Pillowell Silver Band
2009 News Archive
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Sunday 8th November - A great weekend in Torquay despite the result
The Pillowell Silver Band competed in the 3rd Section of the SWBBA annual contest in Torquay on Saturday 7th November. After a positive morning rehearsal the band were in a great frame of mind and ready to defend the title they won last November. The draw came out and it was revealed that we were the last band of the day to put their performance of Peter Graham's Haslemere Suite, to the adjudicator, Barry Thompson. After our performance the band were very pleased with how it went and reported to the hall to find out whether or not we were in "the frame". As it turned out the band were placed in a lowly 4th place which was a great disappointment. Despite this though a great weekend was had socialising, making music, boozing and of course eating in Torquay's vast array of fine cuisine. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Tracy Screen for her superb job on 2nd horn. Also we would like to pass on our congratulations to Adrian Harvey and Sidmouth Town Band.
Third Section:
Adjudicator: Barry Thompson
1. Sidmouth Town (Adrian Harvey)
2. Weston Brass
3. Pendennis (Steve Thomas)
4. Pillowell Silver Band (Steve Ruck)
5. St. Sythians (James Burns)
6. Launceston (David Dobson)
Best Horn Section: Sidmouth Town
Friday 6th November - Welcome to the English Riviera!
This weekend sees the Pillowell Silver Band take the long haul down to Torquay to defend their title of South West 3rd Section champions which they won last November. They will be competing once again in the 3rd Section on Saturday 7th November playing Professor Peter Graham's, Haslemere Suite. Preparations are now complete and tomorrow we shall put our performance to the adjudicator, Barry Thompson, whom we hope enjoys our interpretation of the piece. Twitter updates will be available throughout the weekend. To view Pillowell Band's Twitter page please click here!
Sunday 11th October - Personal Update
The band is pleased to welcome Alan Cornish to the vacant solo cornet position. Alan, originally from the Saltash Town Band has recently moved to the area from Scotland where he played for the Lochgelly Band in the 1st Section. We welcome Alan and hope he enjoys his time with us. Also we are pleased to welcome Peter Ryland to the Euphonium and Baritone section. Having recently been the band compere at Wychavon, he couldn't resist the offer to play at the forthcoming SWBBA contest in Torquay and GBBA contest at Five Acres. The band will be looking to defend their title at both of these contests. Peter is also the Musical Director of the Ross Town Band and we offer our extended welcome to him.
Sunday 27th September - Wychavon Contest
The Pillowell Silver Band last weekend competed in the 3rd Section contest of the annual Wychavon Festival of Brass. The band performed a taxing programme and came away with a confident 4th place. The band opened their 20 minute set with Sandy Smith's arrangement of James Swearingen's "Valero" and this led into an arrangement of "The Lark in the Clear Air" played with a real stamp of class by the bands Solo Horn player, Lucy Nelmes. We then changed the atmosphere by playing the theme tune from "The Simpsons", a programme which first braced our TV screens 20 years ago! This was followed by John Rutter's superb choral work, "A Gaelic Blessing" excellently arranged here for Brass Band by Darrol Barry. We then finished proceedings with some more film music, this time "The Mask of Zorro" again arranged by Darrol Barry.
The band would like to thank several people without whom this result would not have been possible. Firstly to our compere, Mr. Peter Ryland who did an excellent job and delivered with a slick and professional attitude. Also to our friends from Bream who deputised in various positions due to player illnesses and holidays amongst other things! So our extended thanks to Tracey Screen, Huw and Rachel Bamford and Wayne Williams for all their help.
The band now look forward to the next two contests before the year end which are the SWBBA contest in November where the band will perform Peter Graham's "Haslemere Suite" and the GBBA own choice contest also in November.
Third Section:
Adjudicator: Alan Bourne
1. Emley Brass (G Hallas) 184
2. Amington (Wesley Kendrick) 183
3. Fullham Brass Band (Simon Jones) 182
4. Pillowell Silver Band (Steve Ruck) 181
5. Bath Spa Band (David Hayward) 180
6. Avonbank (Evesham) Band (Andy Davidson) - 179
7. Charlgrove Band (Michael Pegram) 178
8. Cross Keys Silver Band (Mr K L Bowden) 177
9. A.W.Parker (Drybrook) Band (Kevin White) 176
10. Porthwyaen Silver Band (Mark Parry) 175
Best Instrumentalist: Carol Jones, cornet Porthwyaen Silver Band
Best Percussion Section - Emley
Wednesday 19th August - Sponsoring a Player
Pillowell Silver Band has traditionally been a self-funding organisation relying on member subscriptions, revenue generated from engagements, competitions and other fund raising activities to meet overheads and to provide instruments / music to members.
