Aylesbury Concert Band once again provided music for the Mayor’s Remembrance Service at St Mary’s Church, Aylesbury on 7th November, together with the Aylesbury Consort of Voices and St Mary’s Church Choir. The service was led by the Rector, Fr. Doug Zimmerman, with readings by members of the congregation, hymns and prayers, and music from the Band and the choirs.
As the Mayoral party processed into the church the Band played Nimrod by Edward Elgar. Following the welcome and bidding prayers from Fr. Zimmerman, the Aylesbury Consort of Voices sang Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd. During the service they also sang Abendlied by Josef Rheinberger and part of Un soir de Neige by Francis Poulenc. The church choir contributed by singing Crossing the Bar by Hubert Parry, and the Band was responsible for accompanying the hymns, and also played The Sun will Rise Again by Philip Sparke. At the end of the service the band played Ammerland by Jacob de Haan as an epilogue.
Music is a vital part of solemn occasions such as this, and we are pleased to be able to make our contribution to the community in this way.
The major event every year is the “Proms” concert organised by Aylesbury Town Council in Vale Park, Aylesbury. This year the band was joined by soloists Alison Langer and Lawrence Thackray and the Next Stage Choir in a programme of Musicals from stage and screen, including Les Misérables, Wicked, Hairspray, and Matilda. As usual the concert took place on the August Bank Holiday Sunday, 25th August.
The weather that evening was unseasonably cool with a brief sprinkling of rain as we were about to start, but that didn’t deter a crowd of several thousand people filling the park to enjoy the music.
As usual the concert ended with the traditional “Proms” finale, Jerusalem, Fantasia on British Sea Songs (with Alison Langer singing Rule Britannia), and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1, accompanying Land of Hope and Glory, followed by a firework display.
Summer is the time for village fêtes and garden parties, and it’s a long standing tradition to have a band provide live music for the occasion. Naturally Aylesbury Band gets called upon to play at fêtes every year, and this year was no exception.
Of the two regular events the first was on the spring bank holiday Monday at the village fête in Stone, a village near Aylesbury on the Oxford road. This being England there is no guarantee that the weather will be fine, and this year the sky was overcast and threatened rain. Sure enough, just as we played the first note of the first piece it started to rain. Although we had a tent for shelter it was too small for the whole band and the players at the front began to get wet and had to get under cover. Fortunately the rain didn’t last long and we were able to continue, and mercifully the showers stayed away for the rest of time we were playing.
The second occasion was Fairford Leys Summer Fayre, which takes place every year in Hampden Square, Aylesbury, and this year was on 13th July. The morning had been showery, but by the afternoon it was dry, and the sun even shone from time to time. There is a small bandstand in the square for the Band to use and it’s a bit of a squeeze to get everybody on, but we usually manage. We played two sessions during the afternoon as people thronged among the various stands around the square.
Now it’s time to start preparing for the main event of our year, the Vale Park Proms in Aylesbury in August.
One of the oboe players in Aylesbury Concert Band is Alison Swindles, who also happens to be in the army as a member of the Band of the Household Cavalry. She enjoys coming to play with us as well, and is currently the Band chairman. She was inspired to propose that the Household Cavalry Band should do a joint concert with Aylesbury Band in aid of service charities, and she was instrumental in campaigning to make this happen. Thus on the afternoon of Sunday 10th March the two bands, some 72 musicians in all, went on stage together at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury to raise money for SSAFA – The Armed Forces Charity and the Army Benevolent Fund. This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Household Cavalry Band, which was formed in 2014 by the union of The Band of The Life Guards with The Band of The Blues and Royals, the two mounted bands of the British Army. It is also the 30th anniversary of the formation of Aylesbury Town Band, now called Aylesbury Concert Band, and of the Royal Corps of Army Music.
The conducting was shared between Major Craig Bywater, the Director of Music of the Household Cavalry Band, and Brendan Gudgeon, conductor of Aylesbury Concert Band. The title of the concert was A Symphonic Celebration, and this was the name of the first item which opened the concert following the National Anthem. This is a lively piece of celebratory music written by the American composer Robert Sheldon.
