Author: Dave Jakeman

First and foremost a massive Happy New Year to all of our friends and family. We here at DSB hope that you have enjoyed your festive period as much as we have.

Secondly, a quick look back on the final month of 2017, a month that any musician can testify is always a busy one! In December the band spread joy far and wide entertaining crowds in Ovingham, Castletown and our very own Dunston with carols and Christmas music. A highlight was Dunston Silver Youth band playing both with the senior band as well as independently giving us renditions of classic Christmas songs including Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer. Such a fantastic way to cap off the year with their musical director Will Roberts noting that the band has more than doubled in size within the year, showing much promise for the future.

Another feature of the concerts was a short preview of our 2018 programme as we perfected the Phillip Harper masterpiece A little star went out, a piece based on the life of Roald Dahl and part of their 2016 Brass in Concert victory. This flugal solo, performed by our award winning flugal player Sarah Foster (who you might remember from our Meet the Band segment in August’s blog), really caught the imagination of the audience and is definitely a spectacle not to be missed. As well as this piece there are a few others that we have began to prepare for what promises to be and exciting 2018 so stay tuned to find out more!

December has also been a month of work as we prepare diligently for Butlins in January. It is a piece that has stretched our ability to stylise the way in which we play but we are putting the finishing touches on what we hope will be a winning performance.

As the new year is welcomed in many people make resolutions to challenge their current or future lifestyle. One for myself could be giving up playing incorrect notes or practicing more but these individual wishes might be great for self-improvement but what if everyone had a collective goal? For instance if every band member practiced an extra 5 minutes a day so for an average band of 26 players the total is 130 minutes a week which is equivalent to one of our rehearsals a week, a lot of time! Sometimes it can be these marginal gains made by each player that collectively make the difference in both placing at competitions and more importantly the quality of performances.

Finally I’d encourage any brass musicians seeking a band to get in touch with us, we are always wanting to share our music with as many people as possible so get in contact as we’d love to see you. If you’d rather watch the band in comfort keep an eye on our calendar page on our website to see what’s coming up, we will be out in force in 2018!

There you have it New Year, not so new blog! That’s the best way, as we wouldn’t want everything to change! ‘Til next month

DSB

We started the month with a trip to Dewsbury for the Yorkshire and Humberside Open test piece contest; playing Cry of the Mountain, a piece which we rehearsed diligently. On this occasion we placed a respectable 9^th in a very high quality field. A special commendation must go to our North East friends at Durham Miners Association Brass Band who placed 4^th with a great performance of Renaissance, the test piece we are now tackling for Butlins mineworkers contest in January.

The following weekend we took part in a traditional service for remembrance at Silksworth Memorial where we were honoured to play in memory of the service personnel who have served our country past and present.

A completely contrasting event was the Christmas Launch at Beamish with Father Christmas attending to welcome guests and Christmas – even if it was November! We really enjoyed playing a selection of carols as the audience enjoyed the festive atmosphere and entertainment on display.

Our final engagement was at the turning on of Fulwell Libraries Christmas Lights. The evening was nearly disrupted by inclement weather with the band battling the snow to attend. An Octet comprising players from all parts of the band attended to create a festive atmosphere while attendees enjoyed some mulled wine.

As you can tell we had a busy month with it definitely gaining pace as we approached December with many engagements and parties. Hopefully this gives you an impression of how our month was if you didn’t manage to see us. Take a look at our website and the calendar to see next months events!

Finally it’s at this time of the year where we all seem to get ridiculously busy with commitments rising from all directions. It is at this time that I am even more thankful that our band members show dedication to move around events to help ensure the Dunston can perform as often as we can and as well as we can. Therefore as my final note I would like to thank all of the Dragons for their hard work and encourage them that although we may be the busiest at this time of year it is also the time when it is the most worthwhile and make me feel the proudest to be part of this extra ordinary group of people.

