that made it possible to purchase a full set of new basses.  After trying out what was on the market, the boys decided that a full set of Mr. Tuba basses would be the order of the day.  They opted for the squat BBb Basses with the orchestral EEb Basses.  Alan felt that the bass section shouldn't be left out with all the Prestige instruments in the band so he had all the moving parts gold plated.  Very Bling!!

Not to say Victor was pleased to play on his first ever brand new bass but he hasn't stopped polishing his!!

You may notice that the Bass section has a new addition - it was only temporary as Charlie stepped in to hold the bass for the photo while Chris had to go off an be interviewed at the Eisteddfod! 


Welcome Visitors

This week the band have opened the doors (to the rehearsal room) to the Duke of Lanasters' Regiment (TA) band.  They were looking for a place to undertake their Summer Camp and Alan offered our rehearsal space.  It has co-ordinated well with the band's plans for the Eisteddfod as the band needed to move to a larger room in order to practice the various visual effects for the upcoming contest.

It has also provided an oportunity to meet new people and develop new friendships.  The brass contingent of the military band helped to fill out the ranks of the band at a dinner night for the Junior Ranks of the station held at the Black Buck Club.  It was an enjoyable event for all involved, although we were glad that we didn't need to be up for an 08.30 inspection unlike our guests!

Later in the week, we are travelling to Wrexham for the Eisteddfod and the plan was to leave on the Friday afternoon.  Again, it is fortunate that the Duke of Lancaster's band are here as a graduation parade was scheduled for the Friday morning.  This would have made the day a little fraught so thankfully, the Duke of Lancaster's have agreed to provide the music for the occasion in our sted.

We are pleased to welcome our guests and hope that they have an enjoyable and fruitful Summer Camp.

Exam Success

The band would like to congratulate Carly Griffiths and Abbi Stone who both graduated from Cardiff University this summer.  Abbi played with the band whilst studying and recently left to concentrate on her finals.  She was also an active member of University of Wales Air Squadron.  The band whishes her success in her future endeavours.  Carly has successfully secured a place in UWIC to sudy for her PGCE and so we are pleased that she will continue to be a key member of the band.

The Longest Day

On the 25th June this year the band had an unusually busy day.  The 25th was Armed Forces Day and the band had already taken part in events earlier in the week.  On the day itself, the band's day started before 9am at the bandroom to travel to Cardiff.  At the event itself, the band played a short concert to a few hardy individuals braving the drizzle.  Having completed the first event of the day, the band had a bit of down time until the main focus of the event in Cardiff, the Drumhead Service.  With the parade marching through Cardiff and into the arena, the band were asked to provide the accompaniment to the hymns for the service.  The band also provided the Last Post, played by Andy Parks.  The band are proud to be asked to take part in such an important event celebrated across the country and are pleased that we have been able to support to the event for a number of years.

However, our day was far from over!  After the service, it was straight back on the bus to Barry.  In 2012, the Royal National Eisteddfod will take place in Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan.  The Proclomation Service for this important event was being held in Barry.  The band were asked to lead the procession through Barry and, again, provide the accompaniment for the hymns during the service.  The band has competed in the Eisteddfod every year since the mid 90's so were pleased to be asked to take part in the event.  We are also looking forward to next year, with so many musical, litterary and cultural events taking place so close to our bandroom.  We will also only have a 5 minute journey to the contest unlike this year's overnight stay!

At 4pm our work was finally finished.  However, given the length of the day, many could not face the thought of cooking, so it was back to the pub for a BBQ.  Thankfully, the rain had cleared up at lunch time and the evening was still quite warm.  After our fill of burgers and beer, it was finally off to bed by mindnight!  It was definately one of the band's longest days but worth it to be involved in so many important events and playing to an estimated 4,500 people (without the TV coverage). 

Now it is back to the hard work on the contest preparation for this year's Eisteddfod.

Ebbw Vale Contest

The band recently took part in the SEWBBA contest held in Ebbw Vale.  The band was competing in the Championship Section and were placed 5th in the small field.  Although this was a disappointing result, it was an acheivement just to make it to the stage with a competative performance.  Due to the timing of the event, the band was only able to have 5 rehearsals on the piece with a number of our players, who are students in Cardiff University, only returning on the Thursday prior to the contest on the Saturday.  They were in for a crash course of 2 rehearsals but rose to the challenge well.

The timing issues were certainly shown on the day with a number of bands unable to attend.  As such, the band were pleased that they were able to compete.  Hopefully, with more time to prepare, the results will improve in the remaining contests of this year.

