New faces and re-shuffle at Besses Boys

Besses Boys are pleased to announce the signing of six new players to the band as well as a slight reshuffle in the current personnel.

Callum Baxter completes our Baritone and Euphonium line, joining on Solo Baritone. Callum was introduced to the band by 2nd Trombone, Christian Sharples, who plays with Callum at Bury Music Service. For the first time in several years the band can also boast a full horn section after signing Kirsty Mason and Alana Evans on 1st and 2nd horn respectively. Kirsty, a former member of Bolton Youth, came to help the band out on the recommendation of friend Scott Broadhurst (Tutti Cornet) and decided to stay, whilst Alana, a student at Chethams School of Music joins along with sister Fern Evans to has added to our already solid Trombone Section. The cornet Section has also been strengthened with the addition of Catherine Fox to our Third Cornet Section, Catherine saw the band perform at a recruitment drive at a local school and joined to band as a result.
Finally Eb Bassist Hannah Whitfield joins the ranks of our bass section. Hannah, sister of former percussionist and lifelong friend Matt Whitfield, now with Frekleton Band, Joins the band after completing her studies whilst playing with the Trentham Band. Hannah is about to start her NQT year after qualifying to be a teacher.

Following on from the departure of Jenny Abbot, "bumper up" Eleanor Parkes has moved onto the Flugel Chair for the band, speaking to BBB.com Eleanor stated that the chance to play in a solo seat was just to good to turn down. This now means we have a brother/sister "top two" with Scott Broadhurst moving onto bumper up and Bradley Hirst moving onto 3rd Man, leaving the band with a vacancy of 4th Man. 2nd cornet Adam Galloway has been promoted to Repiano, Whilst Grace Kinsler and Emma Kilpatrick form the new look 2nd Cornet Team. With the addition of Catherine to third cornet Paul Mitchell has also been promoted to top 3rd Cornet.
BBB.com caught up with MD James Holt who had the following to say:

It's a fantastic thing for the band to be able to sign so many quality players to the ranks of the band and it also shows the strength we already had with us being able to promote within. The band is now the closest to full compliment it has been for quite some time and this can only help our preparations for the upcoming concerts and contest we have"

Everyone at Besses Boys would like to welcome all new members to the band and wish them all the very best of luck with their career with the band.

Besses Boys Bid Fond Farewell to Jenny Abbot

It is with regret that BBB.com can report that Flugel Horn player, Jenny Abbot has left the band with immediate effect. Jenny moved to Yorkshire some time ago but still managed to make the lengthy journey to band twice a week. Unfortunately due to increased work commitments adding an extra 2 hours to each round trip to band Jenny has made the difficult decision to leave the band.
Jenny joined the band just under two years ago originally on front row. A long time friend of MD James Holt, Jenny came in to help the band for Pontins contest, she enjoyed playing with the band so much she asked to stay to which the response was resounding YES! Jenny made the move to Flugel for the Tameside contest, with only two weeks preparation she showed herself to be a superb Flugel player and the seat was hers. Jenny showed herself to be more than an accomplished soloist giving many superb performances on both the concert and contest stage, and was featured on the bands latest CD Aces High playing Webb's arrangement of Share my Yoke. Speaking to BBB.com MD, James Holt had the following to say:

Jenny has been a fantastic player for the band and a wonderful friend to everyone associated with Boys band. She has been a truly professional member of the band and always performed to a very high standard, a cracking player, she will be sorely missed by everyone at the band.

Besses Boys wish Jenny all the very best for the future and hope to see her again very soon.

Besses Boys Enjoy Their Annual Summer Concert

On the afternoon of Sunday 13th July, the band were happy to present their annual summer concert, a highlight of the year in a free concert for friends and family, a review of the days events has been done by Band Sgt, Scott Broadhurst and can be seen below.

The Boys Band summer concert had a slightly delayed start this year, the start time billed as half past two was put back by twenty minutes in order for the bar to open. As everybody knows a good brass band concert has to have an open bar!!!

