Gaps in the band!

As a result of people going off to University and increasing work commitments we really need some more  players.  We are especially looking to fill the 2nd euphonium seat, but experienced players of any instrument are sure of a warm welcome. We are very happy to welcome university students studying in the area even if you can't play during the vacations - after all, that is when our resident students return! So if you feel Swinton might be the band for you, contact Dorothy or come to a Monday or Wednesday evening practice.

There are also a few places available for new learners of any age from 8 to 80.  If you've always fancied having a go at a brass instrument, now is your chance.  Contact Dorothy or come and meet us at the Bandroom on Saturday evenings!

Band Dinner

This year the Band Dinner is moving back to the Old Lodge Hotel in Malton and will be on Saturday 24th April at 7,00 for 7.30 p.m. We look forward to the usual excellent and convivial evening, so get your booking in soon!  Booking forms are available here

Malton Brass '09

This year, there were very few bands entered for this contest (shame!) so we went for it knowing that the worst we could do was third, but equally knowing that (at least on paper ) that was where we deserved to be!  So it was no real disappointment when that is where we ended up!  We played the same programme as we had at Hardraw, just a great deal better, and were delighted to hear the adjudicator Alan Hope say that he had had a really hard time producing any result as he had all three bands in second place!  The band played really well and Dan's solo had the audience on its feet at the end.  We were delighted but not surprised when he gained the prize for best soloist for his performance of Grandfather's Clock - it really was special!  Well done all, especially Nigel for all his hard work.  

Congratulations too to Stape and South Milford on their excellent results - let's hope next year for more bands to join us.

Local bands also did very well in the upper section with Kirkbymoorside taking 1st and York Railway Institute taking 2nd place.  Well done to you both!

Solo Contest

This year it was  decided to revive the Swinton Solo and Ensemble Contest which enables all members of the band from the most experienced to the real beginners to have a go at performing on their own in front of an audience.

The contest took place on the evening of10th October at the Swinton Sports Club in front of Cliff Hicks who had kindly agreed to act as adjudicator and proved to be a really enjoyable evening .  

Well done, all! It takes a lot of courage to stand up on your own in front of an audience - perhaps most of all when you know them!

 Special thanks go to David Mather for acting as accompanist and to to Steve for organising this enjoyable evening

In the Solo section results were as follows:
Juniors
1st. Jacob (Euphonium)
2nd. Izzie (Cornet)
3rd. Ged (Bb Bass)
4th. James (Baritone)
5th Joseph (Cornet)

Intermediate
1st. Daniel (Tenor Horn)
2nd. Sophie (Tenor Horn)
3rd. Mike (Eb Bass)
4th=. Mark (Trombone)
4th=. Niamh  (Cornet)

Open
1st. Jane (Flugel Horn)
2nd. Steve (Eb Bass)
3rd. Paul  (Cornet)
4th. Alice (Cornet)



In the Ensemble Section the results were:

Juniors
1st. Quartet- Niamh, Izzie, Daniel and Jacob
2nd. Duet -Izzie and Ged
3rd. Duet - Ellis and James

Seniors
1st. Quintet - Alice, Niamh, Andrew, Ellis and Tracey
2nd. Quintet - Steve, Tracey, Jane, Mark, Valerie
3rd. Quintet - Andy, Niamh, Mike, Mark and Sophie

Congratulations!

to Donna and Ian who were married a fortnight ago at St Mary's Old Malton.  Needless to say the band played for them and it was a wonderful occasion. For more pictures see the Wedding Album page and the photographer's website

 A  Bad Hair Day?

James has such a commitment to Swinton Band that he has had his hair dyed in the band colours, black, gold and purple!  As well as looking resplendent, he has also raised £300 for band funds as well as upping the band's profile by appearing in the local press!

Well done James - it looks great!

Hardraw Scar Contest

Last Sunday we were back at Hardraw and this year the weather did us proud!  A gloriously sunny day, it only got chilly towards the end when the midges came out in force.  We were drawn fifth which meant an early start for those who weren't already there (actually they had an early start too!) and the band was organised and ready to play with plenty of time to spare.  The programme went reasonably well and we made fifth in a hard-fought lower section.  This year as well as being able to see the adjudicator at work , we also had to contend with the un-nerving boom and cameras brought by the BBC who were filming the contest for a series next year.  Congratulations to Dan on a superb solo and thanks to Nigel for all the hard work he has put in on the programme.  Well done too to the band - it's the first time we have managed to do Hardraw without a single borrowed player - even if we only got the entire band together for the first time on stage!  It was a grand day out - enjoyed by all or so they are assured by those who can remember!

This also marked the end of an era as Maggie, Will and Sarah are now off to university.  We wish them well and hope to see them back helping out from time to time!

Singing Playing in the Rain!

Last Saturday Stape Silver Band organised a fantastic evening in Pickering  Market Place.  Stape, Kirkbymoorside Town Band and Swinton formed a Massed Band to put on a free concert to celebrate 125 years of Stape Band and of course Yorkshire Day.  

Each band in turn marched up Pickering, playing the march of their choice (Punchinello, Slaidburn and Loyal and True) after which they joined for a concert under the batons of all three conductors.  

A large and enthusiastic audience had gathered who were not in the least deterred by the weather, which started poor and became dreadful, leading to the truncation of the concert as music turned to pulp and fountains sprang from the timps!  Despite the atrocious weather, it was a great event, and all the feedback has been very favourable.

Thank you to Stape Silver for organising the event - hopefully it will be the first of many!