Pillowell Silver Band is now actively seeking sponsorship for individual members of the band. As you will see from our results pages, we have a number of national appearances so sponsoring the individual members of Pillowell Silver Band is a unique and effective way for your company to reach a new and ever wider audience.
For more information please see here or contact Rachel Hayward on 07759 342073 or 01594 516834. Alternatively you can email her at rachelmhayward@yahoo.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you.
Monday 17th August - Training Band
The training band is currently looking to recruit new members to help secure the future of the band. If you or your children or grandchildren fancy learning a brass instrument then give Alan Beddis a call on 01594 563177. It is never too late to start! The training band rehearse on a Wednesday evening at 7PM and instruments are provided. This is a great opportunity for anyone who has ever considered playing a musical instrument.
Saturday 15th August - Personal Update
The Pillowell Silver Band are delighted to welcome the Crowe family to the band. Neil, will take the position of soprano cornet within the band whilst his wife, Sarah will take up the flugel position. They also come complete with their son, David who has already shown his potential on the baritone and is also a very keen percussionist. We are very pleased to have signed these three quality players and hope they enjoy their career at Pillowell.
Sunday 28th June - Bailey Lane End 40th Music Festival
Saturday 27th June saw two members of the Pillowell Junior Band and one member of the Pillowell Silver Band compete at the 40th annual Bailey Lane End Music Festival. Congratulations to Pillowell's star second cornet player, Sophie Collier, on taking second place after a beautiful rendition of "Angus Macdonald". Also congratulations to training band member Robyn who took third place after delivering the goods on "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". Finally, William Sharma took fourth place after a cracking performance of "Singing in the Rain".
Sunday 31st May - Summer Concerts
The month of June will see the Pillowell Silver Band in their first summer concert of the year. This will be held at Newent Lakeside on Sunday 14th June and the band will commence playing at 2:30PM. If the weather upholds then it should be a great day, with great music and a great opportunity to support the local brass bands. The Pillowell Silver Band look forward to seeing familiar at new faces at all their summer concerts.
Monday 18th May - A Fun, Tiring and Rewarding Weekend for Pillowell Band
Last weekend (Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May), the Pillowell Silver Band competed at both the Ebbw Vale Annual Own Choice Contest and the Weston Super Mare Own Choice Contest. Playing the test piece, Episodes for Brass by Gareth Churcher the contest threw up two very different results! Starting with the Saturday, the band arrived at the scenic Welsh town of Ebbw Vale in their bid to take the trophies back over the boarder. After a performance quoted by the MD, Steve Ruck as "the best performance under my direction" the band were awarded First Prize and a clear 2 point margin for their efforts. The band were all very proud of their principal cornet player, Kate Smith who picked up the award for Best Instrumentalist in the section. The band were on a real high and delighted with the result, with both of the trophies available making their way back to the Forest. The full results of the section was as follows...
Third Section:
Adjudicator: Malcolm Brownbill
1. Pillowell Silver (Steve Ruck) 182
2. Llwydcoed (Carl Saunders) 180
3. Pontypool Brass (Patrick OLeary) 178
4. Newport Borough (Alun Hathaway) 177
5. Corus (Port Talbot) (Colin Hogg) 176
6. Severn Tunnel (Andrea Ayres) 173
7. Ebbw Vale (Ceri Thomas) 172
8. Upper Rhondda (Darren Hawkin) 171
9. Cwmtawe District Youth (Wayne Pedrick) 170
10. Crwbin (Julian Jones) 169
Best Instrumentalist: Kate Smith (solo cornet) Pillowell Silver
The following day, the band returned to their home country to compete in the Weston Super Mare Annual Own Choice Contest. Once again opting for Gareth Churcher's excellent composition, Episodes for Brass, a piece which had until this day brought much success for the band, the band were awarded a disappointing 5th place. After delivering another high quality, but understandably slightly tired account of the piece, the band came away from the contest quite disappointed. The band however extends their warmest congratulations to the winners, Cross Keys, who took the title back to Wales! How Ironic! Also our congratulations to Avonbank on winning the prize for "Best Set of Bases". The band would also like to extend their congratulations to fellow forest band, Cinderford, who walked away as winners of the 2nd section, conducted by Clive Lewis. The full results was as follows...