Special mention should also be made to our contest debutants.  Matthew Jones, Tom Hollick and Jacob Cooper all took to the contest stage for the first time.  We would also like to thank Steve Davies (BBb Bass), Wyn Howells (soprano) from Tata Band and Kelsey-Jane Vaux (3rd Cornet) from Crosskeys Band who helped out on the day.  We also need to mention two band members, Mike Caress who travelled from Gloucester to play and Derrick White, who is officially retired from the band, but happily will still help out when he can.

Congratulations!

The band would like to offer its congratualtions to Matt Robinson on being awarded a place in the GB Sprint Kayak squad.   In between training and sudying for his A-Levels he has also managed to acheived Merit in his Grade 8 examination!!

Amazingly, he still manages to find time to come to band practice!

More Welcome Additions

The band are please to welcome Matthew Jones on percussion.  Matthew's Mum Diane joined the band on cornet at the end of last year and Matthew, who plays saxophone, was looking for a new challenge.  He has already shown his ability to pick up new skills quickly and a few weeks after picking up his first beater, he performed in the Spring Concert and shortly after, his first contest!

We are also pleased to welcome Tom Hollick on baritone.  Tom also plays for the Cardiff University Brass Band and is a welcome addition to the band.

Regional Contest

The band recently took part in the Regional Contest held in Swansea's Brangwyn Hall.  A late draw led to a few nerves on stage and a few unforced errors crept into the performance.  This meant that, despite a musical performance of a very difficult piece, the band was placed 8th.  However, the band are optimistic that we can improve on the performance and, hopefully, the results in the contests later this year.

Welcome Additions

The band are please to welcome a number of new players to the ranks.  Joining the band are:

Holly Clacey on 3rd cornet (who joined us late last year)
Mary Light on 2nd horn
Jacob Cooper on trombone
Ciara Costello on EEb Bass

Derrick's Retirement

Following on from the article below, Derrick's retirement lunch was held on Sunday 20th February and was well attended by players past and present and their families.  It was a very enjoyable event and fittingly it was the current officer in charge of No 4SofTT, Wing Commander Lyndon Jones, who presented Derrick with a watch to commemorate the event.  With the candles on the birthday cake threatening to set off the smoke alarm, Derrick finally called time on his playing with the band by offering to come back and help out at any time!  I guess you can never really leave when the band has been such an important part of your life.


All that remains is to wish Derrick all the best in his retirement and hope that it is a long and healthy one.




The End of an Era

As we head into the final preparations for the Area Contest in Swansea, RAF St Athan Voluntary Band also prepare to head into uncharted territory. No one in the current band, including Director of Music Alan Bourne can remember a time when the Band has been without its stalwart Drummer and Principal Percussionist Derrick White. With a momentous birthday approaching and some plans to travel and visit family, Derrick has taken the big decision to reduce his commitment to the sticks and to the Band.
 
Since joining the RAF on the 5th March 1940 as part of 41st entry, RAF Apprentices at RAF Halton, Derrick travelled the globe arriving for the first time at RAF St Athan in 1964. The early 70’s saw Derrick in Germany before coming back in 1975. After retiring from the RAF in February 1978, Derrick continued in a very successful career with the MOD notably running the Calibrations Laboratory until work retirement occurred in 1988.
 
A committed and reliable bandsman, Derrick has been part of the Band’s hectic schedule and been in part responsible for its continued development on the Parade Square, Concert Hall and Contest Platform. Out of the many thousands of times he’s put the kit up and down, the highlight for Derrick was the 1996 tour to the East Coast of America, New York and Washington. The most humorous incident involved a young cornet player getting his finger stuck in a mute in the middle of a prestigious concert. Following a pregnant pause, commendable self control from the Band members and copious quantities of valve oil the finger popped out, the concert continued and apparently, no-one in the audience was any the wiser! Of the many strange experiences Derrick was happy to be part of involved a charity performance at a stately home, where, by special request the Band had to perform Colonel Bogey – from the shallow end of the Swimming Pool! Band uniform that day was Walking Out with Swimming Trunks!
 
Derrick’s favourite types of band music are marches and any arrangements in the “Big Band” style but doesn’t enjoy the contests – a logistical nightmare for percussionists and aptly described as "Musical prize-Fights”.
 
Derrick was awarded Life-Membership of the South East Wales Brass band association in 1994 and their Bronze medal in May of 1999. Also in 1999, Derrick was awarded the MBE for services to RAF Voluntary Music and when asked what the most memorable part of the day was replied with certainty – “the whole ceremony from arriving at Buckingham Palace to leaving”.
 
Typically, Derrick’s last official performance was on February 18th (Derrick’s birthday) when he joined the Band to perform at a No 4 School of Technical Training Graduation Parade at RAF St  Athan some seventy years after having experienced exactly the same event himself.

Review of 2010 and Annual Awards

It was a disappointing end to the year that saw three of the last four concerts, incuding the Band's own Family Christmas concert, being cancelled due to the heavy snow fall over that weekend.  The only event that took place was because all who played could walk to the event - oh and it was held in a pub which gave the incentive to brave the weather!!