At 2:50 though, the band walked on stage and burst into a rousing rendition of the famous Rimmer march Ravenswood, good practise for Whit Friday next year. Following on from the traditional march opening was Homage to Pharoah, this very challenging piece of music was successfully negotiated and the audience were visibly impressed with how the band has improved and progressed over the last year. Next came time to feature the first soloist of the afternoon, Jason Abbott has been with the band for around 9 months now, and he certainly has his chosen solo mastered. Taken from Philip Sparke's Hymn of the Highlands, the Soprano cornet solo Flowerdale is a very taxing and challenging solo to undertake. Considering Jay has been home in Nottingham for the past few months and not had any rehearsal time with the band, it was an excellent performance indeed. Although not strictly a feature the next piece was time for band stalwart and bass trombone player Neil Matthews to shine as the band played through the theme music to the Mission Impossible trilogy. It was time to calm the mood again with the next two pieces, the first one being a recent regular showing off the fine Euphonium duo of James Harris and Sean Hayes. Deep Inside the Sacred Temple was played magnificently, and was one of the highlights of the first half. The Lost Chord arranged by Gordon Langford was the penultimate piece of the first half and featured assistant principal cornet for the day Lizi Sawyer. Bringing proceedings to a close for the first half was some more theme music. This time however it was from James' favourite TV programme as a child "Stingray". Quite apt as today was actually his birthday!!!

            During the interval there was lots of drinking done and one of the best parts of the day, lots of cake to be eaten!!!  As with all good brass band concerts raffle tickets were sold by the book load and prizes were on display for all to see.

            The Second half started with an excellent performance of John Williams Olympic Fanfare and Theme, not an easy piece at all, but yet more evidence of the great steps taken forward by the band over the last 12-18 months. Then a selection of German tunes called Heykens Serenade, a simple yet highly effective piece split into 4 movements depicting a journey through Germany encountering a German Village band, a Boys Bugle Brigade and a Gramophone all playing variations on the same original theme. The next piece on the programme took the form of a double trio for Flugel and Trombones, Featuring Jenny Abbott, Claire Mumford, and Lizi Sawyer on Flugel and our extended trombone section Adam Hirst, Christian Sharples, Fern Evans and Neil Matthews in Goff Richards fine arrangement of Your are the Sunshine of My Life, a piece that was played superbly, defiantly a highlight of the days performance. Back to some more film music and again featuring assistant principal cornet Lizi sawyer in fine

form was taken from The Deer Hunter. After a quick consultation with the front row it was decided that the draw for the raffle would be made after the next piece rather than at this time as was originally scheduled. So another piece that has been a regular at recent concerts was played. This being An American Trilogy, a selection of Elvis songs arranged by Goff Richards into a fantastic band piece that always has the audience sitting up and taking notice after slow quiet playing. The draw for the raffle then took place giving the band chance to have a short rest before the last few items. Next on the list being a wonderful arrangement of a French traditional called The Shepherd's song. The last piece of the afternoon was a superb rendition of Oregon, a piece of music written by a Dutchman, about an American state to be played by an English band. What a fantastic performance, again underlining the progress of the band recently. Of course there was an encore, band and audience favourite and title for the next Boys Band CD being of course Aces High.

            All in all a thoroughly enjoyable concert and one with which the band can look back on and say a great way to finish the year knowing there is plenty more yet to come from them.  

Review By Scott Broadhurst, Tutti Cornet.

Besses Boys Enjoy Their Annual Solo Contest

Slightly later than planned Besses Boys were pleased to be able to hold their annual Solo Contest on Saturday 14th June, this year held at the church institute, Prestwich. After a problem with finding an adjudicator late on, former conductor of the band Carl Whiteoak stepped in at VERY last minute to adjudicate the days proceedings and what a treat we had in store for him.

The day got under way with the Training band section, a section that allows the future stars of the boys band to showcase their talent. The training band have recently appointed a new MD, the Boys Bands Principal Percussionist, Jon Taylor who has been aided by "bumper up" Eleanor Parkes, their efforts were clear for all to see with an extremely high standard on show, with three cornet players, a tenor horn player and even a marimba soloist playing pieces ranging from "Old MacDonald" to "Hot Cross Buns" each performer showed great potential on the day, with the Winner chosen by Carl chosen to be Maddie Smith with a fine performance of "Old MacDonald".

