The Ring O'Bells - Marple

On Sunday 30th July Denton Brass played a soggy but well-received concert at the Ring O'Bells pub in Marple.

An enthusiastic audience braved the inclement weather to enjoy a varied programme including no fewer than seven feature and solo pieces. First up was flugel player Jenny Williams, who managed to make it to the end of her performance of 'Under the Boardwalk' despite the torrential rain which started part way through! Cornet duo Karen Smith and Matt King were next with their take on the Sinatra classic 'Somethin' Stupid', followed by a team effort by the horn section on 'Hey Jude' and soprano player Greta Brownridge with a fantastic rendition of 'Solitaire'.

A slightly drier second half featured impressive solos from Denton's principal cornet Colin Myers ('The Paragon'), and solo horn Janet Lloyd ('On My Own'). The audience were also treated to a wonderful euphonium duet ('Perhaps Love') played by Stacey Webb and Paul Johnson.

In addition to all the feature pieces, the band debuted arrangements ('Endearing Young Charms' and 'Rhinestone Cowboy') by Sam Myers, son of our principal cornet player Colin. Sam recently graduated from Salford University with a First Class degree in Music, and we are sure that he has a great future ahead of him.

On the subject of qualifications, the band would also like to congratulate our young cornet player Jorge, who has passed his Grade 4 exam with Distinction!.

We always really enjoy playing at the 'Ringers', although this time there was a tinge of sadness as we felt the absence of the wonderful Mark Singleton, who was hugely instrumental in setting the concert series up and who sadly passed away recently. Mark did so much for banding in the local area, and was a lovely person - he will be greatly missed..

The North West Regional Championships

Blackpool - 26th February 2017

Denton Brass recently returned from competing in the North West Regional Championships at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

Many members of the band stayed over in Blackpool the night before the contest, and we enjoyed a very sociable evening together which included a fantastic meal at The Chinese Buffet followed by a quiz back at our hotel (hosted by Band Master Matt King). The team spirit definitely stayed with us the following day, when we pulled together to produce a strong performance and were placed 9^th out of 17 bands in the Fourth Section – our best result at the Area Contest for 26 years!

When asked for his thoughts regarding Denton’s performance in the contest, MD Matt Bailey said "In my 3 years with the band I have not experienced a more positive, happy, forward thinking weekend. The endeavour to improve the band's standing at the Area Contest was first rate, and I was delighted not only with our final placing, but more so with the application all the band showed to put what we had worked on so hard in rehearsal onto the contest stage. Whilst I am delighted to have secured the band's best ever result at this contest, the drive and determination showed by all makes me believe this is only the start of bigger and better things for Denton Brass. With this renewed sense of belief and confidence, I really feel that 2017 will be a landmark year for the band both in terms of contest standing, but more importantly in concert performances going forward".

Several members of the Denton team in Blackpool originally started off in our own Training Band, which is incredibly satisfying and gives us plenty of encouragement for the future.

The band will be taking part in a few more contests later on in the year, but in the meantime we have a number of exciting concerts to think about and prepare for – the first of these being a ‘Last Night of the Proms’ concert at Oaklands Hall in Hyde on Saturday 22^nd April (tickets available from Oakland Hall 0161 367 7770, Paper Tulips in Hyde 0161 627 5253 and Alan Oldham 07931 523273).