The band had a visitor at rehearsal on Monday – Bill Gelddard came to run through a composition of his that he has arranged for an upcoming competition. Bill is a well known trombone player from the Johnny Dankworth era now turned composer and has written the Hetty Wainthrop piece amongst others.
The band recently gave a donation of over £500 to our nominated charity, The Princess Alice Hospice, based in Esher, Surrey. The hospice provides patient care free of charge to the local area and also provides support for the families and friends of the patients. The donation comes from a proportion of the money raised at our Christmas Carolling and Christmas Concert.
In addition to a raffle at the concert, this year we had a ‘Pick a Carol’ vote – members of the public were asked to vote for their favourite carol by donating money; the carols with the most votes were played.
Each year the band selects a local charity to support at the AGM.
The band had a busy festive season, playing carols in a number of High Streets, at private houses and shopping centres. Although not as cold as last year, the players wore the band fleece to keep warm. The number of players at the venues varied from seven to a full band.
A Christmas Concert was also performed, held at the Village Hall in Cobham. Amongst the music played were Sleigh Ride, A Christmas Festival and Sleep.
The band collected money while playing at the events and a proportion of it will be given to the Princess Alice Hospice, the charity that the band is supporting in 2011.
