I’ve pretty much said all I can about the recording session last weekend, but I believe we have reached a new high in the standard for the concert band. Your dedication, patience and effort has put you and the band in a new league. This would not have been possible without the massive effort from Harold and your willingness to work with the musical directors to achieve such a height.
Moving forward, the committee undertook the difficult decision to revamp the time slot occupied by social band as unfortunately numbers are not growing with that group and a number of band members have requested alternate ensembles. To facilitate this, I have decided that we will trial new ensembles on a fortnightly basis, starting at 6pm to 7pm, this can be reviewed and altered at any time to ensure we get the best productivity in each slot.
The schedule at this point for term 4 will be:
Week 1 and 2; Social band as run previously
Week 3 and 4; Brass ensemble (brass players only or anyone wishing to play a brass instrument)
Week 5 and 6; Dance band (open to all instruments and players and vocalists will be added as necessary)
Week 7 and 8; Woodwind ensemble (same as brass….but with reeds)
Week 9 percussion ensemble (a perfect chance to try something new)
Week 10 end of year function tba
To make it easier to know what is on when, I will get Gus to put the ensembles up on the website calendar and create a booking form for each, this way I will have a rough idea of numbers and instruments to be able to prepare music for each week. For those concerned about social band players missing out, the reality that by playing social band, danc band and the ensemble appropriate to your instrument you will get 7 out of 9 weeks and with a little ingenuity and imagination you can be there every week. Members are also invited to take part in the other ensembles as they see fit.
This will only work if the membership supports it, and from the number of comments and requests I and the committee receive, there is a desire to try something new.
In the initial stages I will be running the additional ensembles but if things develop a I hope, I encourage others to have a go at leading them, this way we can offer the opportunity to express yourself in yet another way.