Category: News

  • Dunston Silver Band at Beamish

    The band are pleased to be returning to Beamish on Sunday 2nd June. If you want to catch the band on their only performance there this summer we’ll be on the  bandstand in the town square  2.00pm till 4.00 pm. Please come  and say hello.

  • Front Row Cornet Vacancy

    Dunston Silver Band have a vacancy for a front row cornet, with the principal cornet seat available to the right player, which we are keen to fill before our upcoming contests including the YHBBA contest, the Butlin’s Mineworkers contest and the 2019 Regionals.

    We are a highly committed team of musicians that works hard and has fun, including a varied concert diary and a balanced contest schedule which from January 2019 will be in Second section.

    Rehearsals are Monday and Wednesday 19:30-21:30 at Dunston Community Centre, just 10 minutes from Gateshead and Newcastle.

    Interested parties will be given a warm welcome and lifts from surrounding areas can be arranged. To express an interest, in confidence, please contact Band Leader Kay on 07542723370 or kaywilkinson92@gmail.com.

     

  • Being in a Brass Band – blog post by Taylor

    When I was in Year 7 I had my first ever instrumental lesson. At first, I thought I would never be at the standard that I am at now. Fortunately, I have loved every second of playing my instrument, the tenor horn, from that first day.

    For the entirety of Year 7 I had only reached Grade 1 standard and ended up getting a pass with merit in the exam; I was so happy with that result. Then in Year 8 I moved onto grade 2, where I thought that exam went horrifically wrong but ended up receiving a pass with merit again! Two grades in two years. Compared to everyone else in my year it was not the quickest. That made me sad but completely determined to get better. 

    In the summer holidays of Year 8 I went to see the Hexham Boat Races, and saw my first ever brass band performance. Immediately I was hooked and desperately wanted to join a band. My mam was so pleased when I told her. Whickham wind band was the closest, however they said I wouldn’t be experienced enough, so they got me in touch with Dunston Silver Band (i.e. the best band in the world!) I came along and watched a rehearsal, and I was astonished at how welcoming they were. After that I decided to join. My first rehearsal was amazing even though before I was nervous. Everybody was so happy and joyful. Bearing in mind I was only Grade 2, they were playing the piece ‘Fire in the Blood’ – it was so difficult at that moment in time! 

    Being a part of Dunston Silver Band has improved and changed my life in many ways. For example going to places I have never been before such as: Ovington, Dunfermline and Holmfirth. It has also massively improved my playing skills: before I joined the Band I was at Grade 2 level. Now I am doing my Grade 5 in November, and my Grade 4 result was pass with distinction.

    Last year, the Dunston Silver Youth Band started with two brilliant open days, in which young people could pick up an instrument with little to no experience. I really enjoyed playing with them because it was exciting to see other people’s talents for playing brass grow massively in the space of a few short hours. Although being a young person myself, I sadly had to stop going to the Youth Band due to school demands and timing issues. However when they play in concerts with the more experienced band, it is always great to hear them and join in playing wherever possible. 

    In the future I hope to stay with Dunston because it is such a great band with amazing people and because being in the Band has already improved my playing so much.

  • A foray into the first section: blog post by Laura Foster

    Sunday 12th March sees Dunston Silver Band competing at the North of England Brass Band Championships. For the first time in the band’s history we will be competing in the first section following our recent promotion from the second section. The contest takes place at the Gala Theatre in Durham City Centre from 10.00am.

    The set test piece is Land of the Long White Cloud or Aotearoa by Philip Sparke. It is a wonderfully descriptive piece, written in 1979, depicting the landscape of New Zealand.  It was originally commissioned by the New Zealand Brass Band Association for their National Championships in 1980. Dunston Silver Band has been steadily working away on this piece since September, and it has brought a range of new challenges: from more complex textures to balance, faster passages to double tongue and more exposed solo lines for principal players.

