Area Preparation and Updates!

Since the National Finals in September, Foresters have had a busy few months. This included the Bolsover and Wychavon entertainment contests, where we presented our 'Heroes and Villains' themed programme to the adjudicators. After Bolsover left us with a disappointing 13th and 4th place in the Championship and First sections, the hard work at the band room over the next few weeks paid off as we came away from Wychavon with a respectable 8th in the Championship section...and FIRST PLACE in the first section. No doubt we achieved this with the Best Soloist from the first section-Principle Euphoniom Ben Smith with Philip Wilby's Dance Zeibekikos!

Then alongside preparations for Christmas, the Brass at the Guild contest was not far away. This meant beginning to look the 2019 area test piece- Seascapes by Ray Steadman-Allen. Although at first glance the piece seems like an impossible challenge, after month of work we took to the stage in Preston and even if the result may not have been exactly what we wanted, we gained valuable remarks from the adjudicator to put us on a strong foot for the Areas!

Since the nationals we have also had a few new recruits to the band (and welcomed back some old faces) ...

-Mark Gilding (3rd Cornet)

-Chris Warner (2nd Cornet)

-Bradley Leighton (Solo Cornet)

-Kate Salter (Solo Baritone)

-Liz Monk (2nd Trombone)

-Luke Atkinson (Ebb Tuba)

Special Mention goes also to Ethan Hall who moved to the role of Principal Cornet, and Steph Ayton who moved onto Soprano Cornet. They are both doing a fantastic job, and as a band we are in such a strong position for Seascapes at the areas in March!