Festivities for Foresters

This Sunday, October 1st, Foresters gear up for the Bolsover Festival of Brass.

Following our outing to the National Finals in Cheltenham, the next engagement for the band is to revamp, regroup and deliver an entertainments programme to best our result from last year.

Foresters Brass were awarded a commendable 2nd place in the 1st Section, also picking up the soloist prize for Rob Wilshaw's rendition of Georgia on my Mind, during last years performance. The programme featured Liberty Fanfare, Georgia, Cowboy Dance and Hymn and Procession to Covenant. To revisit the performance in the First section, follow this link.

The Bolsover Festival of Brass gives us an exciting opportunity to test ourselves against the Championship section too, where last year we altered our pieces to Ride, Georgia (as in the First section), the 2nd movement from Partita and the Finale from Glorifico Aeternum. We held our own in this performance, achieving 7th place in our second contest of the day. To see Foresters in action in the Championship section, follow the link here.

Some of the feedback we received was based around the fact the band played well, but perhaps needed to inject some life and use of the stage to really stand out, so that's exactly what we've done this year. There are some new pieces to be played, as well as the Festival of Brass winning soloist Rob Wilshaw taking the solo slot in the First section to defend his trophy. In the Championship section, Steph Ayton takes centre to show her skills. Joining both of them, the band's star Flugel player Helen Parker-Bates also features, with a bit of help from BBb Randy Hudson!

Whatever the result, Foresters Brass have had a great time rehearsing the pieces. Usually a band will take a rehearsal off following performing at a prestigious event such as the National Finals, however with a busy entertainment contest season looming, we haven't taken our foot off the gas.

The contest also gives us a chance to debut our new Cornet player, Nat Dodman. Having spent time with multiple bands, Nat is joining the band on front row. To bolster our Cornet section, Foresters' latest signing is helping out on Third Cornet this weekend before moving up.

"I was looking to get back into playing, and after doing some research and watching a few videos of the band, decided to head to Foresters Brass for a rehearsal to meet the players. I was impressed with the sound and the players already there, so it was an easy choice to join!"

Growing up in Manchester, Nat played for Besses Boys Band and Vernon Building Society (Poynton) Brass Band before taking a break from playing. She used to study tropical medicine looking to cure the world of worms, obviously, and is looking forward to her new venture with the band,

"The programme for Bolsover has been good fun to prepare for and I'm excited about the busy diary ahead. The band is full of great people, it's been so easy to settle in!"

Bolsover Festival of Brass introduced their "Live Stream" service last year, enabling anyone with access to the internet to watch the bands performing across all sections. These videos are still available to watch on YouTube, a fantastic service and something we don't regularly get to take advantage of in the Brass Band Community. Keep an eye out on Brass Band Media websites such as 4barsrest.com for further information. We'll be posting links to the live stream on our Facebook page as well as on this entry.

Wish us luck and don't forget to tune in!