Wednesday, June 24, 2009

10th Anniversary Concert 2009

Saturday's concert opened with Lloyd Coleman conducting the band, first in Vaughan Williams’ Flourish for Wind Band, and then in the world premiere performance of Lloyd’s own piece, Jubilation, which he wrote especially for Beenham Band.

View the audience

Both pieces were well received by our enthusiastic audience.

Jubilation gets its second performance in Manchester today, Wednesday - good luck, Lloyd!

Brass row

Robert Roscoe took up the baton for the rest of the concert, first conducting Ted Huggens’ immensely expressive New Baroque Suite.

This was followed by Guy Woolfenden’s Gallimaufry, which although in six sections is played as one continuous piece. Gallimaufry is based on music Woolfenden originally wrote for the RSC productions of the Henry IV plays in 1982, and sounds like traditional English music, though cast in modern forms.

Where now?

The first half ended with Torbjorn Hultmark enchanting us all with a mellifluous stream of cornet solos in his own arrangement of Arban’s Carnival of Venice.

After the interval the band gave exciting performances of Martin Ellerby’s demanding Paris Sketches and an arrangement of Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Lobby crush

For the finale there was John Krance’s amazing wind band version of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, during which the band seemed almost to take the roof off Newbury’s Corn Exchange.

Silver

See you soon for "Band on the Rec", Friday 3rd July at 7.30 pm on Beenham Rec - feel free to bring a picnic!

(Click on pics to enlarge)

Afternoon rehearsal

A few photos from the rehearsal on Saturday (click to enlarge):

robert roscoe conducts beenham bandRobert Roscoe conducting


dave appleby on tenor hornDave Appleby on tenor horn


torbjorn hultmark plays carnival of veniceTorbjorn Hultmark running through Carnival of Venice


lloyd coleman conducting beenham band at newbury corn exchangeLloyd Coleman rehearsing Jubilation


french horns beenham bandGolden action


robert roscoe conducting beenham band at newbury corn exchangeRobert and Beenham Band

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Message from Katie Roehl

Thanks for the update about the Band`s 10th anniversary celebration this weekend. How I wish could be there! Please give my love and best wishes to each and every member of the band. Take lots of pictures and put them on the website!

Michael & I were married last fall, and will be moving to China to
teach English this fall. More updates later...

Until then, love to all, and have a wonderful concert!

Katie

The Night Before ...

I suppose we could have squeezed a few more into the school hall last night, but it was fairly full for the final Friday rehearsal before the Corn Exchange concert.


Carmina Burana got a good going over, with Robert conducting in the first half, this time also with two pianos and some extra percussion.


And then, after that lip-busting session, we spent the second half jubiliating with Lloyd, as he took us for a work-out of his own.


Add Ted Huggens’ New Baroque Suite, the Carnival of Venice, Gallimaufry, Paris Sketches, West Side Story, and Vaughan Williams’ Flourish for Wind Band for the actual concert, and the audience will have a real treat; and we will all sleep well in our beds tonight.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Carnival of Venice

Looking for things to do in Newbury? Well, check out our 10th Anniversary Concert at the Corn Exchange, and remember to bring your family and friends.

Last night Torbjorn Hultmark came to rehearse his own arrangement of Arban’s Carnival of Venice, for band and solo cornet. It’s a well-known piece, and gorgeous to listen to.

When I was at school I learned the lowbrow version, “Mein Hut Der Hat Drei Ecken”, a German drinking song, complete with actions, which we used to practice, much as the girls are doing in this clip from Youtube.

The Corn Exchange audience on Saturday will, by contrast, be treated to a fantastic virtuoso performance of the theme and its many variations, played by Torbjorn himself, accompanied with style and panache by the Beenham Band. Get your tickets here.

Don’t miss it!

Beenham Church Fête

Our first fête of the season was the Beenham Church fête, last Saturday. A typical early summer’s day, it drizzled, so we took up stations around the font, and played inside the ancient church. Well, the church is largely Victorian, it just looks older.

Our small audience seemed to enjoy their retreat, and we enjoyed playing them some of our old favourites - Hootenanny, Dambusters, Grease, and Pirates of the Caribbean - among others.

I can report Beenham church does a good cup of tea, served in tea-cup and saucer in our interval. The nearby cake stall looked good too, but unfortunately I could not afford the weight.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Band Plays Carmina Burana

Mike Cooney on French HornCarl Orff’s Carmina Burana is a piece I’ve long had a love-hate relationship with. As a boy I rehearsed parts of it for a performance in London. Great music, but my voice broke before the big day, and since my school was only providing a boys’ choir, that was me out. Later I got a CD recording, but found it usually gave me a headache.

So the band arrangement by John Krance has been something of a revelation. Carmina sounds so good, so natural, just as if Orff had originally written it for wind band. And it doesn’t give me headaches, for all its verve, intensity, power, and drama!

Carmina really ‘rocks’, as they say, and anyone coming along to Beenham Band's Anniversary Concert on 20th June is in for a real treat. (Tickets from Newbury Corn Exchange).

I did a little hunting around and found that Naxos has a recording of the Krance version of Carmina Burana, available from their website for £5.99, including postage. You can listen to samples of each track on their web site.

Carmina is part of Naxos' Wind Band Classics range, several of which are currently half-price: any votes for new repertoire?