Harlow Concert Band

Concert at Orton Longueville School, Peterborough

Have you ever heard people say that when they listen to beautiful music, it can move them? Well, I can report that on Saturday 11th Oct music moved me to the core.

You see I was playing in a concert that brought together the City of Peterborough and Harlow Concert Bands. This is an annual get together held at alternate venues and this year it was Peterborough’s turn to play host. Because of the large amount of players (over 60) the stage at Orton Longueville School, where we sat, was a little crowded.

I was positioned, with my tenor saxophone, directly in front of the drummer. We were so close there was not even room for a piece of sheet music between the back of my chair and his drum kit. I did not think anything of this until the first time he put the pedal down on the bass drum. The vibrations were so intense they caused the portion of succulent roast beef I had eaten only an hour before to dance in my stomach. When he violently beat four beats to the bar on the tenor drum the bread and butter pudding that had earlier followed the beef, followed it again only this time jumping up and down in the double helping of custard. Another reminder of how that deadly sin ‘greed’ should be avoided at all cost.

During our rendition of that upbeat tune ‘All that jazz’ from the show Chicago, The air around my ears swirled like a tornado each time he hit the symbol immediately behind my head. But whilst blowing a high note, I happened to lean too far back in my chair and my head inadvertently went under the shivering circle of brass. Just at that precise moment, the now uncontrollable percussionist hit the bloody thing. As a result, instead of a beautiful piercing sound which fully enhanced the effect of the music, it sounded like someone hitting a dustbin lid with a piece of raw haddock.

So by the end of the evening I was exhausted. I had bruises on top of my head, I was in the early stages of chronic indigestion and my ears were developing a severe case of tinnitus.

I look forward to Christmas and some nice quiet carols.

A Tight Sqeeze

The Papaya fruit is a yellow coloured fruit grown in Mexico. If cut open its core reveals a tightly packed cluster of seeds. So What! I here you say. Well the reason I mention this is because not only did the tune ‘Papaya’ feature in Harlow Concert Bands latest musical feast, but also because of the tight space with which we had to sit and play. It was so close that most of the band members felt like the seeds inside of the aforementioned fruit.

The venue was a very pretty 14th century church at Watton-on-Stone, Hertfordshire dedicated to St. Andrew and St. Mary. However, this is a place of worship and not designed to house 30 or so instrumentalists who require various amounts of space for their large lumps of brass and elbows. There was no stage. Why should there be? We just squeezed where we could into the area around the choir stalls. The brass section managed to find space towards the Alter, the saxophones sat under the pulpit and those that were left such as clarinets, oboes and flutes sat where they could fit in. Of course the conductor was alright. He had plenty of space around him to swing a cat, let alone a baton. I suppose that’s the privilege of being in charge.

Any way the music went down well and the audience was very appreciative. The highlight? It has to be our rendition of ‘Papaya’ and Paul Cutler who played the trombone solo so exquisitely. Because of where he stood I had the full benefit of his sound inches from my right ear. But it was by no means unpleasant. He produced a wonderful warm tone which seemed to fit the beguine/Cuban style of the composition. Close your eye and you could just imagine yourself sitting by the warm sea drinking a rum and coke.

And as a final thought. The church apparently was used by the Cromwell’s army to house Royalist prisoners during the Civil war. As I sat there squashed up against the choir stalls on one side and a fellow saxophone player the other, I wondered who else sat in that space over 400 years earlier. He probably have more room to move than I did.

Concert at Royal British Legion, Harlow

The Royal British Legion provides financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served or are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants. They have social clubs up and down the country that provide a venue for social events and a place for members to meet.

Last night the Harlow Concert Band played at the Royal British Legion club, Harlow. Despite the fact that this was the same night that Chelsea was playing Liverpool in the semi-final of the Champions league there was a good crowd. There was a big screen showing the football in an adjoining room so those that were interested in the score could keep one eye on the match.

Mike Pearce, our conductor, chose film and show music as our theme and our repertoire included tunes from The Sound of Music, Paint your Wagon and the Big Country. Also included were Amparito Roca, The Radetzky March and Rod Stewart’s, Sailing (what does that Morse code rhythm mean?). I may be biased but I thought that we sounded very good. Everyone played very well and it was a great night. My highlight was when we played ‘Moonlight Serenade’. This tune just makes me tingle and to be able to play it whilst sitting in the middle of a concert band is just a fantastic feeling. I wish we could play more Glenn Miller music.

