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We’re already three Sunday’s into our summer season and, although the weather’s been a little bit of a mixed bag, all have been dry so far.  As those

of you who have attended one of the concerts will

know, this year we are offering you the chance to

hear a piece of your choice.  In a bid to raise enough

money to get us to the National Finals in Harrogate in

September, we will play any piece you choose from

this list of music from our library in return for a

donation.  What’s more, you can choose which

Sunday you want us to play it on.  If you would like

to combine hearing your favourite piece with helping

us to achieve our fundraising target, simply pop your donation into one of the envelopes we’ve got at the Connaught Garden’s during a concert and write your name, request and Sunday of choice on the front.  If you wish, you can also write your address on the envelope.  If the weather lets us down and that concert happens to be rained off, we could then return your money to you.  Alternatively, if you are happy for us to keep the contribution to our funds anyway, there is no need to provide us with your address.  If you are unable to attend a concert to make your request, please contact us and we will try to help!  Click here to see our list of music.

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the loss of one of our players, Eric Ashby, who died suddenly on 15th December.  Eric joined the band in 2004 after moving to Sidmouth with his wife Jenny to enjoy his retirement, and quickly became settled on the back row.  

Eric’s kind and gentle nature and great sense of humour meant he was a joy to have within the band. News of his death came as a huge shock to all of us, and the loss of not only a valued band member but also a good friend will be sorely felt by us all.

Our deepest condolences go to Jenny and the rest of Eric’s family.

The run up to Christmas is always busy for the band, and the 2009 festive season was no exception.  We were lucky enough to play to fantastic audiences at both the joint Christmas concert with the Exeter and Community Male Voice Choir, and at our own concert held at the Manor Pavilion.  The band spread a little festive cheer around Sidmouth by caroling it’s way through December.  With the weather seasonably chilly, the free mince pies, mulled wine, coffee, and very fiery ginger concoction courtesy of the lady in Julian Graves all went down very nicely indeed.  

In amongst the caroling and snow-waltzing, we have been very busy getting a brand new website up and running.  Have a look around, check out our online photo gallery, put the dates on our engagements page in your diary, and read about all the players.  And don’t forget to sign our new guestbook!

The band is now looking forward to all that 2010 has to offer, and hoping that it’s going to be another successful year.  We hope to see you at one of our concerts soon, but in the mean time keep up to date with all the goings on by checking this website regularly!

With the tinsel and carol books packed away for another year, the band has been busy back in the bandroom.  March might not seem that close at the moment, but for us, knowing that it’s only 7 weeks until the Areas contest is actually rather scary! With so many hours of rehearsal going into preparing for a contest, it’s always a relief when the test piece is one we can enjoy playing - and luckily Percy Fletcher’s ‘Labour and Love’ falls into that category.  

The band is looking forward to welcoming back renowned bass soloist, conductor and arranger Steve Sykes, who will be taking us for two rehearsals leading up to the contest - the 9th and 23rd of February.  The couple of rehearsals that Steve took us for prior to the 2009 Areas not only taught the band a great deal, but were also thoroughly enjoyable.  The venue is yet to be confirmed, but anyone interested in coming along to listen to these practices would be very welcome to do so.

In addition to practicing for the contest, the band has been kept entertained by taking it in turns to select a piece of music at random from the library to play. So far, it’s been fairly easy to see why some pieces have been left to gather a thick layer of dust over the years, but we’re bound to uncover some forgotten about classics at some point. In the mean time, Hilary is going to continue to do her best to convince everyone to choose a piece from the ‘Selections’ section of the library, in the hope that Calamity Jane will make that long overdue appearance...

It was back to school time for three members of the band last weekend as Fiona, Christine and Hilary headed to West Buckland School near Barnstaple to attend the South West Brass Band Association’s Mid-Winter Workshop. Having navigated their way through some tiny lanes, they arrived bright and early on Saturday morning with instrument in one hand and packed lunch in the other. Even being faced with a scarily large amount of chairs set up for trombones didn’t put them off, and they made themselves comfortable ready for the busy two days ahead.  Tutors for the weekend were Steve Sykes, Philip Harper and Brian Menear, who each took turns at both conducting the full band and tutoring each section.  It’s always good experience to be taken by different conductors – not only do you learn new things, but it also helps to keep you on your toes!

The band rehearsed nine pieces in total, including a number of pieces composed or arranged by Steve and Philip. Keep an ear out in the future for ‘In This Hour of Soften’d Splendour’, a lovely piece arranged by Steve for quartet and band accompaniment that we are now thinking of buying.  An enjoyable yet tiring two days (Hilary still hasn’t quite managed to recover!) came to an end at 5pm on Sunday, after the band had performed the pieces it had been working hard on all weekend to a small but appreciative audience.

