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For further information, please contact our Band Manager Simon Keen on enquiries@fulhambrassband.co.uk if you are interested.

This annual event is an important and fun part of the brass band calendar where almost 5,000 brass players descend upon Butlins in Skegness to compete against each other in competitions over 6 sections spanning the entire weekend

We were drawn number 10 on the day which gave us just enough time for an impromptu rehearsal in one of the chalets! At around midday we headed over to the Second Section venue and put all our hardwork into practise by giving a good final rendition of ‘The Frogs of Aristophanes’ by Granville Bantock.   After an afternoon of bowling and socialising we all piled into the results hall to find out we had been placed 10^th out of 19 bands! Although it would have been good to have been placed higher, the piece certainly caused problems for some bands and we gave it a good stab against some very good Northern bands. Most of the band will certainly be glad to get the tricky rhythms out of our heads!

Full results and details of the weekend can be found at the following link: http://4barsrest.com/news/detail.asp?id=14562

 The band had a fantastic weekend and although we didn’t get the result we were after, we look forward to working hard for our next outing… The London & Southern Counties 2^nd section Area Contest on Sunday 18^th March!

The piece that is occupying our efforts at the moment is by Granville Bantock, entitled: “The Frogs of Aristophanes”, written in 1935. It is a comedy overture, but I’m not sure that anyone in the band gets the joke at the moment.

Indeed, the play itself is not a barrel of laughs (although supposedly a comedy), with the God Dionysius having to be ferried across the Styx by Charon to bring Euripides back from the dead, which is the only place in the play where the frogs feature as a chorus. Bottom line is that people on the other side of the Styx are somewhat antagonistic (compare with a trip from modern day Liverpool to Birkenhead) since people had been nicking two headed dogs and causing no end of aggravation. Anyway, after a bit of discussion on torture and some ever-popular Greek debate, Dionysius leaves Hades with Aeschylus instead of Euripides. Showing he’s not all bad, Pluto allows Aeschylus to return to life so that Athens may be succoured in her hour of need, and invites everyone to a round of farewell drinks.

Strange that 1500 years on, Fulham are parallelling the journey of Dionysius in trying to revive a piece of music from the dead and after some torture and debate will hopefully return triumphant from Hades (well, Skegness anyway) after much celebration! We’ll keep you informed of the outcome of our travels in future posts…

(Many thanks to Steve Carney for taking the time out of our busy rehearsal schedule to research the meaning of The Frogs of Aristophanes)

Fulham Band would like to thank all the people who have watched us, booked us, supported us and played for us in 2011! We wish you a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and FANTASTIC NEW YEAR!

In the morning a few members entertained shoppers in Kings Mall, Hammersmith with a selection of Christmas Carols, accompanied by some very enthusiastic toy soldiers, elves and of course Santa Claus himself! We performed 4 half hour slots and drew a good crowd for the Mall’s hourly prize draw, which even a couple of our members were lucky enough to win much to the bands delight…

In the evening it was time for the highly anticipated SOLD OUT Festive Brass concert in The Barn Church Kew where three London music organisations came together for an evening of Christmas music, carols, raffle, mulled wine and mince pies!

Family and friends were entertained upon arrival by two brass quartets from the Richmond Youth Brass Band which led into the Sapphire Brass (chamber group of the Richmond Music Trust Brass Band) opening the concert with an antiphonal Gabriele piece Canzon Septimi toni No. 2.

This led into the Fulham Brass Band conducted by Musical Director Simon Jones performing an eclectic set with Festive Overture by Shostakovich arranged by Antrobus, then the popular Troika by Prokofiev arranged by David Twitchings. The audience had their chance to participate next with the popular carol Once in Royal David’s City which was followed by a special solo: Jingle Bell Rock by Chaulk Wayne arranged by Frank Bernearts, where we were lucky enough to be joined by the talented young soloist  William Bazalgette from the Richmond Youth Brass Band. The audience had another chance to participate with Silent Night which led into Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (arranged by Philip Sparke) which highlighted the band’s ability to sway in time with each other and featured Tetsuro Okamura on Trombone, Simon Gale on Flugal Horn and Heather Rowlands on Horn. We finished our set with the ambitious piece Vitae Aeternum by Paul Lovett Cooper which was enjoyed by all!

Next long time associate member of the band and ex-principal cornet Vickie Curran demonstarted that brass education is thriving in London with the Wider Opportunities Students from St. Mary’s who performed their version of Jingle Bells.

 After everyone filled up on the delicious cakes and warmed up with mulled wine in the interval the second half kicked off with Richmond Music Trust Youth Brass Band conducted by Musical Director Vickie Curran and Assistant Conductor Simon Bull. The children and Young People performed a popular programme featuring the hymn Great Soul, music from The Lion King and The Snowman and a beautiful rendition of Irish Blessing.

The second half was completed by our friends from North-west London Regent Brass conducted by Musical Director Alan Duguid. Their programme featured the catchy Three Kings Swing which was followed by Bluebells of Scotland featuring the exceptional Fulham and Regent trombonist Tetsuro Okamura once more! The audience had their chance to sing again in Away in a Manger and Ding Dong Merrily on High and the band finished with the atmospheric Pie Jesu and exciting Gaudete.

The grand finale of the evening was the massed band performance of O Come all Ye Faithful, We wish you a merry Christmas and Jingle Bells where the church was literally filled with brass players from all three groups on stage and down the sides who came together with the audience to finish the night with a massed brass sing-song!

Fulham Brass Band would like to extend a special thank you to the Lady Mayoress of Richmond and Twickenham, Clare Head, for the provision of the venue. We will be making a contribution of a proportion of the profits to the Mayor’s chosen charity, which is the Citizens Advice Bureau. And finally – Many thanks  to all who organised, the players who performed and the many friends and family who came to watch – it was a fantastic,  memorable evening!

We played 2 individual slots full of traditional and modern carols and then ended the day accompanying St Peter’s Eaton Square Church Choir and the crowd with a few hearty favourite carols – Even Father Christmas joined us on stage for a good old sing-a-long!

This was the first of many of our extensive programme of Christmas Carol gigs – keep checking our ‘Upcoming events’ section to see where you can watch us play next…

 He spoke about his concerns about the role religion plays in government and the event was part of the current affairs programme ‘Flash Talk’ which aired on Current TV in October.

The band were competing against Tylorstown Band, Shirley Band, Rogerstown Band, Jackfield Band, Foresters Brass 2000, Enderby Band, Bedworth Band and Michelmersh Band.  Fulham played 5 pieces, Kongolela by Jan Magne Førde, with solos from Matt Pitt (cornet) and  Tetsuro Okamura (trombone) Next was Marianne by Bunce, arr. Drover, with a flugel solo from Vickie Curran; following this was When the Saints come marching in, featuring the vocal talents of Ally Crowther and Vickie Curran.  Next was a less raucous piece, entitled In perfect peace by Kenneth Downie. Completing the set was the Firestorm 4th Movement by Stephen Bulla. The performance, although not perfect was of a very high standard and we did ourselves justice in comparison with the other bands, although we came last.

Final positions

1^st, Enderby (92 points); 2^nd Jackfield (91 points); 3^rd Tylorstown (90 points), then Foresters Brass 2000 (88), Shirley (87), Michelmersh Silver (86), Rogerstone (84), Bedworth (83) and Fulham (81). All in all a very enjoyable day and a performance we could all be proud of.

Finishing with some traditional British favourites including Dam Busters, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem, a fantastic day was had by all and the band look forward to next time!