We should also extend a major thank you to our president who spent an evening helping us annoy and please (in pretty equal measure!) the inhabitants of Swinton as he instructed the band in the finer points of marching!

Welcome!

We are delighted to welcome Dan to the principal euphonium seat from September.  Dan has played with us from time to time over the last four years or so, helping with the learners group, as a "dep" and as a guest soloist.  Now that he has seen the error of his ways in moving down to London and is moving back up north, we are thrilled that he is actually becoming a proper member of the band rather than just part of the social group!

Get Well Soon!

Best wishes  to Mike and Yvonne C, who are both in hospital.  Sadly, Mike has had to have his leg amputated, but he is hopeful that he will be back with band in the not too distant future.  He has been moved from Scarborough to Bridlington Hospital, while Yvonne is currently in Hull Hospital.  We send them both wishes for a speedy recovery!

STOP PRESS!

Mike is now out of hospital and making an excellent recovery - he will apparently be back with learners soon!  Yvonne is also out of hospital and returning to fine form - it's great to see them bounce back like this!

New "IgNobel" Award

As Tracey was borrowing a horn to play at our concert at Sheriff Hutton, Steve thought he'd give it a bath first!  As a result of his findings he had no hesitation in awarding Josephine "The Sewerpipe of the Year" award and presenting it formally to her at the next band practice.  We understand he will also be presenting a bill from Dynarod!

On a more serious note he urged those who didn't know how to maintain their instruments to attend one of the learner's evenings about this, or to use his services at the cost of a donation to band funds!

WhitFriday 2009

Well, I think we are now just about dried out again now!  This year saw some of the worst weather the Saddleworth contests have ever seen!  We were lulled into a false sense of security by a sunny practice at Birch but by the time we had gathered at the start at Denshaw it was tipping it down and even those with waterproofs were distinctly damp!  Never mind, we still had a fun evening and made a few friends in the process!.  

Our marches were "Teddy Bears Picnic " on the road (It raised quite a few smiles, given the weather!) and "Jupiter" on the stand.  We got round six villages (Denshaw, Delph, Dobcross, Greenfield, Friezland and Lydgate) and did marginally better than last year.  

This year we had far fewer visiting players but we are very grateful to them for filling gaps for us.  A notable sight was our Bb bass on the march: Nigel is more usually to be found on cornet when he is not conducting!  It was a promising debut, but on balance we definitely need him in the middle!

 Sad News

We are very sorry to announce the death of Roy Lester. for many years a stalwart of the Bass section.  Roy joined the band in 1986, coming in to cover for a regular player who had had an accident.  At that stage Roy lived in Thorne, near Doncaster and attendance at band practice meant a round trip of some 80 miles.  The regular player returned but Roy stayed on and eventually became Vice-Chairman of the band.  He did move to Ryedale so that attendance became less of an endurance test but the commitment he initially showed never waned.  Eventually he retired from playing but continued to take a lively interest in the band and its doings.

Roy died on Wednesday 15th April 2009 and his funeral will be on Tuesday 21st April  at  St Mary's Church, Cloughton at12.30 p.m.

We would like to extend our condolences to Megan and all their family.  Roy was a good friend and we will miss him. 

Well done all!

After an awful lot of very hard work on this year's area test piece "The Talisman" (generally regarded as an extremely hard choice for the 4th section!) we had a nice leisurely start from Dorothy's to get to Darlington for a practice before the afternoon section of the Northern Area contest.  All went swimmingly until we discovered that we were drawn last so were not due to play till about 5.30.  That's an awful long time to keep the band out of the Darlington pubs! 
However, all went well and we played a good performance and came off reasonably happy with what we had done and secure in the knowledge that no following band would play better!

The adjudicator's speech was depressing - he did not seem to think much of any band, and had very little positive to say, so we were not very optimistic about our chances.  So we were hugely delighted to find that we had achieved third place with a trophy and some prize money!  Though not off to Harrogate, it is a wonderful achievement for a young band, and all concerned deserve the fullest recognition.  Thanks, Nigel, for an immense amount of hard work!  Well done to all those who gamely got to all their rehearsals despite coughs, wounds, slipped discs, exams etc.  And not least thanks to Dorothy for keeping the whole show organised and to Dennis for infinite patience as he brought the coach in and out of Darlington all day!

Congratulations

to Tom and Lucie Whitfield who were married on Friday at Donington Park. 

 Tom was for many years a key member of the cornet line-up, and a number of ex-Swinton players were at the wedding including Jennie Whitfield (bridesmaid) and Matthew Mayo (best man)

Sad News

We are very sorry to have to announce the death of Tommy Dykes, a long-time player in the band.  Tommy was a tremendous character and well-loved by generations of band members.  

Born in 1940, Tommy played trombone and Bb bass and was an active member of the band from the age of 13 until early 1994.

Tommy started work on a farm at Swinton Grange at the age of 15, but after a spell at Ainsty’s where he met his wife Hazel, he became a postman until he retired. Tommy always had a cheery smile and a joke with young and old alike; on his round he made many a lonely person’s day.

In band, Tommy was great with the youngsters, recruiting them, helping them with their music and taking them to Band engagements, and was a great ambassador for Swinton Band. Tommy was always the life and soul of the party and will be greatly missed. 

At Tommy’s funeral, the band attended to play some of his favourite pieces.  It was a great occasion – thanks to all those who turned out!  It was good to see the return of some old friends from the past to help us – you’re always welcome!