However, the band did take part in over 20 Christmas events, from fetes to concerts and parades to carol services.  During this busy time of year the Band also held the annual dinner and awards night.  The event made a welcome return to December after a few years of trying out different times of the year.  In order to fit it in, it was held on what turned out to be the busiest weekend for the band.  With carols in Cowbridge High Street on Saturday morning and Santa's Grotto in Barry in the afternoon and then a Parade for the R.A.F. in Llantwit Major on Sunday morning followed by a bracing visit to the seaside in Penarth in the afternoon (that certainly blew away the cobwebs of the previous night!) 

This pretty much summed up the Christmas period for the band and in fact the year itself, with plenty of hard work as well as a few occaisions to relax and enjoy the social aspects of being a member of the band.

During the evening the following awards were presented to the players that received the most votes from all the playing members of the band:

Most Promising Young Player (Under 18)

This year the award went to Cam Hughes, who has recevieved the award a number of times before.  Cam plays 1st Horn with the band and balances his time with the band with playing French Horn with the County Youth Wind Band and taking some GCSE exams early.  He has coped well with all the competing draws on his time and has stepped up to play solo horn in a number of concerts when the Band's Solo Horn was unable to attend due to work commitments.

Band Personality

Not for the first time, the popular vote went to the Band's 2nd Baritone player, Alice Jones.  As is typical of Alice, she was busy entertaining the locals at the village pub with a Karaoke session when the dinner was held, but she was able to receive her award when a few members of the band returned to the pub after the dinner.  Her celebration was short lived though, as she was to burn the midnight oil by providing the entertainment at the Officer's Mess Christmas party as soon as she was finished at the pub!

Most Improved Player

This is the award that is presented to the player that has shown that hard work can really make a difference.  This year the award went to the Band's BBb Bass player, Victor Partridge.  Victor joined the band late in 2009 and has coped really well with the step up in the difficulty of the pieces required to compete in the local Championship Section after playing for a number of years with lower section bands.

Player of the Year

This year, the most prestigious award went to the Band's Soprano Player, Rose Fisher.  Rose has mastered this most difficult of instrument and has played it for most of her time in banding.  She has proven over and over again, that in the right hands it is the delicate icing on the cake of any performance.  This year, perhaps the most significant performance came in the last contest of the year when the band played the set work of Les Preludes arranged by Bram Gay.  This very difficult piece is famous for its fiendish sop part.  In an earlier national competion a number of bands even fielded two sops!  Rose worked hard and performed very well on the day.  So much so that she even had good comments in the adjudication from one of the best soprano players of all time. 

Review of 2010

Goodbyes

This year we were sad to say goodbye to Katy Thomas, who returned to North Wales after completing her music degree.  Hopefully, we will be seeing her again soon.

Hellos

Rhiannon Miskin finally made the move from the youth band permanent on horn and 2010 saw both her and Chris Gordon (baritone) take part in their first contests with the band.  Karl Haldenby, who has helped out the band on a number of occasions in the past, has been a more regular face around the stand and is currently occupying the 2nd Trombone seat.

The band has also been lucky enough to call on the current members of the Cardiff University band to help at concerts and also join us on the contest stage.

We were also able to call on our 'super subs'.  With a week to go before the Eisteddfod, Tim Bourne came in last minute on solo cornet - Alan just forgot to mention he needed to memorise a whole piece and run around the stage!  Mike Caress also provided cover on horn during the year, so we were certainly not left short!

Contesting

It has been another mixed year on the contesting front.  Another under par performance and poor result at the Regional qualifiers in March sees the band needing to pull out all the stops this year at the same event.

On a brighter note, the band has coped well with the move up to the Championsip Section locally and ended the year as joint 4th in the league.

The highlight of the contesting year, however, was winning the 2nd Section at the Royal National Eisteddfod held in Ebbw Vale.  With the band taking to the stage 10 out of 10 bands, it was certainly saving the best to last!

Other Events

The band has continued to fulfill all the ceremonial requirements for the MOD (RAF) St Athan.  On top of this the band has performed at a number of events throughout the year, highlights being the concert with PAOS in The Pavillion in Porthcawl and playing for Stan Stennet in St David's Hall.

Looking Forward

It is an exciting year ahead.  The campaign to consolidate our position in the 2nd Section nationally and work towards promotion back to the 1st section starts straight away with the rehearsals ahead of the Regional Qualifier at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea in March.  We will also hope to build on last years experiences of competing in the Championship section for the local contests as well as defending our title at the Eisteddfod which will mean a trip to North Wales.  There are also a number of engagements already planned for next year - and only 11 months till we start playing Christmas music again!!

Happy New Year!