Sellers International Band

The Hawth,
Conductor: Phillip McCann
Crawley,
16th January 2005

Last Sunday afternoon's concert at The Hawth introduced The Sellers International Band from Huddersfield under the musical direction of Phillip McCann. The long journey down proving to be no obstacle, the band opened the concert with a flourish, performing their prize-winning march, 'Jubilee'.

For the second year running the band has walked away with the best march award at the ‘Brass in Concert' Contest at Spennymoor, most recently with this sparkling little number from the pen of the Salvationist Paul Drury.  This was followed, in the typical style, with an overture; Suppé's 'Poet and Peasant' was the conductor's choice, and the first opportunity to hear the lyricism of the band's solo horn player Leah Williams. Principal trombonist Rebecca Lundberg was the first of the band's soloists to take the spotlight with a delicate rendition of 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square' and Howard Snell's subtle arrangement, similar to the style of Ravel, was captured well by the MD and the soloist.

'Ardross Castle' from Philip Sparke's original suite for brass band 'Hymn of the Highlands' was the band's next offering. This was followed by the film music of John Williams in Steve Sykes' arrangement of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone', before solo horn player Leah Williams stepped up with a polished performance of W. A. Allison's 'Silver Threads amongst the Gold'. Always a favourite with audiences, this performance was no different with the expressive opening coupled with a boisterous finale. Peter Graham's arrangement of Repton's hymn 'Dear Lord and Father of Mankind' was the penultimate piece before the interval, and brought with it an appropriate change of mood and style, aided by the emotive playing throughout the band.

The interval was placed between two numbers from ‘American Landscapes'; one of the band's most recent recordings, the first an original composition by Stephen Bulla, 'Images for Brass', highlighting the band's versatility in the four contrasting sections, and the second, Morton Gould's 'American Salute'. The latter, based on the American marching tune 'When Johnny comes Marching Home', was an arrangement by the band's principal Eb bass player Ken Ferguson. The two pieces brought about a somewhat retrospective end to the first half and an animated start to the second.

Mark Bousie, the band's principal euphonium, made his solo contribution with a typically expressive interpretation of 'Pilatus' (Mountain Air), by Goff Richards, before Alan Fernie's fleeting, but comical arrangement of Cole Porter's 'Be a Clown'. The band continued in a humorous vein with the next solo item from local boy Alex Hohenkirk, 'I Wanna Be Like You', taken from Disney's ‘The Jungle Book'. One of the more popular songs from the Sherman brothers' time with Disney, Fernie's bass trombone arrangement enabled the soloist's blend of ‘jazzy' style and dexterous technique to shine.  With the added theatrics from the remainder of the band (a jungle noise or two!), the piece was great entertainment for the audience, a large proportion of which hailed from The Battle Town Band, where Alex began playing.

The next two programme items, the medley 'Breezing Down Broadway', and the Elvis tribute 'An American Trilogy', a favourite with the audience and band alike, featured two fairly recent scores by the popular arranger, Goff Richards, before the band's final solo spot of the afternoon.  Louise Emms, runner-up in last year's Kirklees Young Musician Competition, executed a dazzling performance of Bruce Fraser's witty, but devilish xylophone solo, 'William Tell Overture'.

The beautiful 'Benedictus' by Karl Jenkins, from ‘The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace', brought back the pensive mood evident towards the end of the first half, with dimmed lights to set the scene.  The band illustrated their velvety sound and accomplished melodic playing, leaving the audience holding their breath until the end.  The band's finale, 'Peterloo', tells the story of the events at St. Peters Field, Manchester, when tragedy struck as the local magistrates were sent in to break up a meeting of the Trades Unions on political reform. Andy Duncan's arrangement of Malcolm Arnold's Overture enabled the band to finish on a rousing but reflective note.

Quite clearly the Sellers International Band and Phillip McCann have started the New Year on a high, just as they finished the last, with a concert that had something for everyone. It had the usual thoughtful programme we have come to expect from Phillip McCann, who has taken the listeners on a journey of varied styles and emotions, perfectly complimented by some top drawer performances throughout the band.

As a coda, Goff Richard's 'Hymns of Praise' was a suitable encore bringing the concert to a hopeful conclusion, particularly apt in the wake of the regrettable aftermath of the Tsunami during the Christmas period. Indeed, the audience found the concert inspirational.

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