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Revised 18 December 1. Rehearsal Schedule for January 2005: Friday 7th - tutti Programme: Gershwin - Cuban
Overture Click on the link for mp3 files (right click and "save target as" to download). 2. Please get any last remaining Menai deposits of £25 to Sue asap to confirm your place. There are still places for brass players particularly so please feel free to invite any friends. Full details are on the main website. 3. The NCBF final is on Sunday 13 March at the RNCM, a few weeks earlier than usual. Most likely we will be playing in the morning but that is to be confirmed.
Added 10th September 5. Commissions for this season are progressing well and some information about the Christmas piece is now on the main website on the commissioning page. Remember that composers need to eat just like the rest of us and by joining the commissioning scheme you can do your bit to support some very talented young composers who are creating something we will all be involved in the first rehearsals and performances of. If you haven't already joined up, please consider it. Contributions can be on-off or regular, and every little bit helps. If you set up a standing order sending £5 a quarter to the commissioning account to run for the next 2 years would you really notice the difference.....? Our commissioning activities are genuinely word-wide news. Click here for the current WASBE newsletter (1mb pdf file) which contains an article all about it. 6. Thanks to those who filled in the "end of season" questionnaire. The results seem to suggest that everything is going well and that there are no major gripes. There weren't even very many spoiled ballot papers.... One thing that was mentioned often is publicity for concerts. A lot of effort does go into this, particularly on Helen's part. Whilst it is easy to suggest that we should make sure concerts are publicised in the local press, the reality of actually achieving that is somewhat more difficult. The Warrington Guardian is not particularly interested in 'classical' music and it is extremely difficult - even with Helen's professional expertise and contacts - to get them to print anything about what we do. So if you have family & friends who come to our concerts and enjoy them, why not ask them to take a few minutes to write in to the Guardian saying so, and expressing disappointment that the paper doesn't promote or review our concerts. 7. We hope to announce tour plans soon, and although negotiations as to possible destinations are highly confidential I can reveal that one of the possibilities may make John & Sheila very excited.... Watch this space but the dates are likely to be 27 May to 1st or 2nd June. Added 14th August 1. Rehearsal schedule updated 2. We have been awarded just under £3,000 from Arts Council England towards commissioning, soloists, workshops and marketing. Topping this up is £500 from Warrington Arts Development Unit. 3. We now have application forms available for the "Friends of NCCB". If you have people you know who you think might join up form 1 year at a bargain price of £50 (individual) or £100 (corporate) please ask Helen for a form or, if you think a formal approach would be better, then pass Sue the details. The best market is probably small businesses. In return for their money Friends will receive a programme acknowledgement plus either 2 or 4 free tickets for one NCCB concert in the 12 months of their membership. 4. We are looking to form a Publicity Working Group outside of the committee. Publicity is probably the most labour intensive post on the committee and we could do with a group of 3 - 4 people, including Helen, to make sure that not only are our concerts and workshops adequately publicised but that we also keep the NCCB in the news in Warrington (preferably not by getting arrested for putting posters on lampposts). We have had one volunteer for this already but could do with another 1 or 2 non-committee people. If you are interested please contact Helen. 5. We have a small number of brass and percussion vacancies in the band. If you have playing contacts who might be interested in joining us on a regular basis please let either Sue or Mark know. 6. We will starting to take names for Menai 2005 soon. Deposits of £25 will be required to reserve your place. Full details will be on the main website soon and as ever please spread the word amongst guest players. We are also running the conducting course again. Added 21st June Concert Dates for 2004/5. Note Menai is now the weekend before initially published. Details of concert programmes for 2004/5 added on the concerts page. By way of some explanation here is the 'season introduction' which will be in the publicity brochure: "Welcome to this, the second season of concerts promoted jointly by the North Cheshire Concert Band and Pyramid, Warrington’s arts centre. Following last year’s successes, we are delighted to be able to increase the number and variety of concerts. We open with a free outdoor pops concert at Golden Square during the August Bank Holiday weekend. The programme of popular classics includes Haydn’s trumpet concerto, Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs and culminates with 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. In October the indoor concerts begin with a trip to the east. We celebrate the Czech Republic’s entry to the EU and the centenary of Dvorak’s death with his beautiful wind serenade and a solo work for cello by his compatriot, Bohuslav Martinu. These are coupled with two large-scale works by Russian composers. Although not well known in the West, Kozhevnikov’s music is maybe as close as the wind band gets to a Tchaikovsky symphony and Kachaturian’s film score for The Battle of Stalingrad is full of drama and great tunes. In November our very good friends, Dr Jazz & the Cheshire Cats, bring New York to Warrington with their own concert of big band music. Showcasing numbers from the libraries of Duke Ellington and the Mingus Big Band, The Cheshire Cats also promise music from the swing era, plus modern latin and funk, that will get your toes tapping - bring your dancing shoes! Join us for a celebration of Christmas on December 10th when the NCCB and local youth choirs will give the first performance of a new work by local composer Emily Howard. Both groups will also perform seasonal items and of course some carol singing for you all to join in with. In January we repeat last year’s successful formula of a jazz-based evening featuring both the NCCB and Dr Jazz. This time the spotlight falls on the one and only George Gershwin in a programme including some of his greatest hits. April’s concert will be a highlight, featuring the world premiere of a major commission from Peter Meechan. This innovative work should be a real treat and you can follow the progress of its creation on our website. Gilmore’s delightful Folksongs will present our soloist with a linguistic challenge (the five songs are in Irish, American, Greek, Spanish and Yiddish!) and the second half combines the music of “The March King” – John Philip Sousa – with the quirky folksong transcriptions of Percy Grainger. It is a great pleasure to welcome the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra to Warrington in May. One of the longest established and most highly regarded non-professional orchestras in the country they boast Sir Simon Rattle and Peter Donohoe as former players! A programme including two of the great symphonies of the late classical period – Schubert’s 5th and Beethoven’s 8th – promises to end the season in style. Pre-concert talks, many of which will include discussions with the soloists and composers as well as an informative but jargon-free guide to the music, will take place at 6.45 before all of the concerts at Pyramid and we hope to offer après-concert jazz as well. Enjoy and tell your friends!"
Subs 1. We aim to have the charity status application submitted by the end of June. If this is successful it will enable us to claim gift aid on all subs and contributions to the commissioning scheme. In effect this means getting the tax back on what you pay. This in itself should cover around 50% of the subs increase. It will also give us access to more sources of funding which we can apply to. 2. We will launch a 'friends' scheme in the next month or so. This allows supporters to contribute to the band in return for free tickets, newsletters, receptions and other special events. There will in effect be 2 schemes, 'individual' and 'corporate'. Generating, for example, 10 corporate 'friends' will make a big difference to our annual income. Please can you all give a few moments thought as to who you might consider it worthwhile approaching about this when the details are ready. 3. We are doing what we can to seek ways of reducing the room rent back although don't hold your breath on this one! 4. An application to Arts Council England will shortly be submitted for funding towards next year's Pyramid season. There is a lot of competition for mainstream arts funding like this and not nearly enough to go round, but it is of course worth a try. Click here to read a very positive letter of support written by Adam Gorb in connection with this. If anyone has any other ideas, please let us know. What you can all do is work as hard as you can at publicising our concerts. They are worth coming to; the band is good, the music is good and the venue is good. You are our best marketing tool. Finally, the position with anyone who has genuine difficulties in paying subscriptions has not changed. As Sue mentioned at the EGM anyone in that position is welcome to approach Paul or any other committee member in confidence to discuss whether a reduced rate may be appropriate. |
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