A good weekend was definitely had by all.  You only need to look around and see 75 other players of all ages and abilities sharing the same desire to learn new music, develop new skills and have fun to be reminded what is so special about being part of the brass band world.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but the band is certainly doing its best to cram in as much practice as possible in preparation for its upcoming concert and contest.  With only 3 and a half weeks until the Areas (a quick count up in our head makes that a total of 10 practices left), rehearsal of ‘Labour and Love’ is very much in full swing, with progress being made slowly but surely.  We have already had the first of our practices with Steve Sykes, and now can’t wait for the next one on Tuesday 23rd.

The band has been juggling practising the test piece with practising for our fast approaching concert in the Manor Pavilion on Saturday 27th February.  Organised by the Lions Club of Sidmouth, this year sees the band joining forces with local singer Avril Best and pianist Andrew Sturmey.  In aid of two great charities, the ‘Swinging and Singing’ concert promises to be a very entertaining evening. Click here to see our engagements page for more details.

The band returned to the Manor Pavilion stage last night as it joined forces with local singer Avril Best and pianist Andrew Sturmey in a ‘Swinging and Singing’ charity concert organised by the Lions Club of Sidmouth. The audience enjoyed an evening of great variety, as the band, Avril and Andy each performed a selection of pieces. The band’s programme included both classical and modern numbers, and featured popular solos from Fiona Bell and Christine Sweetapple. The trombone section did their best Tom Jones impression as they performed his number one hit ‘It’s Not Unusual’, although we believe all the women in the audience did leave at the end of the evening with all items of clothing that they arrived in still intact!

The concert provided the band with the opportunity to perform the upcoming test piece ‘Labour and Love’ to an audience for the first time.  Although it generally went well, it certainly gave us lots to think about and has reminded us that there is still plenty of work to do in the 7 rehearsals left between now and the 13th March!

Having now played in his first concert with the band, we must officially welcome our newest member - Gareth Davies. Gareth walked through the bandroom door 3 weeks ago, and although a very versatile player, was promptly handed a cornet. With a shortage of players on the back row and with only weeks left until the Areas contest, he has arrived at a very good time for us. Gareth is settling in well, and we hope he enjoys his time as a member of the band.

With only 3 days left to go until the most important date in the band’s calendar, final preparations are being made ahead of the West of England Regional Championships. Bright and early on Saturday morning, the band will set off from Sidmouth to make that familiar journey down to Torquay to compete against 14 other bands in the Third Section.

The band has put in a lot of hard work over the past couple of months, but

ultimately it all comes down to a 10 minute performance on the

day and the opinions of the two adjudicators in the box.

Whilst it would be nice to get a good result, the

band’s priority is just to play as well as we can

and put in a performance to be proud of. Find

out how the band got on by checking our news

page after the contest.

The band is celebrating this weekend after being crowned winners of the Third Section at the West of England Regional Championships, booking a place at the National Finals in Harrogate in the process!

Having been promoted in 2008, the band has been working hard over the past couple of years to put in solid performances to secure its position in the Third Section.  With the danger of relegation in the back of our minds, we started preparations for this contest knowing that another good performance on stage would not only put us in a safer position, but prove that the band is capable of holding its own in a field with strong competition.

With  a win at Torquay last November, confidence was high as the band set to work on Percy Fletcher’s ‘Labour and Love’ – a challenging piece, but one that suited the band well and one we knew we would all enjoy rehearsing.  A run of consistent and productive practices in the weeks leading up to the contest meant that we left Sidmouth bright and early on Saturday morning confident that we stood a good chance of improving on our 9th place last year. Drawn to play 6th out of the 15 bands, it was mid-morning by the time it was our turn to play for adjudicators David Horsfield and Peter Bassano.  Although a few nerves did creep in, the band left the stage happy that we had put in a good performance.

Come results time, the band gathered in the hall to listen to the top six bands being announced, hopeful – but by no means certain – that our efforts may have just about put us in with a chance of hearing our name read out.   With sixth, fifth, fourth, third, and second places each going to other deserved bands, nerves reached a record high.  The short pause before the winning band’s name was revealed felt like a lifetime, but it was well worth the wait as Sidmouth Town Band was announced as the new regional champions!  The result, which is

Sidmouth’s highest since at least the

1920’s, is testament to the time and

the hard work put in by both Adrian

and the band not only over the past

couple of months, but over the last

few years.

The win on Saturday will make for a

very busy 6 months for the band, as

we try and raise the money needed to

fund our trip to the National Finals in

Harrogate in September.  We’re already

thinking ahead and putting plans in

place, so keep an eye out for any fundraising events between now and then.  But if anyone has any ideas of how we can raise some money to get us to the Finals, please do let us know – we’d love to hear from you!

Click here to read the adjudicators’ remarks.

It’s a long way down from Cloud Nine, but with a very busy few months ahead, the band has been making its way back down to Earth following its win in Torquay three weeks ago.  

