October & November 2007 News Items
Get into the Christmas Spirit with YBS and guests
With the number of shopping days before Christmas getting decreasing day by day (you have brought all your presents and started preparing the pudding?) ask yourself how you will relax in the build-up too the big day. While we can't help with the pudding we can help you relax and get yourself into the mood with two festive concerts on the 8th & 9th December.
On the 8th December we are at Skipton Town Hall with our guests, The Cobbydale Singers.
On the 9th we will be performing at Bingley Arts Centre with our guests Bradford Boys' Choir.
For further details and tickets please contact our band manager, Allan Holdsworth, on 01274 573508.
Kiwi Star teams up with YBS
Internationally renowned euphonium exponent, Riki McDonnell will don the green shirt of YBS at the forthcoming Brass in Concert Championships in Gateshead.
Riki will sit in for Morgan Griffiths who will be at the helm of the band still on a high after two excellent and lauded performances at the British Open and National Brass Band Championships.
Riki is no stranger to high-pressure UK contests having played with Cory and Faireys within the last two years. He is also a previous winner of the International Euphonium Player of the Year and has released several CD’s, the most recent being Poles Apart recorded with YBS principal cornet, Alex Kerwin in 2006.
Morgan Griffiths commented: “We are very much looking forward to seeing Riki, he will bring not only an exceptional talent to the band but he also has a wonderfully positive and infectious personality. The band is in great spirits now after a testing year so we are determined to end the year on a high”.
4barsrest review of Regents Hall Concert (20/10/2007)
The final concert for this year’s Brass Arts Festival turned out to be a celebration for the YBS Band. The departure of Professor David King meant a new beginning for the band this year and a new beginning that in fairness hasn’t been easy at times.
With true Yorkshire grit and determination though the band has come through a very difficult ten months with Morgan Griffiths as Resident Conductor, whilst Richard Evans has brought all his experience and knowledge to direct on the contest stage. On Saturday they produced a cracking performance of ‘Music for Battle Creek’ that was rewarded by the judges with fifth place. Things are now well and truly looking up.
Knowing you’ve played well is one thing, but getting reward for it from the adjudicators is another. It has been tough, but like other bands, YBS have bounced back and the result in London is testament to the amount of work that has been put in from Morgan Griffiths, Richard Evans and the band.
Morgan and Richard shared the conducting duties between them for this concert; Morgan conducting the opening and closing pieces with Richard doing everything in between.
The concert opened with two contrasting upbeat pieces. Firstly, Sandy Smith’s arrangement of Jim Swearington’s ‘Valero’ featuring the cornet section and Sian Linney on flugel. This was followed by a very impressive interpretation of Bernstein’s overture, ‘Candide’ that contained excellent ensemble work.
’Khovanschina’ might not be the most familiar of Mussorgsky’s musical output but it’s been arranged for band by Gordon Langford, and here YBS really did transport the audience to a cold Russian morning as the sun was rising.
YBS featured two soloists during the concert. Alex Kerwin took over the principal cornet seat in the summer and on the night she held the audience in the palm of her hand with a cracking performance of ‘Slavische Fantasie’ – the very piece that gave Alex the British Open Solo title in 2003.
Mike Kilroy had earlier in the day played with Desford at the Royal Albert Hall but being a good friend of the band he deputised in the principal euphonium seat for Morgan Griffiths. Mike’s solo spot was the popular ‘Carnival Cocktail’ – variations on that most familiar of tunes ‘Carnival of Venice’ with Mike giving a classy performance in his own imitable style.
Richard Evans on the night was just Richard Evans – the ‘legend’ as he was referred to by Morgan Griffiths, just had an absolute ball telling jokes, recognising friends from all around the world in the audience (where he took time out specifically to thank Rex Richardson for helping YBS with their preparations for the Nationals the previous Tuesday) and conducting the band.
In addition to fronting Mike Kilroy’s solo, Richard led the way in ‘Comedy Tonight’, Brodsky’s ‘I’ll Walk with God’ and selections from ‘Windows of the World’: ‘Amazonia’, ‘Rainforest’ – that featured some fine solo and duet work from Kate Eggleshaw and Rob Richardson and ‘Drums of Thunder’. Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s ‘Where Eagles Sing' (yet again!) was given the Richard Evans treatment, as was the moving music to ‘Schindler’s List’.
