2017 has been a very busy time year for us so far. From the National Contest and Anzac Day in April, Jazz Mania in May, ABA Solo & Party Competition, and now the Celtic Concert, we have had non-stop rehearsing since the beginning of the year. Still to come are the ABA Contest in September, Christmas in the Park and our own Christmas Concert in December. What a year!
National Contest was very early this year, in April instead of July, and this placed a lot of pressure on the band to prepare the contest music in preparation to travel to Wellington. We had a number of players who were not available due to the time of year, so had some new “Guests” this year. We played as well as we could on stage and had some very positive comments from the Adjudicator. Wellington is a great venue for Contest, we had excellent accommodation, and the band breakfasts and dinners were fantastic.
Our Soloists performed well, and we had successes with Steven Booth winning the Open Baritone, Joe Thomas Open Bass Trombone, Andrew Lile and Joe Thomas 3rd, and Steven Booth and Grant Langdon 5th in the Open Duet.
In other news, Jazz Mania was an outstanding musical success, especially with only 3 weeks to rehearse after Nationals. We played to a full house, and the band and soloists all deserve credit for excellent performances. We included a few new musical ideas into the programme this year, and band and audience really enjoyed the different genres of music.
~ Grant Langdon - Musical Director