The Hoover Band

Conductor: Chris Wormald
Bolton Parish Church
Saturday 20th March 2004

The magnificent setting of Bolton Parish Church and a packed audience was the latest opportunity for the Hoover Band (Bolton) and their Musical Director Chris Wormald to showcase their current contest-winning form. Saturday March 20th was just six days after the band became North West Area Champions (Third Section) by virtue of their victory at Blackpool the previous weekend.

Opening in traditional march style with The Cossack (Rimmer), the band was immediately into its stride and showed just why it had taken the Blackpool crown. The band boasts fine Percussion and Bass sections and both were in full flow straight away, as were cornet duettists Lynsey Hayes (Principal) and Tony Kay. Following on from the impact of a fine, full band sound, the mood changed instantly as Lynsey Hayes then demonstrated why she won so many awards and accolades whilst Principal Cornet at Smithills School a few years ago. Having recently become the proud mother of daughter Rebecca with her long-time partner Darren, Lynsey gave a faultless rendition of the beautiful Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry arranged especially for her by Musical Director Chris Wormald back in her 1999 Smithills days and which now features on the Hoover CD A New Beginning.

Again the mood changed effortlessly as the band returned to full but controlled power with Ray Farr's dramatic Adventures In Brass and its well known glance back to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana opening, O Fortuna. This is yet another piece which clearly suits the band by displaying all of its strengths even in the somewhat ‘over-generous' acoustic perhaps on this occasion. The horn section was particularly outstanding led by Karen Rawcliffe. One of the highlights of the evening however was the quiet playing by the band and this was ably demonstrated none more so than in the three hymn tunes offered throughout the programme. First up was the William Himes prelude Ellacombe, one of the great arrangements this American Salvationist made (other notable examples being Nicaea and Amazing Grace) and stunningly played on this occasion with the low dynamics being so controlled.

A very swift and agile The Saints by Goff Richards followed and the first half drew to an excellent and varied close with three more pieces, Deep Harmony (Parker/Broadhead), requested by the audience at the band's last Bolton Parish Church concert just before their Runners-Up performance in Dundee last September, the excellent Alan Fernie selection from Cabaret which again demonstrated fine solo work from Lynsey Hayes, Janet Gill (Flugel Horn) and Andrew Jackson (Euphonium) and finally the title march of the film soundtrack Raiders of The Lost Ark arranged by Chris Wormald some years ago now and which brought the first half to a dramatic climax.

The quality and variety of the second half proved just as high as the opening hour. Another full-bodied rendition of a Rimmer march began proceedings, Punchinello, and this was followed by the tender Flugel Horn solo Share My Yoke by Salvationist composer Joy Webb and again arranged especially by Chris Wormald. Soloist Janet Gill, another former Smithills pupil, showed total control of her instrument and delivered a fine performance.

Once again the band changed moods completely and effortlessly with the Broughton ‘big band' arrangement of the spiritual Deep River, given the ‘big band' treatment in the style of String of Pearls. Immediately after this came perhaps the band's best playing of the night in Brodsky's tender and dramatic I'll Walk With God arranged by Goff Richards. Once again Hoover demonstrated just how quiet the band can play whilst suffering no ill effects whatsoever with its tuning or balance – the quality of the tuning is perhaps the best feature of all in this emerging band.
The final soloist of the evening was the excellent Andrew Jackson (Euphonium). He chose to play Portrait of My Love again arranged especially by Chris Wormald and taken from the same Matt Monro songbook as the regularly performed Softly As I Leave You. Andy Jackson is clearly a fine exponent of the Euphonium and ably demonstrated total control of the instrument at the quietest of dynamics and over the full range.

It is good to see that whilst there is a clear emphasis placed on young players and the future, Hoover features a dozen or more players who have between twelve and forty years of unbroken membership with the band. One such example is Trombone player Chris Wilcox who offered a stylish and effortless solo in Henry Mancini's Pink Panther. Again the band followed this with another audience requested item from a recent concert, the Theme From Moulin Rouge (Baerwald) and to finish, Hoover gave as good a performance of the Chorale From Symphony No.3 by Gustav Mahler as can be heard on the final track of their CD A New Beginning, and this after nearly two hours of playing. This final Chris Wormald arrangement of the evening opened with Horn players Karen Rawcliffe and Josie Davies leading the chorale and by the dramatic and percussive ending some six minutes later, the band and its conductor really had given everything.

The concert came to a close all too quickly at just after 9.45pm, the time seemed to have passed very swiftly indeed. Chris Wormald hosted the evening in his customary relaxed manner (with frequent references to his beloved Manchester United engaging light hearted banter from both members of the audience and certain anticipated band members) and the involvement of the audience throughout, not in a performing sense but in terms of the interaction of being asked questions about the music, artists and composers, talking to known individuals and so on, was one of the highlights for those in the audience. On the evidence of this concert the band should not only feature well in Harrogate at its second consecutive National Finals but its concerts are of the highest standard with a varied and quality repertoire not consisting solely of bought arrangements that are played by many bands.

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