News

Come to our concert "Westerns and Swing" on 25th February!

Updated 4 February 2012

Our annual concert, which will be held in Winslow Public Hall on Saturday 25th February, will this year take the theme of "Westerns and Swing". Kicking off with the fabulous "Mountain Ridge Overture", the first half will take you through a range of numbers from Westerns (or with a US "twang" anyway!). The second half will feature tunes most of which will be familiar to all and we hope will get you tapping your feet (in time of course!).

During the interval we will be holding Peter Mealing's now famous raffle, and the Annual Band awards will also be made during the second set.

Tickets are on sale from Jennie Wrens Tea Rooms in Winslow or by calling Pam How on 01280 817947. We are expecting a sell-out this year, so please book early to avoid disappointment!

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Winslow Concert Band looks forward to trip to France

Updated 4 February 2012

Members of the Band are delighted to have been invited by the Winslow Twinning Association to participate in their bi-annual trip to France in June 2012. 25 playing members are hoping to travel to Cours La Ville, which is a small town north west of Lyons that is twinned with Winslow, and will be entertaining their French hosts a couple of times during the trip. 

Band Chairman Alan How said "we are looking forward to the trip very much. We feel very flattered to have been invited and will do our best to entertain the rresidents of Cours La Ville royally during our visit!"

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Band enjoys excellent Christmas season

Updated 12 January 2012

The Band enjoyed several gigs over the Christmas season, kicking off at the end of November with helping Buckingham to celebrate the switching on of the Christmas lights. We performed twice in the Christmas extravaganza outside Middleton Hall in Central Milton Keynes, which was heaving with Christmas shoppers and provided a great atmosphere. For the fourth year running we played outside Waitrose in Buckingham before and after the Town's Christmas Parade, a somewhat chilly gig but as usual great fun. We finished the year with carols and Christmas Music at the Highfield Social Club. During December our bucket collections raised over £500 for or Charity of the Year, Macmillan Cancer Support.

Below are some photos taken at Middleton Hall in Central Milton Keynes (thanks to Steven Heliczer):

	Jane Hubble conducting the Band - taken from the back to show a busy Middleton Hall
	Jane Hubble conducting the Band - from the front
	Kaz Raffell conducting the Band

Watch video of the Band's rendition of "Merry Christmas everyone"

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Come to our Open Workshop on Sunday 4th September

Updated 28 July 2011

The Winslow Concert Band is holding a workshop on Sunday 4th September 2011 at The Winslow Public Hall.  Under the Direction of Colin Touchin, the event is open to all players of woodwind and brass instruments as well as bass guitar/double bass.  Enthusiasm and inspiration are as important as grades, but it is recommended that participants should be at Grade 3 or above to benefit.

During the Workshop we will be working on five different pieces of music, covering different aspects of musical technique such as dynamics, texture and balance between the instruments to convey the mood and message of the piece.

We ask that you arrive at 10.30am so that everyone is in their place and ready to start playing at 11.00am. There will be a lunchtime and afternoon break when tea and coffee will be available, but please bring your own  packed lunch. At 4.30pm we will do a performance of the pieces that we have worked on during the day - family and friends are welcome to attend.

The Workshop will be free to Winslow Concert Band Members and £15 for nonmembers. For further information or to apply, please download the event flyer, complete the form on the back and return to us with the full payment as soon as possible. Places will be allocated on a “first-come, first served” basis and confirmed in writing.

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Charity of the Year

Updated 6 June 2011

Following our successful fund-raising for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust during 2010-2011, Macmillan Cancer Support was voted as the Band's Charity of the Year for 2011-2012. We will be collecting for this very worthy cause with bucket collections and events throughout the forthcoming year.

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£900 donated to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust

Updated 27 February 2011

During our annual winter concert we were delighted to present a cheque for £900 to our Charity of the Year, the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust. The job of the Trust is to keep Bob (as the air ambulance for Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire is affectionately known) airborne to help save the lives of countless people who are sick or injured. The helicopter, which is manned by two fully qualified paramedics, is operated during daylight hours 365 days of the year. Each mission costs approximately £2,000 and with an average number of 3 missions a day it is no mean feat to keep it funded. We are proud to have been able to help in some small way by donating proceeds from our joint concert with Great Horwood Silver Band and from bucket collections at gigs throughout the year, and thank all those who have contributed.

	Tony Franklin from the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust (left) collecting a cheque for £900 from Band President Robin Stutchbury (centre) and Chairman Brian Perry (right)
	Tony Franklin telling members of the audience and the Band about the work of the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.

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Band Awards 2010

Updated 27 February 2011

The Band Awards have become a feature of our annual winter concerts, with three awards presented to various members of the Band during the evening.

The MDs award for Section of the Year this year went to the trumpet section, who had done such a great job in tackling the "12th Street Rag".

The Band's President Robin Stutchbury (left) and Chairman Brian Perry (right) presenting the trumpet section (L to R) Mark Ballantyne, Luke Emery, Peter Cooper and Steve Raffell with the MD's Award.

The other two awards, voted by members of the Band are for the Newcomer Bandsperson of the Year and Bandsperson of the Year.

The Newcomer Bandsperson of the Year was awarded to Robin Rowland, who was unfortunately absent, but it was collected by fellow trumpter Mark Ballantyne, who was also runner up for the award, on Robin's behalf.

Mark Ballantyne (centre) collecting the Newcomer Bandsperson of the Year on behalf of fellow trumpeter Robin Rowland from the Band's President Robin Stutchbury (left) and Chairman Brian Perry (right).

Last but definitely not least, Bandsperson of the Year was presented to our drummer Peter Mealing. Peter is a stalwart of the Band, popular with everyone and often the source of amusement during Band rehearsals. Congratulations Peter, I am sure all will agree with me that you are a deserving and worthy Bandsperson of the Year.

Peter Mealing (centre), Bandsperson of the Year 2010, collecting his award from the Band's President Robin Stutchbury (left) and Chairman Brian Perry (right).

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"A Night At The Movies"

Updated 27 February 2011

The Band presented their annual concert last night at Winslow Public Hall. The concert "A Night At The Movies" including tunes from a wide range of films, many familiar and some that the less cinemaphoric amongst us perhaps didn't know had ever been featured in films! Speaking to some of the audience afterwards, favourites included Strauss' "Trisch Trasch Polka", "12th Street Rag" featuring Steve Raffell, Peter Cooper and Mark Ballantyne from the trumpet section, and "The Three Tenors" featuring our three tenor saxophones, Alison Cockroft, Peter Morgan and Mike Holmes. The concert began with "Winslow Winners", the march we commissioned in 2009 to celebrate our 15th anniversary and finished with a medley of Michael Jackson songs.

Our "Three Tenors" (L to R) Mike Holmes, Peter Morgan and Alison Cockroft