As next months edition will be in 2018 Dunston Silver Band would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and an even merrier New Year!

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. A phrase that most will be familiar with and describes this month excellently. All of our rehearsals have been in preparation for two equally important events although very different.

We are preparing for Holmfirth Own Choice Test Piece contest, where we will play Cry of the Mountain. A majestic piece of music depicting a mountain appearing in the distance with ice and glaciers before an avalanche with snow tumbling uncontrollably down the mountain.

The piece is intricate and is more importantly testing our ability to paint a picture for the audience and adjudicator; hopefully we can execute this on the stage November 5^th.

The other event was a much more personal event as we performed at the wedding of our principle cornet player Laura Foster. Laura handpicked pieces including Share My Yoke and Fire in the Blood, which were played throughout the ceremony. We were so privileged to see Laura and Justin’s wedding let alone play at it, which was extra special for us. It was an amazing day and we would like to wish Laura and Justin a lifetime of happiness as Mr & Mrs Dreyer.

As normal for a monthly blog I have a final note. Recently we were contacted by someone to ask us about how we have developed youth in our band and attracted younger players. Obviously this is important to ensure that the band continues long into the future.

As a band we have done nothing spectacular although we have persistently advertised in schools and communities as well as to university students. This has proven successful, as we have had many players join while studying.

I feel that the key thing is to engage young people and we are fortunate to have a young core band that enjoy spending time together and mixing with all age groups, this in turn attracts other young musicians. It is a fantastic hobby and it is heartwarming that someone is trying to keep an ageing band young to ensure its longevity.

On a last note the Dunston Dragons take on the best of Yorkshire in the Yorkshire and Humberside Brass Band Open Contest this Sunday in an own choice test piece contest. Find out next month how we got on!

September was another busy month for DSB as we saw out the summer and definitely edged further towards winter.

The first engagement that we had was Ovington Fete. A local event where the villagers welcomed us while taking part in games, contests and shows. We were greatly appreciative to have the talented Lewis Wilkinson conduct us at the important event in our calendar and we hope to return again next year.

In the middle of our month we had an afternoon concert at Belsay Hall, an English heritage site that comprises of beautiful grounds and a lovely if slightly perculiar Greek designed hall, where we showcased our latest pieces as well as some favourites. The highlights of this performance were two pieces that were extra special as they are to be played at our principle cornet players wedding at the end of October. We are all practicing twice as hard to ensure we play as well as she deserves on her special day. We were very well recieved by the large audience and recieved some great feedback which is always important to help us improve.

I have saved the best til last to talk about an amazing event that we took part in on the 30th September. We were invited to Newcastle Cathedral to play with Newcastle Cathedral Choir in a last night of the proms themed concert. Not only was the venue stunning but I think all that went will agree that the band played such a varied programme showing our versatility and skill. Videos can be seen on our Facebook page if you wanted a further taste of the great atmosphere that was developed. We thank again all of the players that made this event spectacular, the cathedral for inviting us and Aidan for his ever important guidance.

On a final note I would like to mention a different topic, I read recently that 10,000 hours of practicing something can make you a professional, an interesting concept although there are two caveats; 1. That you must have talent and 2. The practice that you do must be intense. I could not agree more and for me this could not be more true especially around contest time, with us currently preparing for Holmfirth test piece concert I invite anyone to come and see a rehearsal as it is undoubtedly the most intense and passionate experience as we all endeavour for success. This theory about the intensity of practice is only maintained by our passion for music.

I will update further on our endeavours next month!

This month the band has taken a short summer break after a fantastic lunchtime concert at Ushaw College. Our performance included many pieces that were in keeping with our historic venue. Our programme also reflected the challenges that our musical director, Aidan, had set us in rehearsals leading up to the concert; namely playing new pieces every rehearsal in order to work on both sight-reading and stylistic features to improve all round playing within the band.

