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West Park Summer Festival Concert -
30th June 2007
West Park United Reformed Church, Harrogate
Joint concert featuring Jo Greenberg
(Horn), Woodlands Junior School choir, the Main Band and Training Band.
The Training Band,
conducted by John Kendrew, opened the concert confidently with Bach's
Minuet in F, followed by Portraits of a Landscape (Fraser) and Toccata
(Johnson).
 Jo
Greenberg grew up in Harrogate and studied
Horn at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is currently principal
Horn of the Orchestra of the Swan and 2nd Horn in the English Touring
Opera. Whilst at school, Jo performed with the White Rose Concert Band on
several occasions. Accompanied by Beryl Pankhurst, Jo dazzled the audience
with a number of repertoire items including Sonata No.2 (Chrubini); Little
Suite (Borodin); Fantasy for Horn (Arnold) and Le Basque (Morais).
Woodlands Junior School Choir is
open to all pupils and meets for half an hour each week. Music at
Woodlands is very important and the aim is to make quality music
accessible for all the children. The choir gave an entertaining
performance of The Bare Necessities; All Things Bright & Beautiful (Rutter);
Medley from Mary Poppins; Roller Ghoster (Simmons) and Wonderful Lord (Horley).
The choir's finale was a selection from the ever-popular Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, accompanied by the Main Band.
The Main Band performed New York and
The Catskills (Hess) which were two of the items for which the band had
received a Gold Award in the regional and national stages of the National
Concert Band Festival. In the second half of the concert the band played
Oregon (Jacob De Haan) and the atmospheric piece Inchon (R.Smith) which
featured sound effects intended to simulate helicopters in the
Korean/Vietnam conflict. Keystone Cops provided a suitably light-hearted
note to end on.
The concert was extremely well attended and the musical ensembles were
very well received.
SW 01.07.07
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We Did It !!! Unprecedented Success at National Level!
The White Rose Concert Band is celebrating
its most esteemed achievement in its 31 year history - a Gold Award in the
final of the National Concert Band
Festival which took place at The Sage in Gateshead on 1st April.
Musical Director Ben Tierney is delighted with the progress the band has
made recently. "I am really pleased that the band has equipped themselves
so
well and grown up so much musically in the last 12 months. I look forward
to
an even rosier next 12 months!".
The band achieved 'A's for deportment and their highly demanding programme
which consisted of Alfred Reed's 'Viva Musica!', 'The Catskills' by Nigel
Hess and Philip Sparke's 'Strathcarron' (Sword Dance).
Secretary Susan Wilkinson said "it was a fantastic challenge for us to
build
on last year's achievement which was the band's first ever Silver Award at
national level. The Gold Award is testament to everyone's hard work and
commitment."
Highly esteemed adjudicators Simone Rebello and Geoffrey Brand described
the award winning rendition as "a committed performance, full of character
and
life...thoroughly entertaining and polished".
The band is taking a well-earned break from rehearsing for two weeks
before
preparation for the busy summer programme begins. Their next performance
is
at Harrogate Flower Show on 29th April, followed by a concert at Harewood
House on 27th May 2007.
SW 02.04.07
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Band Strikes !
Ben Tierney and the
band are delighted to have
received a Gold Award for their performance of Nigel Hess's 'New York' and
Philip Sparke's 'Four Norfolk Dances' at the regional stage of the
National Concert Band Festival on 21st January 2007.
The adjudicators were Ray
Thompson and Mark Heron who described the band's performance as "good
confident playing...delivered with pizzazz". It is the second year running
that the band has received a Gold Award at regional level. In 2006 the
band went on to receive their first ever Silver Award at national level.
Preparation now begins for this year's National Festival which is taking
place at The Sage, Gateshead on 31st March/1st April.
SW 21.01.07
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Harrogate Flower Show -
17th September 2006
The sun shone brightly for the
first concert of the new season. The concert gave the band the opportunity
to play the summer repertoire for one last time before starting an
intensive rehearsal schedule in preparation for the Concert Band Festival
in November.
SW 18.09.06
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Recreation Ground, Pateley Bridge - 23rd July 2006
The band welcomed guest
Musical Director Steve Heninghem to conduct the last concert of the season
in Pateley Bridge.
