Band Person of the Year

Well done to Garry who was voted Band Person of the Year and received the Malcolm Nellist Memorial Cup at last night’s concert. The Chairman presented Garry with the cup, saying that Garry is often the first at rehearsals and concerts setting up and often the last to leave as he is putting away and tidying up. He is also at every rehearsal and concert parping away with a smile on 2nd horn. Well done Garry!

Festival of Remembrance

This year’s Festival of Remembrance was a great success, raising £672.69 for the Torquay branch of The Royal British Legion. Central Church was packed for the event and we would like to say a special thanks to all the cadet organisations, military associations and the RBL under the direction of Dave Tribble who supported the event.

The Band were also involved in a number of other remembrance events including remembrance at Torquay United’s match against Yeovil, St Marychurch remembrance service and Torre Churchyard remembrance service where the men whose bodies were never found are remembered. We also supported both Torquay Cenotaph events on the Saturday (with the Archbishop of Canterbury) and Sunday. You may have spotted our MD Mike Griffiths on Spotlight.

Launch of the Poppy Appeal

Last Saturday saw the Band joining with the Torbay Police and Community Choir at Paignton Parish Church for the launch of the poppy appeal for The Royal British Legion (Paignton Branch). We had a fantastic evening with a lot of great music making and some really rousing music with both Band and Choir joining together. Please support the work of the British Legion and buy a poppy. Poppies are not worn to support war; they remember the Fallen and help those who live with the scars of war in trying to maintain our peace.

Proms Concert

Thank you to everyone who supported our charity proms concert last Friday. The audience was one of the best we have ever had and although we were beaten by the gloomy weather, there was definitely sunshine inside Combe Pafford’s Hall. The total raised was £1052.15 and this benefited a number of charities. One such charity is Operation Imprezza who benefited from £380. They had a whatsapp message from one of their workers in Kenya to say that six students were very ill with malaria and chest infections. Normally malaria treatment is free but due to a lack of drugs at the moment, they are having to pay for treatment in hospital. Two of the students have been discharged from hospital but four remain. The money which Operation Imprezza raised on Friday evening has virtually covered the medical bills. If this story has inspired you, please come along to the concert which we are doing in October to support this charity. To keep up to date, please check out our events page or have a look at Operation Imprezza’s website. https://www.operation-imprezza.org/

Central Church

It was great to be back at Central Church last Wednesday evening. The Band put on a concert of a variety of music including music from shows, film music and traditional marches, finishing with Sunset (back row cornets and flugel pictured). We were joined by soprano Theresa Moorin who delighted everyone with her singing and also brought along Sally (the Little Mermaid) who gave us some Disney numbers in her own inimitable way. Our Band soloist was our solo trombone Graham Pillivant (pictured) who played a beautiful sweet rendition of Where’er You Walk. Central Church are always fantastic hosts and we were pleased to raise £480.80 for their funds. Thank you to Lesley Stuckey for the photos.

Band Person of the Year

Colin Gilderthorp was voted Band Person of the year. Colin is our band librarian and also does so many jobs which might go unnoticed. He has shelved our new storage room, made cymbal stands, enlarged parts, used his van to move instruments… just to name a few things. Colin is also the only person (alongside the MD) who can get the big timp out of the cupboard! As well as all the jobs, Colin has learnt to play horn. He initially was going to buy a bugle so that he could go to Belgium and honour his Grandfather who died in the trenches during the First World War. However, after a few sessions at our alternate Wednesday group, he changed his order to a nice new sparkly horn. We’re really pleased he did and thank him for all he does.

First concert of the year

We are looking forward to next Wednesday when we will be appearing at Central Church in Torquay. We have a great concert prepared from traditional marches to music from films and even a bit of Abba! The concert starts at 7:30pm and Central Church are always fantastic friendly hosts with plenty of parking, a great space and comfy seats. Tickets available on the door.

Happy New Year

This might seem a bit late as we have had a couple of rehearsals already. However, we would like to wish all our friends and followers a happy new year and to thank everyone for their support last year. We are also pleased to announce that although it was a bit of a ‘comeback after covid year’, we still managed to raise £3,356.26 for a number of different charities. This brings us to a grand total of £65,084.71 since the band started. Please check out our events page and write this year’s events into your diaries or follow our facebook page for events as they are happening.

Festival of Remembrance 2022

Tickets are selling fast for our Festival 2022. Always a favourite in the band’s calendar. Come along and remember those who fought and are still fighting for our freedom. This year’s event has a special focus on remembrance of the Falklands conflict which was 40 years ago. Each year, we try and raise money for different service charities. In the past, we have raised funds for the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes, SSAFA, Service Dogs, RMA, RNA, Army Veterans amongst others and this year we will be raising money for the RAF Association.