Friday 20th May was the annual Mayor Making when the new Town Mayor takes office for the coming year. Since last year Aylesbury Civic Centre has been demolished following the opening of the new Waterside Theatre in October, and ironically the new theatre is not only unsuitable for the Mayor Making, it’s probably too expensive for the Town Council to hire! So the Mayor Making was relocated to the refectory at Aylesbury College. The refectory is open plan with the high atrium which runs around the front of the building, and the band set up to one side to provide music for the guests as they dined.
This was a new era in other ways, too. This was the first public engagement for the Band with our new conductor Claire Lawrence. Also councillor Ray Ghent, our most enthusiastic supporter on the council and the Band’s president, lost his seat in the elections earlier this month. Thus it was important that the Band made a good impression on the new regime in the hope of continuing our good relationship with the council.
The venue proved a good acoustic to play in, but it was difficult to keep the volume down to a reasonable level. The Band played a variety of music, starting with Aces High from the music Ron Goodwin wrote for the film Battle of Britain. Some pieces brought applause, such as The Magic of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a medley of well know tunes from his shows. The programme also included some lesser known pieces, such as Yorkshire Overture by Philip Sparke, and Concert March from 1941 by John Williams, but everyone would have known Thunderbirds, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King.
The band played well, let’s hope the guests went home with a good impression.
Here is the complete programme:–
Concert Programme for Mayor Making 23rd May 2011
Conducted by Claire Lawrence and Robert Wicks*
| Title | Composer / Arranger |
|---|---|
| Aces High | Ron Goodwin |
| Pineapple Poll, movements 2 and 3 | Arranged from the music of Arthur Sullivan by Charles MacKerras, transcribed by W J Duthoit. |
| The Magic of Andrew Lloyd Webber | arr. Warren Barker |
| Concert March from 1941 | John Williams, arr. Steve Sykes |
| Thunderbirds | Barry Gray, arr. Philip Sparke |
| Yorkshire Overture* | Philip Sparke |
| Birdland | Josef Zawinul, arr. Larry Norred |
| Can Your Feel the Love Tonight | Elton John, arr. Jay Bocook |
| Selection from Les Misérables | Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer, arr. Warren Barker |