    Once again we have been wonderfully supported by our MD Aidan Hodgson who has really put us through our paces and helped us step up into the first section. We have also had the support of Reg Vardy Band and the fantastic Russell Gray.  We are very fortunate to welcome many new members of the band to the stage at this contest and a massive thank you to them for joining us and I hope you enjoy your first Area contest with Dunston! These include Heidi Wilkinson and Mike Walton on the cornet bench, Matthew Naylor on euphonium and Max Albert on percussion, We’d also like to thank Tom Cooke who will be playing with us on soprano cornet.

    I will be incredibly proud to step onto the stage on Sunday with the best bunch of people who have given 110% into their preparations of this piece. I wish the very best of luck to all bands competing in the Area competitions – let’s make it a good one!

    Blog post by Laura Foster, principal cornet

  • Band Vacancies: Soprano cornet and percussion

    Dunston Silver Band are a first section band based in Gateshead. We are a highly committed team of musicians that works hard and has fun, including a varied concert diary and a balanced contest schedule. We now welcome applications for soprano cornet and percussion (ideally tuned and/or timpani) to join our band family in 2017.

    The Band rehearses in Dunston Community Centre every Monday and Wednesday evening from 7.30pm-9.30pm. Please check out our website for more information about the band: Dunston Silver Band.

    Please contact the Band’s Chairman Dave Jakeman in strict confidence on davejakeman@blueyonder.co.uk or 07808 720568. All interested parties will be given a warm welcome and help can be provided with transport if needed.

  • Christmas Programme in Full Swing

    ovington-carols

    To a lot of people the first sound of a brass band playing Christmas Carols means that Christmas is here, well if thats the case it arrived early this year with Dunston Silver Band playing at Beamish Museums Christmas Launch on November 19th. We followed that with another carol playing event at Belsay Hall on December 3rd. Tonight we’re playing carols again for our partners Vertu Motors at their Christmas party. We still have a few events to go where you can come along and see the band

    December 11th – Beamish – 11.30 till 2.30
    December 16th – Castletown Community Centre – 7.30 till 9.30
    December 18th – Dunston Community Centre Carol Service -2.00 till 3.00
    December 20th – Ovington Village and Social Club – 7.00 till 9.30

    You may also spot some of the band at a supermarket near you. If you do see us please come and say Hi.

  • St Thomas’s To Be Filled With The Sound of Brass.

    Tonight Dunston Silver Band become the first North East Brass Band to perform a full concert programme in this wonderful building in the heart of Newcastle. The band are proud to be playing in this church fundraiser which could hopefully lead to the church becoming a regular concert venue. It promises to be a great night with a great programme and we’re all getting a little excited so come along and support Dunston Band and St Thomas the Martyr Church tonight at 7.30.      TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR.band-concert-poster

  • An Introduction

    Hello, I’m Matthew. This is my first post as a Dunston Sliver Band blogger, and the very first Dunston Silver Band blog post. Probably means I should introduce myself.

    I’m Matthew, an adult that gets far too excited by the notation ‘ff’ on a piece of music. If you know anything about brass instruments, then you will likely have guessed I play Trombone, if you know nothing about brass bands, then I play trombone. Yes, that is the slidey one, and yes I can play more than just glissandos. I play bass trombone, which is like a normal trombone but it’s a bit bigger, and most of the time sounds like it has an angry tiger living in it. It is one of the few instruments whose sound could potentially be weaponised. I may be slightly biased, but it is probably the most fun instrument to play, even if you have to work harder than most (who wants a valved instrument really? Oh right, most people).

    I have been playing with the band for just under a year now, and I have to say that it has been a great year for me personally. I hadn’t played for 4 years before joining the band, but I am very grateful that they have been so welcoming, I now look forward to rehearsals every week! They even put up with my rustiness and learning to play bass trombone in the first few months! Now, almost a year in, I now feel like I am part of something that is truly special, rather than messing up something truly special. I have played in many bands over the years, mainly in my youth (I feel old saying that… and I’m only 26), but I have never played with such high quality players. Honestly, come to a concert, we’re class. It’s worth it, you don’t get to be a first section* band unless you have a great group of talented musicians. You might even hear an angry tiger style note here and there. Please check out our Calendar page for where we are, and when we will be there.

    *as of January. Also, first section is actually a high standard.