As August has been a quiet month for the band in terms of gigs, this blog post is a great opportunity to learn some more about the band. For this month’s feature we are focusing on our horn section. Consisting of Sarah (flugel horn), Kay (principal horn), Angela (tenor horn), Claire (tenor horn) and Taylor (tenor Horn).

Five tough questions were given to the section to answer when they were interviewed by DSB blogger Chris Bolt. Read on to see their answers…

CB: When did you all join Dunston Silver Band?
SARAH: 2013
KAY: August 2014
ANGELA: I joined when I was ten years old
CLAIRE: 2016
TAYLOR: Nearly two years ago

CB: Why did you guys join the DSB?
SARAH: I joined after coming back from uni, I met Aidan there.
KAY: I was moving to Newcastle and knew I’d want to join a band in the area, I was playing at the Durham Miner’s Gala with my old band and met Natasha (cornet) and Laura (cornet) in a queue and Natasha added me on Facebook and kept in touch.
ANGELA: Before I joined I was sort of the band mascot and when finally I did join I was the first female!
CLAIRE: I joined because Laura asked if I would be able to come and play for a contest. After the contest Aidan and I had a conversation and I stayed.
TAYLOR: I joined because I love playing music and the best thing to was to join a brass band.

CB: Why did you pick the horn? And if not the horn what instrument would you play?
SARAH: I originally played cornet but my old band (Trimdon) needed a flugel player and I was asked to try it. I’d play euph if I didn’t play flugel because they get nice solos – though probably too many semi quavers for me…
KAY: I’m not sure that I exactly picked the horn, more like it picked me! I’d played cornet since I was 8 and joined DSB on the front row. When we qualified for the third section National Finals in 2015 we were without a solo horn, I knew we had an abundance of cornets at that point and asked if I could give the horn a go.
If not the horn or brass in general I’d say flute, I have one and taught myself the basics when I was a teenager.
ANGELA: The horn came to me by accident as I had played with Cowpen and Croften in Blyth and after having been married and two daughters I was asked to sit on the horn section on 2nd horn.
CLAIRE: I originally asked for a trombone and they didn’t have one so gave me a tenor horn! I decided that I preferred it and stuck with it when a trombone became available. I would play euph if I didn’t play horn. I have played euph a bit before and they get some lovely parts.
TAYLOR: I originally wanted to play the trumpet because it was well known but my lips weren’t the right shape. I’m glad I did get the horn.

CB: What is your favourite brass band piece?
SARAH: Fire in the Blood and most Paul Lovett- Cooper pieces.
KAY: MacArthur Park.
ANGELA: Les Preludes.
CLAIRE: Demelza.
TAYLOR: Land of the Long White Cloud.

CB: What is your brass band ambition?
SARAH: I don’t really have an ambition for band…yet!
KAY: My personal ambition is to play more solo pieces but as a band it would be to continue the growth of our youth band.
ANGELA: To be a part of the band for as long as possible.
CLAIRE: To continue to enjoy playing.
TAYLOR: To become a better player.

One final note… Dunston Silver Youth Band hosted their second Summer School with players of all ages attending with expert tutors to guide them. I think all who attended the afternoon showcase would agree that it is amazing how much difference can be achieved in such little time! A massive well done to all that attended and a massive thank you to Will Roberts and his team of tutors.

Hopefully you have gained great insight into the band and continue to follow our monthly blog for further updates, events and reviews.

Until next month!

We started the month with arguably the most important event of the brass banding year, Durham Miners’ Gala: a celebration of the mining heritage that unites the world of brass banding. As we marched through Durham City Centre you couldn’t help but notice the importance of this event in celebrating working class history as marches are combined with crowd-pleasing songs. With over 200,000 people attending it was a great start to the month and to the Durham Brass festival. A particular thanks to our guest players travelling from all over the UK to play with us.

