A very Happy New Year to friends and supporters of Lydbrook Band.  We were very busy last year and things don’t look any quieter as we move into 2019.

 

The autumn was excellent for the band with a September Concert at St. George’s Hall in Bristol performing Innovation 216, conducted by Ian Holmes, together with our own Training Band, Lydney Training Band and City of Bristol Training Band plus the Gurt Lush Choir.  Hopefully we will all join together again in March for another performance of Innovation 216 by our composer in residence Liz Lane, under the wings of Concorde at the Filton Aerospace Museum.

 

October saw us break new ground when we performed at Dene Magna School, Mitcheldean in a ‘Night at the Movies’ concert complete with film clips and visual effects.  This time the band was conducted by Glyn Williams.  As you are all aware, we have now lost the Forest Theatre as our concert venue but Dene Magna School has made us very welcome.

 

November 10th gave us the opportunity to perform at Trinity College, Cambridge University for another performance of Liz Lane’s Silver Rose as part of the University’s Remembrance commemoration events.  This was a really special concert and will remain in our memories for many years to come - playing in the chapel of Trinity College with over 500 years of history and its marvellous acoustic, was indeed very memorable.  The poems of Isaac Rosenberg were narrated by Micha Lazarus and again the band was conducted by Ian Holmes.

 

A quick dash from Cambridge back to Lydbrook enabled us to take part in the World War I 100-year commemoration in our own village.  39 members of the band and Training Band marched from the Church to the Cenotaph where a huge crowd remembered those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.  The Last Post was played for the 57th consecutive year by Robert Morgan, this time on a 1914 bugle loaned to him by Mrs. Jean Bowkett of Cinderford.  The bugle was played in WW1 in France by George Medcroft who lived on The Pludds and had played with one of the Lydbrook bands over 100 years ago.

 

December was busy with a hectic round of carol playing and a successful Christmas Concert at Dene Magna School with Blaenavon Male Voice Choir.

 

After a well-deserved Christmas break we are back at it again and looking forward to a busy schedule of concerts and contests with the senior band and Training Band  -  click here to view engagement list.

 

We have a few changes in the band and are sorry to see the departure of Paula Taylor after 19 years as a member of the band.  We wish Paula well in her retirement.  Joining the band are two new tenor horn players; Tom Goodman and Gavin Clemons and Jo Cook on cornet.  Will Hamilton and Alice Gwynne-Duggan have joined from our Training Band on Percussion and Cornet respectively and we also welcome back Lyndon Fletcher on baritone for the Area Contest.

 

Finally, we are all looking forward to a tour to Poland from 24th to 29th May when we will visit the city of Katowice, a mining area of south east Poland.  More details on this to follow in due course.

 

 

Robert Morgan

Secretary