The complete programme is listed below, but several items are worthy of special mention. Following A Symphonic Celebration was The Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare by Richard Strauss, which featured the State Trumpeters playing fanfare trumpets. Festive Overture by Shostakovich came next, taken by Major Bywater at a speed that made no concessions to the amateurs of Aylesbury Band, and none was needed.
The concert wasn’t all classical music, it also included items such as So Nice to Come Home to by Cole Porter, Caravan by Duke Ellington, and an arrangement of songs by Frank Sinatra arranged by Stephen Bulla. We also played Aylesbury Dances by Rob Wiffin, which was commissioned by Aylesbury Band for its 25th anniversary year.
This concert was originally planned for autumn 2023, and the head of the Corps of Army Music, Lieutenant Colonel Craig Hallatt, wrote Carolean Jubilate specially for the occasion to celebrate the recent coronation of King Charles. In spite of the delay it still made a suitably celebratory finale for the concert. Lieutenant Colonel Hallatt was there himself to conduct its first public performance. The music features the Westminster chimes, echoes of William Walton’s coronation march Crown Imperial, and a quiet central section reflecting on the death of Queen Elizabeth. It finishes with a suitably joyous march for full band and the State Trumpeters.
The 9th December was a new departure for the band when we played the sound track music to accompany a screening of The Snowman. This took place in Fairford Leys Church, Aylesbury. Gratifyingly advance tickets were sold out, and extra chairs had to be put out for more people arriving at the door. The Band was joined by Harry Munson to sing Walking in the Air, and the performance was conducted by Brendan Gudgeon.
We had to learn new skills in order to synchronise the music with the film – we had to watch the conductor like a hawk, and Brendan in turn had to pace the music to match the events on the screen. Similarly there was no question of playing any difficult passages more slowly! All in all this was good practise for the Band, and full marks to Brendan not only for rehearsing the Band but also keeping everything together during the performance. We felt a justified sense of achievement when it all went so well.
Our day wasn’t finished there however. An hour after the end of The Snowman the Band moved outside to Hampden Square in order to play for the annual Fairford Leys Carols. Fortunately it wasn’t as cold as some years, and a large crowd had turned out to sing carols with the Band. At the end the crowd sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer until Father Christmas arrived in his sleigh with sweets for the children.
Aylesbury Concert Band returned to St Mary’s Church on 3rd December for the annual Mayor’s Carol Service, a more cheerful occasion than the previous visit. Once again the music making was shared by the Aylesbury Consort of Voices, the church choir (director Kenton Brigden) and this time, Bedgrove Junior School choir.
Fr. Doug Zimmerman began the service by welcoming all to the church, and this was followed by the opening carol Once in Royal David’s City led by the church choir with soloist Libby Hough, and accompanied by Aylesbury Band. As well as the carols and readings from scripture the service included musical interludes from all the performers – the Band played Minor Alterations by David Lovrien (Christmas tunes re-imagined in minor keys) and White Christmas; the Aylesbury Consort of Voices sang Welcome Yule by Hubert Parry, The Coventry Carol, arranged by Kenneth Leighton, and Hodie Christus natus est by Francis Poulenc. Bedgrove Junior School choir entertained us by singing The 12 Days of Christmas.
After the final blessing from Fr. Zimmerman everyone joined in singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas, accompanied by the Band. Finally the Mayor and Councillors helped distribute mulled wine and mince pies to everyone.
On the evening of 9th November the Band took part once more in the annual Mayor’s Remembrance service to honour all those servicemen and women who died or were injured in the two world wars, and other conflicts around the world. As well as Aylesbury Concert Band music was provided by the Aylesbury Consort of Voices and the Church choir and organist. Like last year, Aylesbury Concert Band was conducted by Brendan Gudgeon.
The Band played Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variations as the Mayoral party processed up the Church. The service, led by Revd. Mother Rainah Madzorera, consisted of readings and prayers interspersed by music and hymns. The Band played Hymn to the Fallen by John Williams and Amazing Grace arranged by William Himes, accompanied the singing of The National Anthem, and rounded off the service playing Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Grainger.
The Aylesbury Consort of Voices sang Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd, Abendlied by Josef Rheinberger, and Like as the Hart by Judith Weir. The church choir (conductor Kenton Brigden) led the hymn singing, and also sang For the Fallen by Malcolm Archer.
