News - March 2008
Foresters Brass 2000 is just back from an Easter-weekend trip to France and Belgium. As well as enjoying some superb continental hospitality, the band took on an ambitious programme of engagements, performing 5 concerts in the 3 days we were there. Our indoor concerts received incredibly warm receptions, despite the sub-zero temperatures outside! Musical director Peter Collins really won over the audiences when he swapped baton for cornet to perform, by popular demand, the Carnival of Venice. Each concert, without exception, ended with standing ovations and demands for "encore, encore"!
Perhaps the most poignant part of the weekend was performing during the Remembrance Ceremony which has taken place at the ‘Menin Gate’ in the town of Ypres every evening since 1927. Occasionally the organisers of this daily act of contemplation allow musical groups to perform during the event, and Foresters Brass 2000 was proud to be given that opportunity. The Menin Gate is a monument which is inscribed with the names of almost 55,000 servicemen who died defending the region in the First World War and who have no known graves. Foresters Brass 2000 played to a crowd of hundreds who had gathered, despite the driving sleet and freezing conditions, to pay their respects. For the Foresters to be associated with such a moving and thought-provoking occasion was a privilege and something the players will never forget.
The trip ended with a joint concert at a music school in Northern France, during which brass players as young as 6 joined the band on stage. The enthusiasm and excitement the children had for music was totally contagious and made for a superb end to the weekend. Sincere thanks must go to the band's manager, Don Collins, who organised the trip, giving us an excellent opportunity to spread the Foresters name even further afield than usual!
As we reach the end of our financial year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Courts up and down the country who have sent us donations during the course of the year. We are in the process of trying to replace a substantial number of instruments, many of which are literally decades old. We are also spending a considerable amount of funds on improving our new rehearsal venue - both in terms of decoration and acoustics. We have just submitted an application for some Lottery funding, but the generosity of the Foresters Courts means we have already been able to start the process of buying new equipment and improving the bandroom. A heart-felt thankyou to you all from everybody associated with the band!
We have several concerts coming up in the coming months: We are playing for the local Court in Stowmarket on April 26th, In May we are at the Leicestershire County Show (4th & 5th); we are also playing in the bandstand in Oakham, Rutland, on the 11th. On July 6th we are playing for the Court at Ware in Hertfordshire, and with several other events in the pipeline, we hope you'll get along to at least one of our concerts in the not too distant future. Keep an eye on the Diary section of www.forestersbrass.co.uk for further information.