Sandhurst Silver Band

Sandhurst were delighted to accept an invitation to play for the staff at Panasonic's offices in Bracknell on Wednesday 21 December, to help them with their Christmas celebrations. The early evening event featured some enthusiastic carol singing as well as some other features from the band, which included 'Christmas Festival', 'The Christmas Song' and 'Sleigh Ride', as well as a reprise of the 'Post Horn Galop' from our recent Christmas concert, and a trip down memory lane - for some at least - in the form of the trombone feature 'The Acrobat', which featured as the theme tune to the BBC Children's series 'Jonny Briggs' in the eighties.

Sandhurst would like to thank Keith Evans and all of his colleagues for making us all so welcome - and warm, with the scarves which they generously donated! - at the event, and we hope to see you all again soon.

Sandhurst Band performed its second Christmas concert of the season at St Paul's Church, Camberley on Saturday 17th December.

For some in the band it was a big evening of music after an equally big day where members of the band had also been entertaining Christmas shoppers at Bracknell (Princess Square) and Basingstoke (Festival Place). However there was no evidence of any tired lips - or lack of Christmas cheer! - as the band performed their traditional year closer to a capacity crowd.

Opening with a new arrangement of carols and festive favourites from our MD, Ian McElligott, simply entitled 'Christmas!' got the audience in the right mood for a unique blend of entertainment - and not all of it was festive either, guaranteeing something for everyone from Santa himself to Scrooge!

Saturday 3rd December saw Sandhurst band launch their Christmas festivities with a 'double header' concert, as invited guests of the Surrey Heath Choral Society.

The band were delighted to accept the invitation from SHCS to perform at their concert, which was held at Highcross Church, Camberley. Two concerts were held, with an afternoon event featuring three very well rehearsed local school choirs from The Grove Primary School, Ravenscote Junior School and Lakeside Primary School, and an evening event featuring a multitude of timeless Christmas classics.

The band provided some popular choices of it's own - the afternoon concert featured performances of the 'Westminster carol' from Kernow's 'Christmas Tryptch', 'Winter' from Vivaldi's 'The Seasons' and Anderson's popular classic 'Sleigh Ride' which was a hit with the youngsters in the audience. In acknowledgement of the church setting, the band also offered Bach's 'Symphonic Prelude in G Major' arranged by our own MD, Ian McElligott.

The evening concert featured some more serious repertoire, with a festive performance of Sparke's 'Pantomime' - complete with the customary 'super F wobbles' delivered effortlessly by the band's principal euphonium, Matt Spriggs. Later in the programme the entire band took the opportunity to indulge in some plate smashing, as part of our take on the 'Armenian Dances Part 1', in another popular arrangement from our MD.

The band thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the two concerts with SHCS, and hopes to work with them again in the future.

Our next Christmas events are carolling at Festival Place, Basingstoke on Saturday 10th and Saturday 17th December - we look forward to seeing you there!

... and wait, and wait, and wait!

In fact Sandhurst know all about waiting, having waited for nearly six hours after their final rehearsal for the Leicester (Loughborough) Open Contest to finally present their performance of John McCabe's 'Cloudcatcher Fells' on Sunday 27th November. Drawn 13th of 14 bands in the draw, the band had plenty of time to enjoy the performances of the other competing bands, which set a very high standard with an intriguing mix of test pieces for the popular own choice contest, which we were attending for the very first time.

For Sandhurst the contest also represented a form of 'mini areas' type test, as amongst the other competing bands were local rivals Friary Guildford, Wantage Silver, Medway and Aveley & Newham, as well as established bands from 'north of Watford' which included Ratby Co-operative and Soverign Brass. So it was to be a tough test for the band against great opposition.

Saturday 12 November saw Sandhurst Community Brass join with Crowthorne Village Singers and the 2211 Squadron Bracknell Air Cadets to celebrate 90 years of the Royal British Legion at St John's Church, Crowthorne.

The sell-out concert featured musical contributions from both brass and voice, as well as a polished display from the cadets, which included, accompanied by the band, a march and display.