Third Section:
Adjudicator: Chris Wormald
1. Crosskeys Silver - Kerry Bowden, 187
2. Avonbank (Evesham) Brass - Nick Smith, 186
3. Bath Spa - David Haywood, 185
4. A W Parker (Drybrook) - Kevin White, 184
5. Pillowell Silver - Steve Ruck, 182
6. Wotton under Edge and District - Dennis Grant, 181
7. Bream Silver - Huw Cole, 180
Best set of Basses - Avonbank
All in all then, a successful weekend for the band which we all very much enjoyed. We can now look forward to improve yet again and can now commence our heavy summer concert schedule in a confident manner. On the personal front however, the band were saddened at the resignation of 1st Horn player, Tessa Broderick, a loyal and all round superb bandswoman. We wish her the best of luck for the future and hope to see her again soon. That's it! The adjudication and photo's from the weekend will be published on the site over the coming days. As always thanks to Steve Ruck for his work with the band and the committed team of players who make these results happen. Also thanks to our supporters both sides of the border whom we value very much.
Friday 16th May - To Weston Super Mare, Via Ebbw Vale
This Sunday, 18th May, sees the band compete once again at the annual Weston Super Mare Own Choice Contest. Before this however, on Saturday 17th May, they will be making their debut at the Ebbw Vale Own Choice Contest. The band are confident with how rehearsals has been going over the last few weeks and is looking to improve on the disappointing 10th place from the Regional Championships in March. The Twitter Site will be kept updated over the weekend, with results and other information,
Sunday 5th April - Good Performance, Disappointing Result
The band competed at the West of England Regional Championships, 3rd Section in Torquay on the weekend of 14th/15th March. After an early number 3 draw the band put in a solid show which on the whole we were happy with. There were moments of unease which we were aware of, but we felt the overall musical picture would be satisfying enough to secure a top 6 finish. We were then however disappointed to come home in 10th place.
The band have a busy summer season coming up commencing this month with a concert at Highnam Court, Gloucester on Saturday April 25th. We will commence playing at 11 o'clock for an hour and invite all to come along and support. The band will be then competing at the annual Weston Super Mare Competition on Sunday 17th May. Before that however the band will be making their debut at the Ebbw Vale SEWBBA Contest at the leisure centre in Ebbw Vale. This contest is on Saturday 16th May so this weekend promises to be a busy one for the band. For the current grading tables for the West of England 3rd Section, Click Here
Thanks must go to Berry Hill Band for the use of their band room in the lead up to the contest. We must also extend our warmest congratulations to Lydbrook Silver Band and Steve Sykes who finished in 3rd Place in the Championship Section. A tremendous achievement, well done!
On the personal front, we are pleased to welcome Mark Ellis to the band on 2nd Baritone and Tim Colebrook gets promotion to Solo Baritone.
Friday 13th March - Twittering from Torquay
Saturday will see the band perform "The Once and Future King" by Andrew Baker at the West of England Regional 3rd Section Finals. They will be competing against 15 other bands from the West of England area for the elusive prize of qualification to the National Finals in Harrogate this September. You can follow the band this weekend on their Twitter account (Click Here) and full results will be posted when we get them. We would like to send our very best of luck to the other Forest Bands competing at Torquay and also to our friends at St. Stythians in Cornwall.
Sunday 22nd February - Awards Evening
The Pillowell Silver Band held their awards evening last night, 21st February and an enjoyable evening was had by all at the Miners Arms, Whitecroft. This gave the band an opportunity to reflect on their success for 2008 and to look forward to an even better 2009. As well as this the MD, Steve presented members of band various awards for their commitment and effort throughout the year.
Bandsman of the Year : Hayley Norris
Most Improved Player Under 16 : Sophie Collier
Most Improved Player Over 16 : Jo Hanley and Josh Ruck
Contest Performance of the Year : Lucy Nelmes
Section of the Year : Tenor Horns (Team Horn!)
The Goldfish of the Year Award : John Price
Also 3 long term members and associates of the band were awarded life membership. They are; Brian Watkins; Brian Nelmes and Sylvia Beddis. Congratulations to everyone and we now move forward into 2009 and beyond.
Wednesday 4th February - Another Personal Update
The Pillowell Silver Band are pleased to welcome Sam Horton on cornet. Sam, a student at Whitecross School is looking forward to a challenging career at Pillowell. It is with sadness that we have to say goodbye to Gareth Davis on percussion. Gareth has been with the band all through his school career and is now joining our friends at Bream Silver.
Monday 19th January - Personal Update
The Pillowell Silver Band are proud to announce the signing of Tim Colebrook on baritone. Tim brings a wealth of experience to the band having previously played for Chinnor Silver Band and Kidlington Concert Brass in the championship section. Stalwart and all round superb bandsman, John Price beefs up our already strong back row as he moves from baritone to 3rd cornet.