Following this fantastic weekend, we set about working in the band room towards cracking Renaissance, the First Section test piece for the Butlins Mineworker Contest in January. Guest conductors including Jonathan Fenwick helped us take a fresh look at the piece as well as ensuring that we were put through our paces. Here is a 30 second read giving you an overview of our challenge:

Renaissance – Peter Graham

A sequel to Shine as the Light

Style? Mysterious to begin with before becoming increasingly technical leading up to a lyrical solo section. Then rhythm is tested with offbeats galore and at some speed. The change of tempo continues right up until the climax with a wall of sound hopefully greeted by rapturous applause.

Who is it hardest for? Varies throughout although possibly basses – offbeats…enough said?!

What makes the piece? As it is not hugely technical it will be musicality that divides the bands on the day and a big task will be for conductors to put their stamp on it.

Butlins Mineworkers Contest will take place on weekend of the 12^th-15^th January 2018. It promises to be an eventful and inspiring weekend even in the bracing cold weather of Skegness!

One final note – during Durham brass festival I had the pleasure of seeing The Cory band perform. As a bandsman it was great to see a band on top form and it is only a recommendation that watching this calibre of band and learning from them can only make us all better.

See you next month,

Dunston Dragons

Dunston Silver Youth Band’s annual Summer School will run on the 29th and 30th August at Dunston Community Centre and is open to all young people aged 8-18, from complete beginners to those who are already learning to play a brass instrument.

Over the course of two days, participants will have the opportunity to try out a range of instruments, to take part in small ensemble workshops and to perform as part a brass band. DBS-checked instrumental specialists will lead the course and will provide one-to-one tutoring as necessary.

Each day will begin at 10am and finish at 4pm, with lunch and various breaks. This will culminate in a performance at 5pm on the Wednesday evening, where families will be invited to watch the Youth Band perform, together with Dunston Silver Band’s main players who will also take part in the performance. All young people taking part will have the opportunity to continue to play with our existing Youth Band when weekly rehearsals re-start in September 2017.

We are happy to announce that there is no fee for this summer school, and lunch and refreshments will be provided each day.

Please get in touch for more information and to enrol by contacting:
Will Roberts on willtomroberts@gmail.com (Youth Band Coordinator)
Or
Natasha Newson on 07870404962 (Band Secretary) 

In the month where summer finally reached boiling point, Dunston Silver Band had some engagements that epitomised the British summer: proms, picnics and partially sunburnt players. On Sunday 18th June we competed at the second annual Beamish Open Contest. Attending as the reigning champions playing Love Unknown for our hymn, a piece comprising dovetailing lyrical flugel horn and cornet phrases, and The Centaur for our march, the contest truly tested our ensemble playing and stamina to say the least.

In the competition we were drawn last and put on a fine performance in the glaring sun with the audience responding positively to our committed performance, justifying the hard weeks of rehearsal beforehand. As the results were announced we were placed fifth, a result that on one hand left us underwhelmed but provided us with feedback to keep improving. The competition was fierce and eventually won by The Reg Vardy Band, who we congratulated on their fine performance – and not only because our conductor Aidan Hodgson principals their horn section!

Our second sizzling summer concert was held at St Johns Church, Low Fell with the Low Fell singers. This concert gave us a chance to show off our carefully prepared programme culminating with a proms themed finale. Other highlighted pieces that we featured were The Witch of the Westmerlands; a mesmerising piece telling a fairy-tale-like story, as well as also playing favourites such as Car Wash by Rose Royce and Lionel Ritchie’s All Night Long. The crowd really enjoyed the offering that both the Low Fell singers and ourselves served and were in rapturous applause after the culmination of Land of Hope and Glory. The tremendous finale included our wonderful audience, who sang along with the Low Fell Singers.

A massive thank you to all who attended, played and sang at the concert. We hope to do more joint concerts like this in the future.

We hope to see you at one of our forthcoming events. If you require any further information please contact us. Also watch out for next month’s blog where we will details the month’s events and a sneak preview of the Butlins Mineworkers Competition 2018 piece!