For SCB this was undoubtedly the biggest concert that they have ever attempted. Playing to a packed house, the band presented popular marches ‘The Royal British Legion’ and ‘The RAF March Past’. In addition, as the cadets marched out of the church, they were surprised by an encore performance of the popular theme tune ‘Dad’s Army’ which was a hit with the audience.

SCB were once again in great form, with confident performances of the overture from ‘The Royal Fireworks Suite’ as well as a nod to our American compatriots with the timeless ‘Miller Magic’. The first half of the concert also featured the theme from the popular movie ‘The Dambusters’. The soloist contribution for the afternoon came from the band’s principal euphonium, Steve Boother, with a tribute to the legendry ‘Blaydon Races’ which went down a storm with the audience, some of whom were very obviously Newcastle United fans!

As a contrast to the feast of Brass, the invited guests, the Crowthorne Village Singers, offered vocal treats to the audience in the form of popular classics ‘Rose of England’ and ‘I’ll Walk with God’ which was particularly appropriate to the concert setting.

The second half of the concert became almost a military sing-a-long, with resident Musical Director Martin Hayter leading the band through an exhaustive programme of war tunes, which would have made Dame Vera Lynn proud. Tunes included ‘White Cliffs of Dover’, ‘Who’s your lady friend’, ‘ Bless ‘Em All’ and ‘Jerusalem’ as well as a multitude of others, in some demanding arrangements which the band played with aplomb, and the audience sung along to with gusto whilst waving their Union Jacks.

Not to be outdone, the Crowthorne Village Singers sung another set of three numbers, which included the very popular and confidently sung ‘Country Gardens’ as well as the Finale from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s perennially popular ‘Chess’.

Overall the concert raised a magnificent £825 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, and all present were very satisfied with the concert and the performance. Martin Hayter said ‘This concert is without doubt the most ambitious that this band has ever attempted, and for them to pull it off so well is a credit to everyone involved’.

The band would like to thank the sponsors, without whom the concert could not have been achieved; Jay Printers of Wokingham who provided the programmes, CMS Training who donated the concert ticket printing, the Co-operative Food stores and Lidl, both of whom generously donated the refreshments.

A special thank you is also reserved for the ladies section of the Royal British Legion Crowthorne branch, who co-ordinated the refreshments, and to Sue McIntosh who provided essential support to the band. Well done and thank you to you all!

Sandhurst Silver Band performed their first ever 'Autumn Brass' concert at St Michael's Church, Sandhurst on Saturday 22nd October. The band was invited to play at the church by the Rev John Castle, a previous member of the band, and the invitation appeared to be thoroughly appreciated by all present.

A wide variety of music featured throughout the concert, including Wagner's march 'Niebelungen' as well as his famous 'Procession to the Minster'. To go back even further, the band then offered three movements from Elgar Howarth's suite 'Music from the Elizabethan Court'.

 The band of course took the opportunity to showcase it's talented players. Marcus Gibbons, the band's solo trombone, wowed with his performance of 'Londonderry Air' , and Matt Spriggs gave a beautiful performance of 'Summer Isles' from Philip Sparke's 'Hymn of the Highlands' on the euphonium. The concert also featured 'Ardross Castle' from the same suite, with a composed introduction from the band's solo baritone, Elaine Bruff, and newly recruited solo horn, Daniel Savage.

The Sandhurst Bands are delighted to announce that there is, from today, a brand new way to donate cash to help with the costs of bringing top quality brass music to the people of Sandhurst.

Working in association with Just Giving UK and the Vodafone Foundation, the band can now accept donations by SMS Text Message.

Donation by text is quick and simple, and the band gets 100% of your donation - absolutely nothing deducted.

To donate to the bands, simply text 'SAND08' plus the amount, which can be £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10, to 70070.

So, for example, to donate £5 to us, simply text 'SAND08 £5' to 70070.