At the heart of the service a Scots piper (Neil Esslemont) processed up the church playing a lament. A lone piper is such a sorrowful sound on occasions like this.
The annual Proms concert is part of Aylesbury Town Council’s “ParkLife” weekend, which takes place on the August Bank Holiday weekend every year in Vale Park, Aylesbury. This year the concert was on Sunday 27th August. Unfortunately in contrast to recent years the day was cool and showery, but this didn’t deter over a thousand people crowding into the park in the evening ready for the concert to begin. Luckily by that time the rain had moved away and the evening remained dry, though rather chilly.
The theme of the concert was Disney films, and featured music from films from the 1940s to the present day. Conductor Brendan Gudgeon chose to open the concert with Disney at the Movies, a medley of film themes arranged by John Higgins. After this came the Toccata in D minor by J.S. Bach, which was featured in Fantasia. We were pleased to welcome back tenor Lawrence Thackeray and soprano Alison Langer as soloists. Lawrence sang Can you Feel the Love Tonight and Alison sang a number from Frozen as part of the Symphonic Highlights from Frozen as arranged by Stephen Bulla, and they came together to sing A Whole New World by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. The complete programme is listed below.
The Proms concert is so called because of the “Last Night of the Proms” finale comprising Jerusalem, Fantasia on British Sea Songs (with Alison Langer singing Rule Britannia), and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1, accompanying Land of Hope and Glory.
The concert was live-streamed on the internet, and you can watch a recording on YouTube…
The Complete Programme
Disney at the Movies
arr. John Higgins
Toccata in D Minor
J.S. Bach, arr. Ray Farr & Kevin Lamb
When You Wish Upon a Star (with Alison Swindles, oboe solo)
Harline/Washington
Selections from May Poppins
Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman, arr. Ted Ricketts
The Jungle Book
Arr. John Moss
Can You Feel the Love Tonight (with Lawrence Thackeray)
Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice. Arr. Jay Bocook
Monsters, Inc. – “If I Didn’t Have You”
Randy Newman, arr Frank Bernaerts
Pirates of the Caribbean
Klaus Badelt, arr. John Wasson
Music From the Incredibles
Michael Giacchino, arr. Jay Bocook
The Avengers
Alan Silvestri, arr. Michael Brown
Symphonic Highlights from Frozen (with Alison Langer)
Arr. Stephen Bulla
Moana
Arr. Jay Bocook
A Whole New World (with Lawrence Thackeray and Alison Langer)
Alan Menken, lyrics by Tim Rice. Arr. Takashi Hoshide
On the 8th July Aylesbury Concert Band played on the bandstand in Hampden Square, Aylesbury, for the Fairford Leys Summer Fayre. Before the covid pandemic this was an annual event for the band, but this was the first time the band had performed there since 2019. It was a warm but cloudy day, with rain showers threatened, but fortunately it stayed dry while the band was playing.
The band was conducted by Brendan Gudgeon, and played much the same programme as Stone Fête in May, including Sousa Scramble and West Side Story. Having a band at these occasions is a long-standing tradition, and adds so much to the cheerful atmosphere enjoyed by the crowd.
The bank holiday Monday on 29th May dawned cloudy with a blustery wind, which was a shame as the day before had been warm and sunny and would have been much nicer for the fête at Stone, near Aylesbury. As it was the sun began to appear as the band set up to play, but the wind was as strong as ever. This makes it difficult, as music has to be pegged to the stand to stop it blowing away, but then it’s impossible to turn pages quickly. Several times music escaped anyway and had to be chased before it was lost.
The band was conducted by Brendan Gudgeon, and began with Strike Up the Band by George Gershwin. Other music we played included selections from musicals such as Les Misérables and West Side Story, medleys of classic rock and pop numbers by Queen and Coldplay, familiar tunes from Disney movies, and A Grand Day Out (the “Wallace and Gromit” theme).
Though it may have been windy the fête was well attended, and featured numerous stalls, a busy tearoom in the pavilion, and a beautiful vintage carousel. Some members of the band couldn’t resist having a ride on it during the interval.