The band headed to its first engagement as newly crowned West of England Third Section Champions this morning as it took part in Sidmouth’s annual hot cross bun giveaway.  We’re only two days into the month, but the

term ‘April Showers’ couldn’t be more

suitable as, for the second year running,

Bedford Lawn car park was abandoned in

favour of a dry venue for the event.  

However, the rain never does anything to

deter the crowds, and as always the band

enjoyed taking part in this old Sidmouth

tradition.

2010 looks set to be an incredibly busy

year for us all.  Scarily, the summer

season is creeping up on us with the first concert in Connaught Gardens only 8 weeks away. With that in mind, and a concert to celebrate the refurbishment of Sidmouth’s Parish Church on the 21st May, the band will be busy over the next few weeks rehearsing a wide selection of music.  In amongst our usual engagements, we will also be working as hard as possible over the next 6 months to raise the money needed to make it possible to compete in the National Finals in September.  Remember to keep an eye on our engagements page for details of any upcoming fundraising events.  If you have any ideas on how we can raise funds, or are able to help in any way, please do contact us or come and see us after any concert.

In only four Sundays time the band will have kicked off the 2010 summer season of concerts in Connaught Gardens.  We’re currently very busy in the bandroom putting the finishing touches to our four programmes, each one offering a variety of music to suit all tastes.  In a bid to raise enough money to fund our trip to the National Finals in September, this year will see our audiences having a little more say over what we play each Sunday evening.  Come along to one of our concerts to find out how you can make sure we play your favourite piece this summer.

Don’t forget that you don’t need to wait until the 30th May to hear the band.  On Friday 21st May we will be playing in Sidmouth’s Parish Church for the first time since its refurbishment and restoration during 2009.  The concert will feature a wide range of music, and you will be the first to hear some exciting new pieces we are working hard to rehearse at the moment.  Tickets cost £6 and are available now from Paragon Books, High Street, Sidmouth.

Sidmouth’s Parish Church was the venue for the band’s latest concert, as we took to the stage just a week ahead of the start of our busy summer season.  The concert - our first in the church since its refurbishment during 2009 - was enjoyed by all, with the new layout providing much improved surroundings for both band and audience.

The concert not only gave us the opportunity to show off our recently acquired collection of silverware, but also to treat the audience to the first public performance of the test piece ‘Labour and Love’ since being crowned West of England Third Section Champions in March. In another ‘first’ for the evening, the band played - and quite possibly premiered - a brand new arrangement by local composer Matt Kingston.  It’s a piece you’re bound to hear during the summer, so for those of you can’t quite make out Adrian’s (mis)pronunciation of the title, it’s called ‘The Kingdom of Asturias’, and we’re confident our audiences will like it as much as we do.

So that leaves only one week until we’ll be in back in Connaught Gardens for the first of 15 Sunday night concerts.  Don’t forget that we start at 8pm and admission is free.  Let’s hope the warm and sunny weather we’ve been spoilt with this weekend continues!

The date for this year’s Last Night of the Proms concert has been announced.  The concert, which is always the band’s biggest of the year, will take place on Saturday 21st August.  Although we are unable to announce any more details at the moment, we will release further information soon, including when and where you will be able to buy your tickets.  Mark the date on your calendar before you forget!

Tickets for this year’s Last Night of the Proms concert are now on sale.  The concert, which is the band’s biggest of the year, is being held in Connaught Gardens on 21st August, at 7.30pm. Now only three weeks away, we’re very busy in the bandroom rehearsing a varied programme featuring music you won’t have heard us play during the year so far.  We will once again be joined by local singer Val Howells, whose talent and impressive outfits always add some extra sparkle to the evening.  This year, Val will be accompanied by a special guest.

The success of our Last Night of the Proms concerts over the past four years has primarily been down to you - our audience.  Come rain or shine, the spirit and enthusiasm shown has given us some very memorable evenings.  With surroundings like Connaught Gardens, you would have to search far and wide to even come close to matching the atmosphere as the band and audience join forces for the patriotic classics such as Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory.  So dust off the picnic table or dig out a blanket, bring a bottle or pack up a picnic, but most importantly, just bring yourselves, some friends, and your singing voices, and help us make 2010’s Last Night of the Proms the best yet.

Tickets cost just £5 and are now available from Sidmouth’s Tourist Information Centre, at any of our concerts, or from any member of the band.

The band was in the midst of the celebrations last Saturday as one of our players tied the knot near Honiton.  Having already played at Sidmouth Folk Week’s opening concert in the morning, we took our place in Awliscombe church to see the band’s 2nd horn player, Karen Summers, say her vows to become Mrs Chambers.  Karen walked down the aisle to a trumpet voluntary played by Fiona Bell, our principal cornet player, and left the church with new husband Mark to the band playing the Allegro Deciso from Handel’s Water Music.

The band wishes Karen and Mark and their family the very best of luck, love and happiness for their future together.