Chelsea eventually beat their opponents and all the blue shirted supporters went home happy. Judging by the demand for an encore and the standing ovation we got, our crowd went home just as happy. The Blues are off to Moscow now to play the Reds. We, on the other hand, will remain in Harlow and rehearse for our next concert. They play for Champions League gold, we play for ABBA Gold.

Sleepy Lagoon

I had not been to a Harlow band rehearsal for a couple of weeks and it was nice to get back. Although towards the end of the second half my mouth started to get tired and I consequently found it hard to blow. Thinking back I had realised that I had not played much over the last few weeks and this illustrates the need to practise. I remember when I was learning to play clarinet that if I did not play for been a few days my embouchure would suffer. A wise old man once told me that if you don’t practise for one day no one would notice, for two days you will notice, if you don’t practise for three days everyone will notice. I find that this is less important with the saxophone as there is less need to tighten the mouth on the higher notes. But last night proved to me that you have to keep playing to keep the mouth strong.

We had a good rehearsal taken by Paul Cutler as our regular MD was sick. We played a medley of Beatles songs and a Toccata for band which was interesting. We finished off with an old favourite of ours ‘Sleepy Lagoon’ written in 1930 by English composer Eric Coates and used for the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs.

Paint Your Wagon

Last night was the first band rehearsal I have attended for three weeks, it was good to get back. I am still struggling a bit with my sight reading and playing tenor saxophone which I find can be difficult with some of the fast passages. However, I do feel that I am improving each week and certainly the intensive playing last week has helped. Because of the squeaking I experienced I have bought a new BG leather ligature and am trying a slightly stronger reed (3).

A major part of our rehearsal last night was with a medley of tunes from Paint Your Wagon. It did not look too difficult on the score but a few people found it hard to play. I think it was the odd change of time signature. At one point it went from 2/4 to 3/2 and then split common time. We intend to play this the year with a view to get the audience to sing along to the most famous of songs from the show, Wandering Star.

Karl Kaps

Last night was my first night back rehearsing with the band. It was good to be back and because of the new season of concerts we played some new tunes, at least new to me. Andrew Lloyd Webber made an appearance with a suite of songs from his shows. This was supported by a big name in film score with a tune from the film Saving Private Ryan, Hymn to the Fallen, by John Williams. The old timers were not forgotten and we played a medley of songs from the show Oklahoma. Something that was great fun to play and I am looking forward to getting my teeth into was the Eton Boating Song, a waltz from the old Edwardian days.

This was written by a gent named Karl Kaps who despite his German sounding name was in fact English and real name was John Roberts. Apparently he took a German name because of the popularity of German bands in Edwardian time. However, he came unstuck during the Great War and had to change it. Strangely he changed it to an Italian sounding name. Why did he not like his English one?

The Harvey Shopping Centre, Harlow

The Christmas carol concert on Saturday went very well. There was a little scare just before the start as some of the music stands had not arrived and the saxophone section was sitting with nothing to put our music on. Thankfully they arrived just in the nick of time. We played a mixture of tradition carols and pieces from our current programme. Abba Gold reared its head again and there were a few groans from the band when our conductor called it. This was also the case with the Sound of Music medley. I suppose some m embers have been playing these for many years but I enjoy playing them and am quite happy to play.

We were collecting for a local hospice and we had a number of collectors around the shopping centre. My two sons were due to help but disappeared soon after we arrived. When I asked why they did not help they said that they did not want to wear the bright green bibs. It seems charity does not extend to being street cred!!!!

It's Christmas

Rehearsal last night was of course mainly Christmas carols in preparation for Saturday. We are due to play in the Harvey Shopping Centre at Harlow starting at 10am.

In our little way The Harlow Concert Band is maintaining a tradition that goes back a very long way. Christams songs can be traced back to around the thirteenth century, but most of the songs that we know are from the mid nineteenth century. I discovered that Oliver Cromwell banned the singing of carols, but then he did ban everything, including the King. Singing songs at this time of year was not confined to the church. A lot of the carols we know started life as folk songs. Classical composers also used carols in their compositions and people like Handel used them to great effect.