To avoid overcrowding, the
band chose to be seated on the grass rather than in the bandstand. In
addition to the summer repertoire, the music included 'Choral and Rock
Out', 'Pop Looks Bach' and 'Amarillo'.
SW 25.07.06
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Castle Yard, Knaresborough - 2nd July 2006
The band managed to find a
shady spot for their performance in the castle gardens on one of the
hottest days of the year. The audience enjoyed ice creams as they listened
to repertoire ranging from 'Stardust' performed by Sylvia on solo alto
sax, to 'Lord of the Dance' and 'Cha cha for band'.
The concert was followed by
the band's summer barbecue which was followed by a very competitive game
of rounders!
SW 04.07.06
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Valley
Gardens, Harrogate - 18th June 2006
A very damp start with little
prospect...but an audience materialised and the rain stopped (as if by
magic) for the duration of the concert. Music included the 'Raider's
March', selections from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and 'The Lion King' and
a movement from Vaughan Williams' Folk Song Suite.
SW 18.06.06
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Ilkley Bandstand -
4th June 2006
The concert was very well-attended. A big
thank you goes to the members of the brass section who had to stand up
because the band was short of space on the bandstand. Music ranged from
Prokofiev's 'Spartakiade' to selections from 'Phantom of the Opera' and
'Jesus Christ Superstar'.
SW 04.06.06
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Evening Concert - 20th May 2006
West Park United Reformed Church, Harrogate
Joint concert featuring
Charlotte Bell (bassoon), James Hudson (piano), Woodlands County Junior School
Choir and White Rose Concert Band.
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Harrogate Spring Flower Show - 30th April 2006
The poor weather failed to dampen players' spirits at the Harrogate Flower
Show, which was the first outdoor event of the year for the band.
Favourable comments were received from hardy members of the public who
braved the wind and rain to sit and listen.
SW 30.04.06
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Silver Success at the National Concert Band Festival
The band was delighted to
receive a Silver Award for their performance of Philip Sparke's 'Hymn of
the Highlands' at the National Concert Band Festival in Glasgow on 9th
April, with 'A's for deportment and the choice of programme.
Attending the festival was a
fantastic opportunity for players to challenge themselves on an individual
level and work together to improve as an ensemble. Ben Tierney (Musical
Director) and all players 'pulled the stops out' and undertook a
challenging rehearsal schedule in preparation for the festival. The Silver
Award at national level is a first for the band.
The band is very grateful for
the funding provided by the Awards For All scheme, supported by Harrogate
Borough Council, which helped with the cost of travel and accommodation.
The band also extends its thanks to St Aloysius' College in Glasgow, which
proved to be an ideal venue for the final rehearsal on 8th April.
The band will take a well-earned break from rehearsing for one week before
preparations for the busy summer programme commence.
SW 10.04.06
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Festival Fever
The band has embarked on an
intensive rehearsal schedule to prepare for the National Concert Band
Festival which is being held in Glasgow on 9th April 2006. The band will
be performing Philip Sparke's 'Hymn of the Highlands' in the Community
Wind Band class.
The band has applied for an Awards For All grant to assist with
accommodation and travel costs for the trip to Glasgow.
SW 19.02.06
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Christmas Fundraising
Campaign
Thanks to the generosity of the general public, collections taken at carol
playing events at the Knaresborough Edwardian Market, Harrogate
Continental Market, Waitrose - Otley and Waitrose - Harrogate enabled the
White Rose Concert Band to make a donation of £450 to Heart Research UK
and £250 to the British Heart Foundation. These charities were chosen by
band members in memory of former committee member Alan Rae, who is sadly
missed.
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Joint Concert with Harrogate
Music Centre, Harrogate Ladies College - 18th December 2005
Under the direction
of Ian Peak, the Harrogate Music Centre Intermediate Concert Band opened
the concert with 'Banana Split'; a lively piece which featured snippets of
many familiar tunes. The programme continued with music from 'Joseph & the
Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' and 'Shrek'. The band's performance was
dedicated to the memory of Tom Mansfield who tragically died recently. Tom
was a Music Centre young musician who had also played with White Rose
Concert Band.
The Guitar Orchestra performed a suite composed by Hank Marvin, arranged
by director Arthur Silcox, and 'Walking in the air' by Howard Blake.
The White Rose Concert Band played Leroy Anderson's 'Sleigh Ride', 'Elegy
on Away in a Manager' by Gordon Harrison, Ron Goodwin's 'Tall Ships' and
Sparke's 'Four Norfolk Dances'.
