8th at Torquay
After weeks and weeks of rehearsals, the band made our annual pilgrimage to Torquay to compete in the West of England Regional Championships last Saturday. Lead by our new man at the helm, David Boorer, we were drilled and ready to put on a show.
As ever, it was an early start as we had our rehearsal booked for 8 o'clock in Torquay, but after a few hymns and a run through the test piece we were ready to take to the stage. Even our percussionist Chris was warming up nicely using a collection of chairs and stools from the hotel as a makeshift drumkit.
As a way of making us laugh and to calm the band down before we took to the stage, David gave us a small rendition on a "carrot bassoon" he'd made the night before. After seeing a clip on YouTube, David decided to make himself a bassoon out of a carrot ... and it worked :)
On Stage
Our performance was solid, with a good opening, good intonation throughout and some supurb individual playing by members of the band. A few people need to be singled out, Lloyd on sop was on fire, all his top C's were spot on and his slow melody in the second variation was stylish and full of emotion. Lucy on Solo Horn lead her section with confidence as did Steve on Euphonium. Probably the biggest mention must go to our "one man octopus" on percussion, Chris, who somehow managed to play nearly all of the percussion parts on his own which helped keep the band on track.
The Result
We came 8th overall, which was probably a fair and reasonable result given the other band's performances on the day. The comments we received by the adjudicators were positive and commended much of our playing.
We need to wait to see if this result is good enough to keep us in the second section, we will find out soon enough what the future will bring.
A Few Farewells
It's with a huge sadness that we will be losing a few long standing and valued members of the band. The Bulgin family, Dave, Julie, Mark and Hannah have decided it's time for a change / rest. This is a real loss to the band as they formed part of the founding members of band and have been integral to its organisation ever since.
A huge thanks to Dave and Julie for all of their hard work and the time they've put into the band this past 20 years. There will always be a space for you in the bandroom and we'd welcome you back with open arms.
Congratulations
Whilst we didn't get to taste success on Saturday, our local neighbours and friends, Yeovil Town Band had weekend. Second place in the Frist Section means that they will be heading off the National Finals in Cheltenham to represent the South West along with Roche Brass. Congratulations from all of us at Phoenix!
Released On 16th Mar 2015