Following a short comfort break, it was then the turn of those competing within the Intermediate section. This section is designed for players within the band who do not sit on solo seats within the band. A great variety of music was on show ranging from music from the movies in the form of Paul Mitchell (3rd Cornet) performing the theme from James Bond, "From Russia with Love", to a Barbara Streisand Classic, "The Way We Were" performed by Sean Hayes (Euphonium). It was another cornet player destined to win the section on this occasion with 2nd cornet player Adam Galloway showing maturity beyond his years to perform the well known "Concerto De Aranjuez" by Rodrigo, Adam's passion filled performance was enough to take the title for the second year running for this young man, with Sean Hayes coming in 2nd and 3rd place going to 2nd trombone player Christian Sharples who gave a fine performance of that old trombone favourite "The Acrobat".

Then came the Advanced section, containing the top rank performers from the band and what a closely fought contest this turned out to be, with first place going to Percussionist, and training band MD, Jon Taylor. Jon gave a master class in solo performing with a simply stunning performance of "Yellow after the Rain" on Marimba. Jon's grasp of the subtleties of the instrument shone through and was a clear winner on the day. 2nd place was awarded to the bands principal cornet, Kirsten Broadhurst, who today picked up her Flugel to give a fine performance of Alan Morrison's arrangement of Georgia on My Mind, with a sound oozing quality Kirsten deservedly picked up the 2nd place prize. Third place went to Tutti Cornet player Bradley Hirst, who gave a well prepared performance of an Arban Study with great technical clarity on display.

The final section of the day was the ensemble section, an open section, where any group of two or more can enter the section and perform a group piece. This section was won by Xylophone duettists Jon Taylor and Elise Ince who gave a fantastic performance of "The Two Imps" which included singing and lots of running around as their shared two facing xylophones. 2nd Place was award to a very classy performance of the well known Pie Jesu, performed on Flugel and Soprano, by Kirsten Broadhurst and Eleanor Parkes, both performers demonstrated excellent control and sound quality in their performance and deservedly took the second place award.

After a fantastic days performance, the opportunity to talk to the audience was handed to adjudicator for the day Carl Whiteoak. Carl spoke of his enjoyment of the days proceedings and the high standard on show from every player in every section, giving him some serious difficulties in placing the performers. He paid tribute to the band organizers for running such a fantastic event annually as it enables every single member of the band opportunity to perform a solo work.

The boys band were pleased to be able to introduce two new trophies to the solo contest.

The first of these was a silver cup donated by the family of Derek Hilton - The Derek Hilton Memorial Trophy. This was awarded for the Bands’ Band Member of the Year. Mr Hilton was a founder member of Besses Boys Band back in 1940’s and the Band would like to thank his family for the donation and support of this award.

The second is a Shield – The Thomas Carlyle Trophy, which was awarded to the winner of the Training Band section. This trophy is to commemorate a gentleman who passed on last year but remembered the Band in his will, enabling Besses to purchase new stage jackets, walking outs and banners. The award is a fitting way to remember him  

Full Results:

 

Training Band Section Maddie Smith (Cornet) Jacob Saunders (Cornet) Megan Smith (Cornet) Phoebe Kenyon (Tenor Horn) (Joint 4th) George Mitchell (Marimba) (Joint 4th)

Intermediate Section Adam Galloway (Cornet) Sean Hayes (Euphonium) ChristianSharples (Trombone) Elise Ince (Marimba) (Joint 4th) Emma Kilpatrick (Cornet) (Joint 4th) Adam Cole (Eb Bass) (Joint 5th) Paul Mitchell (Cornet) (Joint 5th)

Advanced Section Jon Taylor (Marimba) Kirsten Broadhurst (Flugel) Bradley Hirst (Cornet) Eleanor Parkes (Cornet) Jason Abbott (Soprano) Adam Hirst (Trombone)

Ensemble Section  Jon Taylor & Elise Ince (Xylophone) Kirsten Broadhurst & Eleanor Parkes (Flugel & Soprano) Emma Kilpatrick & Paul Mitchell (Cornet) Adam & Bradley Hirst ( Trombone & Cornet)

Special Awards

As well as the days competition there was also a presentation of Special Awards presented by the band each year:

Training Band Most Improved Player: George Mitchell (Percussion)
Best Attendance: Eleanor Parkers (Cornet)
Most Promising New Recruit: Emma Kilpatrick (Cornet)
Most Improved Player: Adam Galloway (Cornet)
Services to the Band: Jon Taylor (Percussion)
Bands Bandsperson of the Year: Sean Hayes (Euphonium)
Bands Band member of the Year: Scott Broadhurst (Cornet)
 

On the days events Musical Director, James Holt, told 4BR: "The solo contest is always a great event for the band it gives every single member the chance to perform a solo to the audience, which is fantastic experience. I certainly don't envy Carl's (Whiteoak) Job, I thought each performer today gave a cracking performance and each could of been in the prizes. The day also enables me to recognise the efforts of particular band members with the special awards. Afterwards the Band, family and friends then get together for the post contest party which gives the band a chance to relax and socialise."

Besses Boys wish to thank Adjudicator Carl Whiteoak for agreeing to participate in the days events

Concert Review, St Mary's Church - 16th May

After a break of nearly 18 months the Boys Band were back in the familiar surroundings of St. Mary's Church to give a concert to the venue that has been so good to the band over the past years, allowing us to record our CD's at this magnificent venue.

The nights performance started off in traditional fashion with a contest march, the band performed their Whit Friday entry "|Balmashana" by Owen Thomas which featured some fine bass end playing. Following on from this the band chose to play the classic "Homage to Pharaoh" by the famous Drake Rimmer, the band superbly captured the Egyptician feel to this well received piece. The band then chose to feature the first of many solo performers of the evening, Soprano Player, Jason Abbott. Jason chosen piece for the day was Sparke's "Flowerdale" from his suite "Hymn of the Highland". Jason gave a superbly classy performance and graciously accept the rousing applause. The band then performed the first of several Movie scores for the evening with Alan Fernie's arrangements of "Mission Impossible" featuring Band chairman and Veteran Neil Matthews. The next soloist for the evening was "bumper up" Eleanor Parkes, who was able to play a solo due to family travelling long distances to see her perform. On this Day Eleanor played Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love" with great style. The band then showed their control with a simply stunning performance of S.S.Wesley's Aurelia, which featured some fantastic solo work from principal cornet Kirsten Broadhurst. The first half was brought to a close with a rousing performance of Goff Richards Elvis Tribute "An American Trilogy" featuring some fantastic solo work from Solo Euphonium, James Harris.

After a short break enabling everyone to stretch their legs and seek some refreshment, the band started the 2nd half showcasing the talents of their entire cornet section with Fernie's Cornet Feature Guadalajara, it is fantastic that the band are able to have their entire section perform in such a way and the audience well appreciated their performance. Another solo feature followed with the subtle beauty of Euphonium Duettists James Harris and Sean Hayes playing the well known duet "Deep Inside the Sacred Temple" from Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers". Next on the programme was MD James's favourite piece, another film score, this time from the pen of Philip Sparke with his arrangement of "The Incredibles", this was a rousing performance featuring excellent work all around the stand especially the work of the percussion section. Following this on a lighter note the band performed Peter Skellern 's "Torrema Wakefield" a wonderfully descriptive piece, performed with great style. Then came a break for the band whilst Percussion soloist Jon Taylor held the audience in the palm of his hands as he wowed with his beautiful performance of Evelyn Glennie's "A Little Prayer". Next on the performance was a new piece for the band in Fernie's Arrangement of Jay Ungar's "The Ashokan Farewell", within the piece, Flugel player, Jenny Abbott, showed great ability in the challenging unaccompanied solo passage. Which just left the band to leave the audience with a real barnstormer of a finisher in Jacob De Haan's "Oregon", a wonderfully descriptive piece, depicting the journey through the American State, after another rousing applause from the audience the band treated them to the traditional encore playing "Aces High" featured in "The Battle of Britain" Band Sgt's, Scott Broadhurst favourite piece.

A fantastic night was had by all with the audience commenting on the wonderfully varied programme and the majority of this young group throughout the nights proceedings. Talking to BBB.com after the performance MD James Holt Commentated:

"The band never fail to impress me, every single player in the band continues to improve and our concerts are just getting better and better"

Keep your eyes on our events page to come and watch one of our future events.