So, by performing our short carol concert to the happy shoppers of Harlow we are playing our part in a long tradition of bringing the spirit of yuletide to the people of the land. And there is no doubt about it, the sound of a carol does warm the heart. Merry Christmas.

Theydon Bois Village Hall

Although the rehearsal did not go well on Wednesday, the concert on Saturday at Theydon Bois was a success. We had around 80 people in the audience and they seemed to enjoy the music very much. I had a few members of my family there which is nice and my eldest son got roped in to take the money at the front door. He has plans to be an accountant, so taking other peoples money is a pleasure for him. Just hope when he starts earning he does not forget his old dad.

Talking of money, my youngest cost me a bit. At the interval he asked for some money to buy a drink. I gave him a couple of quid and asked him to get me one. On his return I asked for the change only to be told that there wasn’t any. I said that surely that the drinks were not a pound each. ‘No, they just asked for a donation and I put the whole lot in’. Two orange drinks, £2. Should have sent the accountant!!!!

Not a Good Rehearsal

Nothing much to report at last nights band rehearsal. We were preparing for another week end concert and due to the close proximity of our last few we are playing the same stuff. No time to learn something new. So, I think we felt a bit flat last night. Also we did not get into anything. We just practised the pick ups and finishes and so I found it difficult to get settled. It seemed that all we did was select the sheet music play a few bars and then on to the next.

Wednesday Night Rehearsal

An important nights rehearsal for the concert on Saturday. We went through the whole programme and practised all the bits we were having trouble with. Most of these trouble areas were changes of tempo and pick ups after cut offs. It is obviously important for us to start together and at the correct dynamic after a silent pause. Although I am not involved with the concert it was good practise for me and I always look forward to playing.

Harlow Town Xmas Lights Switch On

On Saturday morning I played with the Harlow Concert Band at the Harlow Town Centre. This gig, if you can call it such, was as part of an event for the Mayor to turn on the Christmas lights. It was very cold and we all had tuning problems due to the low temperatures. Still, I figured that if we were all flat then no body would notice. We played a couple of carols, a suite of ABBA songs and 'Is this the way to Amarillo'. It was good fun being part of this local event. There were other acts on during the day such as a steel band, fancy dress and hip-hop pop, what ever that is.

Ten-17 FM were also in attendance and took this picture for their web site. I am the grinning idiot at the back.

Rehearsal Night

Last night I attended the usual Wednesday night rehearsal of the Harlow Concert Band. This was a bit different in so much that we were led for most of the evening by the conductor of the City of Peterborough Concert Band, Mr Henry Clydesdale. He came down to take the rehearsal with a view to practise the music we are to play together in a forthcoming joint concert. I unfortunately won’t be able to do the concert but it was good to play anyway.

My highlight of the evening was playing ‘The Blue and the Gray’. This is a medley of songs from the American Civil War. It includes such well known numbers as Aura lee, The Yellow Rose of Texas and John Brown’s Body. There were a couple more but my Limey ears could recognise the melodies but not the titles. A special moment I thought was when the Bassoon and the Piccolo played together. Both players are very accomplished and gave a very fine performance. It should be a good concert.

On Saturday we play in the Harlow Town square at the ceremony of turning on the Christmas lights. It seems a little early to be playing carols but hopefully it will put everyone in the festive spirit. I just hope it is not too cold or worse still, raining. I am not keen to play outside.

Harlow Playhouse Concert

Last night I played Tenor sax for the Harlow Concert Band in a Remembrance Day service at the Harlow Playhouse, Essex. It was a great night and a big thrill for me to play on this stage. I remember seeing Status Quo play there in the early 1970’s and so last night brought back many memories of that evening. Our programme of music did not include any 12 bar blues or rock and roll but we did play some good music which was appreciated by a nearly packed house.

Because of the occasion we did play a lot of military style tunes. Soldiers in the Park, Steadfast and True and the New Colonial March kept the audience tapping their feet in a 2/4. We also gave them something to sing along with, with songs such as Keep Smiling Through and Land of Hope and Glory (with reprise). Mike Pearce, our conductor, as a liking for the theme music to the TV series Band of Brothers. It is a beautiful tune and I hope he thinks we gave it justice.

For my part, I enjoyed playing As Time Goes By. My fellow tenor saxophonist played the solo part but it is also a nice piece to play the accompanying harmonies to. It has a good swing feel to it which is fun to play on the sax.