Silver Anniv**** - sorry, Birthday next Year

Well, it seems like only four years ago that the Bristol Brass Consort was turning 21. Unlike that milestone we're trying to be a little more organised in celebrating this one. So we've got the pub gigs lined up.

Sorted. 

Oh, and we might do a recording.

And the "big gig" at St. Georges (perhaps the Arnold Symphony for Brass).

Lots (i.e. more than 1) of quintet concerts.

And we might bugger off to Euroland for a bit. (Some people might call this a tour, but we know our limitations).

Also just noticed that it's less than a year since the last post - will have to slow the pace down a bit.

Concert on 24th August

A purely functional post here to plug our concert in St. Johns Church, Axbridge on 24th August at 7.30 (I think - see earlier references to our GMS). This is a FREE concert - although there is a retiring collection. Apart from playing in a lovely old church with a very friendly audience in a very picturesque small town, one other reason for this annual concert is to give us an opportunity to work out lips that have grown lazy and flabby over the summer holidays (make out of that what you will). Also the program is usually decided on the day and so the potential for mayhem makes up for a certain lack of polish. And they're usually good fun.

Brass Players Tips - No. 1

From the Bristol Brass "How To ... " manual. This is the correct and approved approach to take when faced with 100 bars rest or more. Note the complete and utter sense of exhaustion caused by having to get up before noon on a Sunday.

Whooosh - Concert at St. Georges Bristol

Two posts in two days, we're on a roll.

Anyway - a date not to be missed - 4th October 2008 - 7.30 pm

Bristol Brass Consort (Very Big Version) PRESENTS !

• Mussorgsky (arr Elgar Howarth) Pictures at an Exhibition
  
• Strauss Festmusik der Stadt Wien
  
• Koetsier Symphony for Brass
  
• Sibelius (arr Joseph Krienes) Finlandia
  

More details at St. George's web site

Without wishing to big it up too much this concert will be Massive - (at least in numbers of players). Those who know our fabled GMS (tm - see previous posts) will appreciate how much opportunity this gives us (or me at least) for wandering around on stage looking vaguely lost.

For a more orderly (and quieter) concert the quintet will be playing at Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton on 12th October. Time and program to be decided, probably about 7.00 pm and likely to include some Koetsier and the Santa Barbara Sonata by Bram Tovey. And less wandering around.

Who switched the light on !

It can't be two and a half years since the last post ! Either I'm the king of procrastinators or else I've dropped through a time dilation wormhole.

Hmmm, I wonder which of these it could be ?

Does this mean I'll be resurrecting this blog ?

Answers on a pinhead please (just kick off a couple of those angels).

Less value than a reflexology voucher

Well, our 6th May concert is a month closer than it was last time I posted here and we're still working on putting the program together. Ideas come into our heads thick and fast, and then seem to go all thin and soggy and get completely sucked out again. But we've not just booked the venue (St. George's, Bristol), but have parted with the deposit as well so we'll have to come up with something. The theme of the concert will be "Fanfares, Flourishes and Farewells" so unless we find a few fanfares lasting more than a couple of minutes were going to have a gig with about 45 items in it (each with it's own totally original and interesting program note to be written by yours truly). Deep joy.
But enough of that, what's the title of this post all about then?
Well, I don't know how long this has been on the web but there is a page on the Clevedon Curzon Cinema web site that gives a list of winners for a prize draw held in December 2002. Our lovely CD "Music for Metal Instruments" was the 9th place prize which puts it just above a pair of tickets to the cinema, but below a bunch of reflexology vouchers for the 5th, 6th and 7th place prizes. And the 8th place prize was a CD by a string quartet! It's good to know your place.

Something worth looking at (no - not THIS blog)

Just a short post to point out a a couple of sites worth looking at if you're a brass player (or a musician even !). The first is the web site of Ryan Anthony, sometime trumpeter with the Center City brass quintet and Canadian Brass. It's a fairly standard "artists web" with biog, schedules, discography etc. etc. but worth a look if just for for the "For Brass Players/Educators" pages. The other site is the site of Jay Friedman, principal trombone with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1964 (Yes, thats over 40 years). The "Articles" page is his monthly column and contains writing on a whole host of interesing topics.

Oh, and our brief stint at the Pindrop Club went down quite well.

... with no direction home ...

Just posting to try and get some momentum going on this blog. As usual we have the usual suspects lined up for our small number of Christmas concerts this year. Tomorrow night might be a little different however, and not too sure what to expect as we're contributing to a concert by the pindrop club which will be new to me although some of the consort have had dealings with them before. But all in all a fairly quiet end to a muted year (and that's harmon not wah-wah)


However, our 21st Birthday approaches (sometime in February) and St. George's on the 6th of May 2006 has been booked for our celebratory bash. We are now starting to work on the program for this concert and hope to include some exciting (and big) pieces from the brass repetoire.