Good time had by all at Whit Friday - 16th May

The time was upon us once more, had it really been a year? We were boarding the coach outside the bandroom setting off for our Whit Friday Adventure once again! Due to GCSE exams held that afternoon, it was a slightly later start than normal but that band made it to our usual starting point of Denton by around 17.00. This year the band chose to play "Balmashana" a march not played by the band for a couple of years, and one that very few bands have. After a solid start at Denton the band progressed through Droylsden, Broadoak, Ashton Football Club, Carrbrook before the traditional Scouthead Finish. The band put in some solid performances and were able to overcome some obstacles on the way including A dropped trombone and a shall we say not so sober committee who were very nearly left behind at Carrbrook!

Although no prizes were achieved this year, the band performed consistently and continued to show improvement. The main aim of the day was achieved in that it was a chance for the band to socialise together and see some familiar faces around the venues, a great time was had by all and we are already looking forward to next year!

Boys Band out in support of local churches

With Whit Friday fast approaching, the band took time out to have some marching practise with performances at two marches. The first in Dukinfield for the Moravian Church and the second held shortly after Whit Friday in Little Hulton. Both Jobs involved marches and hymn tunes for church services. The highlight of the marches for boys band at both the marches and Whit Friday is the chance to see MD James swap he baton for a beater and he plays the bass drum on our marches. James managed a new record this year of only dropping the beater twice during the days events.

Besses Boys are very proud to be able to help out both churches and hope to do so again in the near future.

Review - Buxton Contest, Sunday 4th May

After recent performance at both the Area and Tameside Contests Besses Boys were back on stage this time at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton for Buxton Contest.  For this contest the band decided it was time to push themselves in terms of music choice and the piece chosen to do this was Philip Sparke's test piece Kaleidoscope. This was to be a tremendous ask of the band, Kaleidoscope is generally considered to be a 2nd section standard piece used in recent years as a set test piece for that section at both the Butlins Mineworkers championships and the area contests.

After much hard work and preparation the day of the contest was finally upon us, and after drawing band number 5 the time was now to deliver our performance of this most difficult of test pieces. The band took to the stage with an air of confidence as they knew they were capable of delivering on the day. After all the hard work the performance was over in a flash and the band had done all they could and now all that was left was the wait for the results.

After the traditional raid of the trade stands to hunt down those bargain buys it was time for the results, unfortunately a top 3 three finish was beyond the band and we had to be content with fifth, a good result in a strong field of 13. Speaking after the contest BBB.com caught up with the bands MD James Holt who had this to say of the days events:

" I'm really pleased and proud with the way things have gone today, we have turned up on an extremely hard piece and have not disgraced ourselves, we have given a performance of merit and should be extremely proud of ourselves. I knew that it was going to be a tough day and extremely hard to work up this piece, but I also knew that my band were capable, when they put their mind to the task they produce some fantastic results. There was a very fair adjudication from Steve (Pritchard Jones - Adjudicator) with some goods points to work on to help us improve further, and more importantly there was nothing mentioned of the piece being too difficult for us which is huge. I've had some very positive feedback both from friends and strangers on how much they enjoyed our performance, it's a fantastic piece one that were thoroughly enjoyed working on. The consistency around the stand is improving and we are there or there abouts more often than not and this is a big improvement, one that I hope we can continue to build on.

Review - Concert for Bury Hospice, Saturday 19th April

Besses Boys came together for the second concert of the year on Saturday 19th April at Radcliffe Civic Hall, in a concert in aid of Bury Hospice. The band started in traditional fashion with a march, the chosen march was the Luftwaffe March, featured in the film Battle of Britain, Aces High, a personal favourite of third man Scott Broadhurst. Following this the band debuted a new piece for them in Drake Rimmers, Homage to Pharaoh, which featured some fantastic work from Principal Cornet, Kirsten Broadhurst. The band then moved onto featuring their first soloist of the evening, Soprano Cornetist, Jason Abbott playing Sparke's Flowerdale from Hymn of the Highlands, Jay showed Maturity beyond his years to master this difficult piece with superb control. Then came the chance for veteran bass trombone and Band Chairman, Neil Matthews, featured in Alan Fernie's arrangement of Mission Impossible, before next soloist, Principal Cornet, Kirsten Broadhurst taking the spotlight to play Neil Sedaka's Solitaire. Kirsten's defining characteristics are quality of sound and consistency both of which shone through in this fantastic performance. The mood was changed completely then with a favourite of the band, the hymn tune, Aurelia, it is within this piece the boys band managed to excel and show the quality of sound, in this most delicate of pieces, to great effect. That just left the band to sign off the first half with a real "Corker" in Goff Richards tribute to Elvis, An American Trilogy leaving the audience desperate for more.