The bands united in the finale to perform three arrangements of
traditional Christmas tunes written by Johnny Jones.
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Band Strikes !
After several weeks of
rehearsals, the band was delighted to receive a Gold Award for their
performance of Ron Goodwin's 'Tall Ships' and Philip Sparke's 'Four
Norfolk Dances' in the Community Wind Band Class at the Yorkshire Region
stage of the National Concert Band Festival on 27th November.
Adjudicators Keiron Anderson
and Kit Turnbull said the band's performance was "stylish" and "mature"
and the band was commended on their choice of programme. Kit Turnbull said
that the performance of the dances showed a great understanding of the
character of the piece, and Sparke's elements of humour were noticeable
throughout. The attention to detail and dynamic contrasts were also
praised by the adjudicators.
The National Festival is taking place at the Royal Scottish Academy of
Music & Drama in Glasgow in April 2006.
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Cabaret Evening, Victoria
Hall, Saltaire - 12th September 2005
The first half of this Saltaire Festival concert featured items from
Broadway, cinema, jazz and swing performed by White Rose Concert Band.
Dixieland music followed, played by the Bottleneck Jazz Quintet.
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Aldborough & Boroughbridge Agricultural Show - 24th July 2005
The band would like to thank Steve Heninghem who guided the band through a
varied programme of music at this new addition to the band's calendar of
events.
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Ripon Market Square - 3rd July 2005
The band spent a sunny
afternoon playing to members of the public as they passed through Ripon
city centre in a concert arranged by Ripon City Partnerships.
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Ilkley Bandstand - 18th June 2005
What a scorcher! It was
a bit cramped but the band enjoyed playing at a new venue in glorious
sunshine.
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Valley Gardens - 5th June
2005
Despite gloomy weather, the concert went on! Several favourable
comments were received from members of the audience. The wind quintet made
their debut performance while the rest of the band took a break.
The band took advantage of a gap between showers to have their picture
taken. A big thank you to Mr Munden for stepping in as photographer.
View photos of the band
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Harrogate Spring Flower Show - 30th April 2005
The concert opened with ensemble items from the clarinet group, followed
by the saxes, then the brass section. The band joined together in
the second half to perform a variety of concert band pieces. |
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Evening Concert - 23rd April 2005
West Park United Reformed Church, Harrogate
Joint concert featuring
Simon Crick (trumpet), Woodlands County Junior School choir,
the main band and training band.
Simon Crick was the 'Young Musician of the Harrogate Competitive
Music Festival 2004' and the only brass player to achieve this.
Simon is a former pupil of St Aidan's High School, Harrogate and is
studying trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music. Accompanied by
Christine Alp, Simon delighted the audience with Caprice (Bozza); Quiet
City (Copland) and Scherzo (Brandt).
Woodlands Junior School consists of children aged 7 to 11 who meet
together once a week with conductor Beth Bradley and pianist Christine
Alp. The choir has performed in the Royal Hall, Harrogate Conference
Centre, Ripon Cathedral and Selby Abbey, and received second place in this
year's Harrogate Competitive Music Festival. The choir gave a lively
performance of Cool School Concert; The Jumblies; A Tall Story; Time On
Our Hands and The School Rule Song.
The Training Band's debut performance, conducted by John Kendrew,
was well received. The programme included London Pride (Johnson); El
Condor Pasa (arr. Kenny); Bach Minuet (arr. Farnon); Theme from Schubert
Symphony No. 5 (arr. Johnson).
The Main Band performed a variety of entertaining music: Tall Ships
(Goodwin); Curtain Up (Reed); Leroy Anderson Portrait (arr. Barnes);
Theatre Music (Sparke) and The Symphonic Gershwin (arr. Barker).
The concert was very well attended and a donation from the proceeds will
be made to the Harrogate Homeless Project.
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Tsunami Appeal - 15th January
2005
Band members gave up their
time at short notice to perform an impromptu concert in Harrogate's Market
Square, with the kind permission of Harrogate Borough Council.
The event raised £575 for the Unicef Tsunami Children's Appeal.
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Christmas Fundraising Campaign 2004
£500 was raised for Henshaw's Society for Blind People by playing
carols in local supermarkets. |