Joining YBS during the concert was the trumpet quartet, Bella Tromba; four very elegant and charming ladies who met at the Royal Academy of Music in 2004.
Their repertoire covers all musical genres from the contemporary to classic ballads. Having performed in the Friday afternoon concert with Rex Richardson, the talented ladies demonstrated their versatility with music from Bach, Purcell and Elgar through to Goedicke’s ‘Concert Etude’, ‘Danny Boy’ and Gershwin’s ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It’.
To conclude the festival and this concert, Morgan Griffiths led the band through Kenneth Downie’s sensitive ‘In Perfect Peace’, some fun and games with the trombone section in the old-standard, ’76 Trombones’ and a stirring ‘Procession to the Cathedral’.
With the audience insistent on more, Morgan stepped aside to let Richard Evans, to conduct the encore, the march, ‘The Waltonian’ that brought to an end an excellent evening’s entertainment from a band who can be immensely proud of their achievements in 2007.
Malcolm Wood
YBS Fifth at National Championships
After a year of steady rebuilding and improvement the band were delighted to gain fifth place in the recent National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, held on the 20th October at the Royal Albert Hall. Congratulations to Grimethorpe for their win.
Below are the comments from the three adjudicators on the day; David Read, Prof. David King & Derek Broadbent.
David Read
1. Good quality sound to open. Most parts heard to good effect. Cornet/euphonium play with style and class. I note the shape & the rall through to 28 but under tempo here. Very competent playing – great attention to detail – dynamics and features. The tune sings out at 124 – well done.
2. Sonorous bass quartet. Well shaped baritone and trom – all the time in the world! Sign of great players. 174 Beautifully played and continued by all 193 Nearly paradise hear and so well controlled. Emotional and expressive through to 206 & all ends serenely.
3. Excellent dynamics. Fine perc. Trom scintillating. The overall picture is of energy and dynamic force and sustained power (even if one or two of the groupings lacked clarity). Dynamics were a feature. A performance of great merit.
David King
I Opening statement well delivered – cornets however not entirely cohesive bars 3-6. 16 Cor/euph – very well played if a touch static at bars 28-31. (Crochet = 56 or quaver = 112 has much more flow than what is here being conceived) 34 Toccata well delivered and attention to the wide array of dynamics. Trombone choir well balanced and ‘exaltation’ is delivered through all parts of the ensemble (well done percussion). Tempo good and overall conception of the musical idiom clearly in place.
II Pleasing tonal palette in lower brass choir and baritone/trombone statements well delivered with a sense of musical ‘context’. Euphonium soloist plays to potential and provides a wonderful blend of ‘peace + optimism’. 184-193 All voices respond to this message of emotion and conceive the lines with confidence and sense of ‘one heart’. Luminoso responds to the shape of the idioms and reaches a point of musical climax at 201 with conviction.
III Idiomatically conceived with the intrinsic nature of the music stated with assurity (perc excellent). Good solo lines but above this shines the well-balanced ensemble that is so well delivered and provides a performance to be unitedly proud of. Thank you.
Derek Broadbent
I Some looseness spoils the opening statements – but doesn’t detract. 16 – needs a little more time. Cor & euph play in good style 28 Could flow along a little more ??? 34 Brisk – but has confidence. 67 lacks a little clarity. 78 Has flare. 86 Controlled – but with fine dynamics and detail to 123. This builds well – stylish indeed to interlude – pleasing transition to à
II Lovely opening sounds. 1st class baritone. 160 This is well thought out – trom has time to play. Lovely to 167 and onwards – so controlled. 174 Nothing but praise for this section of the music. Euph in fine form – and cornet joins the picture with the same elegance. 193 Paradise indeed. 199 Has the correct texture and musical thoughts. 206 such a pleasing close.
III Excellent tempo – shows off all the actual details. The clarity and controlled dynamics work so well to 248. Bold here – but why not! 259 Trom & all in fine form. This is all nicely put together. Chorale lines sing in good style – perc contribute to a high level. 330 Fine! – excellent perc heard. 406 Temp increase works well – much to commend. Close if high class.
There is much to commend in this performance, with high class playing by soloists and the band. With excellent direction throughout – so little to fault but there were moments. Thank you very much indeed.
Full details of the contest can be found across at 4 barsrest.