The audience were not to be disappointed as the Band started the second half in Spain, with a feature for the entire section entitled Guadalajara by Alan Fernie, which was followed, in complete contrast, by a euphonium feature for James Harris and Sean Hayes, Deep Inside the Sacred Temple, both boys making their solo debut's with the band on their brand new euphoniums, James and Sean compliment each other magnificently and so a duet feature was perfect to showcase their talents. The band then showcased another new piece for them, a real tour de force entitled Oregon, a tricky number that the band manoeuvred well to stun the audience. Following this the band opted something completely different before the traditional last night of the proms finale, an unaccompanied Marimba Solo, A little Prayer, Performed by the bands Principal Percussionist Jon Taylor. This was perhaps the gem of the night as it was the first time the band were able to hear the solo as well as the audience. Jon held every person there in the palm of his hand and he oozed emotion on this most beautiful of pieces. Then came the much anticipated last night of the proms finale featuring Fantasia On British Sea Songs, Jerusalem,  and of course Pomp and Circumstance No.1. With much audience participation and more than one rousing rendition of Land of Hope and glory everyone went home satisfied from a nights quality entertainment.

Band Chairman Neil Matthews had this to say after the concert:

"The band continues to impress on the concert stage, we are always looking for new music and are constantly changing the programme where possible, it is a credit to James and the players that we are able to keep this constantly changing and show consistent improvement time after time. Credit must go to all our soloist's this evening, each one played an absolute blinder and the band are extremely lucky to have them and proud of their achievements.

Review - Tameside Contest, Sunday 30th March

Following on from the disappointment of the result at the area contest this year Besses Boys were soon back on the contest scene at the popular Tameside contest, held at the Tameside Hippodrome. The decision was made not to play Four Cities Symphony, the area test piece so the band set about finding a new piece and after much discussion the decision was made to play Edward Gregson's Variations on Laudate Dominum, a piece that has brought much success in the past. This was a big ask of the band as there are now several new members of the band since we had last played the piece, and with only two weeks to work the piece up, the work rate was intense and before you knew it the day of the contest was upon us.

Confidence was high and after the now traditional McDonalds Breakfast the band had the obligatory contest day warm up at the band room followed by the journey down the M60 into Tameside and arrive at what turned into a small comedy of errors. The band arrived at Tameside and as he pulled up the band could tell MD James looked pre-occupied. It was when he got out of the car the realisation struck that James' suit carrier was back at the band room in Whitefield, within which was his suit, score, adjudicators copy of the score, and day transfer forms of the players being borrowed that day. There was no panic as the band had time to send a runner to the band room until we were told that two bands had withdrawn and we were due on stage in 15 minutes. After several conversations with contest control, and being able to borrow a score from another band the boys band were suddenly on stage with a half dressed conductor with no score, a performance of real merit followed, a review of which, made by www.4barsrest.com can be seen below:

"Winners

With Tarelton Brass also withdrawing the contest progressed with a performance of ‘Variations on Laudate Dominum’ by Besses Boys conducted by James Holt.

They took the Fourth Section prize in 2007 and had their minds set on repeating the win with their strong ensemble sound setting the style for the overall musical picture painted by their MD. Whilst moments of real quality and the odd blemishes it just nudged them into a deserved podium spot taking £300 and the Tameside Services Trophy"

Speaking to BBB.com MD James had the following to say about the contest

"On arriving at Tameside, all my nightmares arrived when I realised what I had done, and I knew that a super human effort was required of myself to get through this piece, an effort that the band whole-heartedly deserved for their work on the piece. I must say a massive thank you to my contest secretary Hilary, Contest control at Tameside Contest, and The Greenfield Band, for the use of their score for the adjudicator, it was a big lesson learned for myself and one I'm sure will ensure I never forget anything again. The band played a fantastic performance today, I am extremely proud of their efforts and they thoroughly deserve to pick up a pot today, the area hurt a lot, but it is a sign of the strength of the band that we have come back with such a strong performance, I am very proud of this wonderful band.

