Exmouth Entertainment Contest 2014
On Saturday Phoenix travelled to Exmouth to take part in the Annual Brass Band Entertainment contest at the Exmouth Pavillions. Under the baton of guest conductor and old Phoenix founding member, Tony Osborne, we took to the stage drawn number #1 our of 12 bands.
Our preparations for the day were somewhat rushed but in the 4 rehearsals under Tony we managed to build up a well balanced programme which we performed to a very high standard on stage. For the first time in a number of competitions the mood in the band was very relaxed and this was evident in our confident playing. The standout player in the band, was our soloist of the day, Steve Taylor, who played a beautiful rendition of the euphonium solo "The Holy Well". It's a shame that he was pipped to the soloists award by a superb & dazzling solo by the principle cornet player from Lympstone band.
There were some excellent playing from the other competing bands, and congratulations must go to the winning band, Roche Brass for their fine performance. We came a respectable 6th place, having been beaten by the higher section bands. Next year we're hoping for a more settled year where we can build on this result and get back to our old winning ways.
Farewell to Lloyd
It's with much sadness that I have to announce that our long standing soprano cornet player has decided it's time to retire. Lloyd has been with Phoenix for over 10 years, and during that time he has barely missed a job. Soprano cornet players a rare breed and to find one so committed, so friendly and with such ability will mean finding Lloyd's replacement will be a very difficult and daunting task. As part of the outside concert we played a soprano cornet feature, "Mr Jums" which gave the band a chance to give Lloyd a standing ovation to thank him for all he has done over the years for us.
New Faces
Whilst it's always sad to lose players, I'm pleased to announce that we had a 3 new faces join us on stage to boost our cornet section. Welcome to Samson, Mike and Mary, lets hope you enjoyed your first contest with the band and it becomes the first of many with us.
If you are looking to join a band, please get in touch as we'd love to hear from you. Call Matt on 07545 567696
Comments
Download the following PDFs of the adjudicators comments following our programme:
Released On 9th Sep 2014