You will receive a message of thanks back from the band for supporting us in our work, along with the opportunity to register your donation on line for GiftAid Plus, which could be worth as much as 28p in the pound in addition to your donation, at no cost to you - as long as you are a tax payer based in the UK.

Texts are charged at your standard message rate.

Thank you for your continued support!

Saturday 11th June saw Sandhurst Band return for a summer concert at High Cross Church, Camberley. The concert featured a wide range of music, from the very old overture 'Zampa' to more modern fayre, inclusing the theme tune from 'The Catskills' and a polished rendition of the soprano solo '' by Jonathan Bowden.

The small but highly appreciative audience were then treated to the popular euphonium duet from Bizet's 'The Pearl Fishers', which was given an airing by the bands two euphonium players, Matt Spriggs and Robin Langdon. For those craving a trumpet rather than a cornet, the Salvationist 'Trumpet Concerto' was delivered faultlessly by the band's principal cornet, Andy Congdon.

The band is now looking forward to a schedule of concerts in the run up to Christmas, including a fund raising concert for St Michael's church, Sandhurst (in aid of their ailing church roof) and a day long two concert engagement at St Paul's Church. Camberley on 3rd December - and there will of course be our popular Christmas concert to look forward to.

Keep checking www.sandhurstband.co.uk for dates and times for these concerts, as well as ways to get those all important tickets!

SANDHURST CROWNED WESTON-SUPER-MARE CHAMPION BAND

After a week of intensive rehearsals of Philip Sparke's 'The Year of the Dragon' Sandhurst headed to Weston Super Mare full of confidence, knowing that we had a great performance of the tough test in the bag. The big question was ... could we deliver it on the stage?

That question was to answered in the most emphatic way possible. Drawn 4th of the 6 bands entered into the contest, the band settled into its performance and from the very opening notes it was clear that we were going to have a very good day.

Sandhurst Community Brass demonstrated that they have talent - in no short supply! - at their annual Spring Concert, given on Saturday 21st May at Sandhurst Community Hall.

The band's Musical Director, Martin Hayter, guided the band and an appreciative audience through a wide selection of brass band repertoire, including classics such as 'Music from the Royal Fireworks' and the popular Beatles number, 'Yesterday', in a special arrangement featuring all the members of the band's cornet section. The audience were also treated to renditions of the march 'The Contemptibles', the overture from 'The Phantom of the Opera' and the highly unusual but very popular 'Tick Tock Serenade', featuring contributions from Sarah May, the band's new percussionist.

Sandhurst are currently preparing for a trip to the seaside ... to Weston Super Mare. As you might expect we're not just going for the fresh air and the local hostalries - we are also competing for the first time at the West of England Own Choice Trophy Contest, which is being held at the Winter Gardens.

The band has been working very hard on it's performance of Philip Sparke's hugely popular 'The Year of the Dragon' which is a technical tour de force and demands incredibly high quality playing. With three rehearsals already completed this week and one to go, the band is confident of a good performance.

The band's regular Musical Director, Ian McElligott, is currently away and so the band will be taken for the performance by David Johnson, the current MD of the Aldbourne Band. Dave comes to Sandhurst on the back of a fantastic win at the Senior Trophy with his band - we are all hoping that our hard work and his winning streak combine for success!

Friday 8th April saw Sandhurst once again at the Sandhurst Community Hall, presenting our annual concert in support of Sandhurst Conservative Association. A small but highly enthusiastic audience were treated to the now well established 'concert in three parts', featuring a stylish delivery of Philip Sparke's Euphonium solo 'Pantomime' by the band's principal euphonium, Matt Spriggs, as well as a contrasting cornet feature 'Share My Yoke', delivered by Chris Hill.

The concert also saw a new feature from the band where we reformed as a dance band formation to perform a lively dance band set, including the classic 'Birdland' and an exclusive arrangement of 'Eye of the Tiger' combined with 'The Final Countdown' from our very own Ian McElligott.

The concert also featured a premiere of another of Ian's arrangements from the Abba musical 'Momma Mia' which proved to be a huge hit with the audience.