Review - Concert - Middleton Masonic Lodge, Friday 14th March

The Boys Band Started off in good fashion with a short performance at the Masonic Lodge in Middleton. A new feature for the website is a review of the concert by band members, the first concert review is by our 2nd Concert Player Adam Galloway:

The first piece the band played was a traditional march entitled Aces High. Following that the band moved onto to feature their first soloist of the evening, he is called Jason Abbott and only recently joined the band from Blackley Band. He played a piece called Flowerdale which is a fantastic piece, which he made sound great! Our third piece was the Paso Doble, Ampartio Roca, which was played as a dedication to Adam and Bradley Hirst's grandfather who sadly passed away late last year and was organist for the Masonic Lodge.

After this we introduced our next soloist, Kirsten Broadhurst, who is the bands principal cornet, she played a very nice piece called Solitaire, which she played extremely well considering the piece was only got out at the rehearsal previous. Next cam a lovely piece called A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square which featured a wide range of solo passages. Then we went onto something completely different entitled Mission Impossible, which the band played very well. After that came a fantastic piece entitled Aurelia (The Churches one Foundation) and we played it really well. Then we played Torrema Wakefield, Which is very descriptive piece depicting a caravan holiday evening managing to feature Neil Matthews (The veteran of the band. To finish the concert we played an Elvis Medley called An American Trilogy which is a fantastic piece to finish a concert.

On the whole the band played extremely well considering we had one rehearsal in which to prepare due to the area contest.

Adam Galloway

Thanks to Adam for the review and look forward to the next concert review coming soon.

Review - North West Area Contest - Blackpool, Sunday 9th March

After much hard work during the preparations for the contest the day of the "Areas" finally arrived and it was time for the performance. Certain members of the band had an early start and went for a band "bonding" session at the local McDonalds for a hearty breakfast to put us in good stead for the day ahead. After a short rehearsal we boarded the coach and we were on our way, to sunny Blackpool! We arrived in Blackpool and surprisingly it was raining......yet!!!! After a nervous wait we got the call and the draw, 23 out of 23, we were going to be the last band of the day and a long wait was ahead. The band were then give some time to explore Blackpool and maybe watch a few other bands before it was time to play, its even been said that one band member managed to eat their own weight in Candy Floss!

After the long wait we were suddenly there in the registration room the band before us was just coming to the end of the performance and soon it would be out turn, there was just time for the customary "pep talk" from MD James Holt before the band were called onto the stage to set up and then perform. After a short wait while Adam sorted a problem with a sticky fourth valve, the band performed to a capacity hall full to bursting in anticipation of the results which would follow the performance. A cracking performance followed, the band were fantastic and as quickly as it had begun it was over and we were in for the results. Unfortunately this time our performance didn't find favour in the box but speaking to BBB.com after the performance, conductor James Holt had the following to say;

" Of course I am a little disappointed with the result and not to of come a little higher up the rankings but looking beyond that I simply could not of asked more of my band today. Everything was superb, I walked out into the auditorium and the first thing that struck me was just how many people were in there, it was fantastic to see a full hall, then I turned to look at my band and my heart skipped a beat. They looked superb, this was the first opportunity I had to see them in all their glory of new uniforms, they looked amazing and I knew something special was going to happen. From the first note to the last note the performance was unbelievable, the band performed better on the day than they ever have before and far beyond any expectations I could of ever of had. Everyone was focused and the atmosphere was electric, the audience erupted on the last note and I was so proud to stand the band up and turn and face the applause, I am still smiling thinking about the performance now, ok so it didn't find favour in the box and we will move on to the next contest in three weeks at Tameside, but we will move on a much better band and we can only keep getting better. Thank you to the many people whom I spoke to after the results some I knew, most I didn't telling me how much they enjoyed our performance and they felt it should of come higher. This weekend has been a good learning curve for the band and can only improve us. Finally I must thank the band just once more, they did all I asked and then some, I am truly proud of your efforts."

