The Cobham Band and its Musical Director, David Ruel in concert with Ian Porthouse and his IP Brass presented ‘A Memorial Concert’ in memory of Ruth Smith, former member and late wife of Joe Smith of The Cobham Band on Saturday 22nd November 2008 at St. John’s Church in West Byfleet, Surrey.
Ruth, a loyal member of The Cobham Band for over 50 years, sadly passed away on the 18th October 2007 in Woking Hospice which was opened in December 1996 to provide palliative care and support for patients and their families living in central Surrey. Services are free and all proceeds from the concert will be donated to Woking Hospice to help support its valued work in the community. The Band was pleased to have in attendance the Chief Executive Officer of Woking Hospice, Chris Flemington, who will receive a cheque for in excess of £800 (the final figure as yet is unknown).
The first of the joint concert items was ‘The Shepherds Song’, one of Ruth’s favourites, played so beautifully in her memory by Ian Porthouse. This was followed by ‘Hine é Hine’, introduced to the Band by Ruth, as she had enjoyed playing it at one of the International Brass Band Summer Schools in Swansea, where Ian is one of the Tutors.
IP Brass highlights from the concert included the Trumpet Solo, ‘Tico Tico’, played by Dewi Griffiths and a Bass Trombone Solo, ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’, by Mark Winstone, as well ofcourse as Ian’s rendering of C’est si Bon.
The concert drew to a close with David conducting the massed band in ‘Light Cavalry’ Overture, handing over the “baton” to Ian to conduct the final item of the evening, the March ‘Wellington’, followed by the audience upstanding for ‘The Queen’.
The Cobham Band is ever grateful to the support which it receives from Elmbridge Borough Council and the R C Sherriff Trust, from which the Band has received a further grant of £2,000 towards the purchase of new instruments and to Ian Porthouse and IP Brass who helped make the evening a memorable one and most importantly to the Band’s loyal and dedicated supporters.
The Cobham Band under the baton of David Ruel, Musical Director held its Autumn Concert at The Menuhin Hall, Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d’Abernon, Cobham on Saturday 1st. November 2008, 7.30p.m. This is the third year the Band has been invited to play at The Menuhin Hall with the School’s Headmaster, Nicolas Chisolm and his wife in attendance, also the Deputy Mayor of Elmbridge, James Vickers and his wife, and the Bands President, Ken Purrsey.
The concert entitled ‘Music for British Social Events’ took the audience on a musical journey through the annual social events calendar, starting with wishing everyone a Happy New Year, a time when we reflect on the year passed and make our New Year resolutions for the coming year – “I will practice my Trombone every day for 25 hours a day! I will not forget to bring my instrument to band practice; I will only play every other note out of tune this year…” The Band commenced its concert with ABBA’s 1980 song, ‘Happy New Year’.
Pantomimes are a great British tradition, “Oh no it isn’t!”, “Oh yes it is!!” Based on a fairy tale first published in 1740 and from Walt Disney’s 1991 Feature Animation Musical the Band played its Main Theme from ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Currently held every March at the NEC, Birmingham and organised and hosted by the Kennel Club is Crufts, well one 1961 visitor to Crufts was ‘Cruella De Vil’ and she was especially interested in the Dalmatians on show – but for all the wrong reasons!
Usually on a Saturday in early April the Grand National is run over a distance of four (4) miles, four (4) furlongs at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool. The events surrounding the 1981 National and the winning jockey, Bob Champion, were dramatised in the film ‘Champions’, when despite recovering from cancer Bob Champion, played by John Hurt in the film, rode ‘Aldaniti” to victory. The Band played the main theme from the film “Champions”.
The Royal Horticultural Society Great Spring Show is a garden show held every year on five (5) days in May in the grounds of The Royal Hospital Chelsea. The Band landscaped its “musical garden” by playing “The English Country Garden”. After leaving London after lunch you can travel down to Lewes in East Sussex for an afternoon at the Opera Festival held at Glyndebourne, a country house near Lewes. Glyndebourne is most famous for its productions of Mozart Operas and many of those productions are considered the finest ever done of those operas. But instead of Mozart, Simon Bristow, the Bands Soprano Cornet performed a rendition of Pietro Mascagni’s ‘Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana’.
Since King George IV the Trooping of the Colour has been regularly held on a Saturday in June, the Colours represent a Regiments’ direct link and service to the sovereign, as well as to the fallen soldiers and officers of the regiment. Originally written for the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal but with lyrics added later and its title changed the Band performed ‘Soldiers of The Queen’.
The Proms, or more formally “The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC” is an 8 week summer season of daily orchestra classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington. The concerts’ first half was brought to a close with a more serious item, Manuel Bilton’s Overture ‘Napoleon’.
A great social event in the Brass Band calendar are the annual Whit Friday Brass Band Contests held in the Eastern Areas of Greater Manchester in the Tameside and Saddleworth districts. The second half of the concert opened with the march ‘Slaidburn’.
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames over the first weekend in July. Eton also has a long tradition in the sport of rowing and perhaps the best known of its school songs which was first performed on the 4th of June 1863 is ‘The Eton Boating Song’.
Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely considered the most prestigious. It runs annually for 14 days from late June to early July with the climax being the men’s singles final scheduled for a Sunday. The Band for its music for Wimbledon wanted to conjure Wimbledon 1996 when Cliff Richard led the centre court crowd in singing during a “rain stops play” session. The Band performed the selection entitled “Cliff”. Following on from Wimbledon, early August sees the world’s oldest regular sailing regatta during Cowes week on the Isle of Wight. To mark the occasion the Band played Frank Bryce’s arrangement of ‘Sailing’.
The second Saturday in September sees the popular tradition of the Last Night of The Proms. The concert is traditionally in a lighter “winding-down” mood with popular classics being followed by a series of British Patriotic pieces in the second half of the concert. The Band was very pleased and fortunate to welcome Karen Bimson to the stage to sing with the Band – firstly ‘Rule Britannia’ and then ‘Jerusalem’.
Sunday week is Remembrance Sunday marking the anniversary of the end of the hostilities of the First World War at 11a.m. in 1918. Remembrance Sunday is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials in most towns and villages and the national ceremony is held at The Cenotaph on Whitehall in London and at 11a.m. a two (2) minutes silence, which represents the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 when the guns of Europe fell silent is held as a tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for their country before the laying of the wreaths led by The Queen. The Band appropriately played ‘Nimrod’ from Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
Having reached December the Band ended its musical journey with David Essex’s number two Christmas song, ‘A Winter’s Tale’. After a rapturous applause the Band closed the concert with the hymn tune ‘Beethoven’, on which the Band was awarded first place in the hymn tune contest in the third Section of Southern Counties Amateur Bands Association, Autumn Contest at Folkestone on Saturday 18th October. The concert was brought to a final close with the audience upstanding for ‘The Queen’.
Every year, the Band, at its Annual General Meeting, chooses a charity to support during the following year. For 2007 / 2008 the Band is supporting The Surrey Air Ambulance Service to which the first £100 of the evenings raffle was in aid of.
The Band is ever grateful to the support in which it receives from Elmbridge Borough Council and the R C Sherriff Trust, from which the Band has received a further grant of £2,000 towards the purchase of new instruments and most importantly to the Band’s loyal and dedicated supporters.