Full results From Blackpool can be found at www.4barsrest.com , you next opportunity to hear the band will be at Tameside Contest on Sunday March 39th at the Tameside Hippodrome, for those that can't make it, don't worry BBB.com will be there to do a full report of the day.

Besses Boys Strengthen their ranks

Besses Boys Band are delighted to announce further signings to strengthen their ranks. Following the recent signings earlier this month the band are please to welcome three new faces to the band. Elise Ince joins the bands percussion team, Alex Nolan joins on Eb Bass, and Ryan Forde joins our horn section. Talking to Musical Director, James Holt, he had the following to say

"Signings these players is a major boost for the band for the upcoming area contest and beyond, they allow our preparations to improve with the band close to capacity we can form the basis of a very strong team capable of competing at the highest levels possible. I welcome all three players to the band and hope they will have a long, happy and successful time with the band.

In  related news the band are happy to welcome back former members Charlotte Dodd (Horn) and Becca Hurst (Baritone) who have both agreed to help out the band for the area contest, their experience will no doubt be invaluable in helping to provide the right mix of youth and experience and the band thank both players whole heartedly.

Besses Boys Say Well Done

Besses Boys Band wish to say a big well done to both the Middleton Band and the Vernon Building Society Poynton Band for their recent performances at Butlins Contest.

Both bands contain both former players and friends of the boys band and both achieved fantastic results coming third in the 2nd and 1st sections respectively.

Well done to all associated with both bands.

Besses Boys Strengthen their ranks

Besses Boys Band are pleased to announce the signing of Paul Ollerenshaw to the Band on Bb Bass. Paul who hails from Woodley had spent some time away from banding to focus on his education and so was chomping at the bit to get back and only to pleased to accept the invitation to join the Boys Band.

Paul had previously played with the Hazel Grove band and previously played in Werneth School Band with conductor James Holt. Pauls playing debut with the band will be at the up coming 4th Section North West Area regional contest in Early March at the winter gardens in Blackpool, and hopes to get off to a wining start!

The band welcome Paul and hopes he has a long and successful career with the band

CD Recordings a Huge Success

After discussions in late 2007 it was decided that the time was right to record two new CD's. Over the weekend of the 19th & 20th January Boys band recorded two new CD's to the library of discs already available from the boys band.

On the 19th the recording took place at St. Margaret's Church Prestwich, here the day was spent recording general concert items including Florentiner March, The Incredibles and Ross Roy. A hard days work followed resulting in a fantastic recording hoping to be available very soon. Everyone was tired following recording but the work didn't stop there, on the Sunday 20th of January the band came together again this time in the familiar surroundings of St. Mary's Church Prestwich to record a Xmas compilation CD ready for Xmas 08, once again the band worked extremely hard on the task at hand to produce a very successful recording.

Special thanks must go to the formers members, and friends of the band who turned out on both days to help with the recording.

Both CD's will be available very soon to order via the website or at one of our many engagements throughout the year.

Comings & Goings at Besses Boys Band

 It is with Sadness that Besses Boys band say goodbye to two of their members. Repiano Cornet Player Samantha Simpson Leaves the band for pastures new and is joining Vernon Building Society Poynton Band, while 1st horn Holly Dolman is set to Join the BT Band. It is a credit to the Band that two of our players are capable of making the move from the fourth section straight to the championship section with ease, the band wish to thank both players for the service they have given to the band and wish them and their new bands all the very best for their future banding careers.

On a positive note Besses Boys are very please to welcome two new faces to their ranks. On Soprano Cornet we welcome Jason Abbott and on Solo Euphonium James Harris. Both players join from the Blackley band and are excited as the challenge ahead with boys band. Both are going straight in at the deep end in the busy Christmas schedule.
On the comings and goings MD James Holt said

"It is always a sad time to lose players but when we have players that are capable of playing in the championship section then it is understandable that other bands are interested, we have lost two fantastic bandsmen who will both be sorely missed. With the sadness there is some gladness and we welcome two fantastic players to the ranks in Jason and James, both are quality players and have fitted in extremely well."

News From 2007