The troubles of the brass band world are many and varied, but joining an audience of 400 plus - admittedly mainly mums and dads, to hear two excellent youth bands made them all disappear, at least for an hour or so.
Infectious
Young players are so inspiring to listen to; enthusiasm is infectious, confidence shines and the sense of fun and enjoyment is a joy to behold.
As a result an hour was not really adequate; only allowing each band to offer four or five short works.
However, there was more than enough fine playing on show to convince you that both the RNCM and Foden’s are doing their level best to help support the creation of a new generation of talented performers.
Contrasting items
The Junior RNCM Brass Band took to the stage led by Les Neish and Jon Malaxetxebarria, and opened with two contrasting items in Martin Cordoner’s bouncy, ‘Light-Bringer’ and Kenneth Downie’s reflective ‘In Perfect Peace’.
Bill Geldard’s arrangement of Edvard Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ has become something of classic bass trombone solo.
There is a risk of it not being treated seriously, but in the calm hands of Josh Cirtina, that certainly wasn’t the case.
Communication
His stage presence showed the confidence of a performer twice his age and experience, with some impish touches of communication with the audience through slight body movements and eye contact.
No shrinking violet but no evidence of arrogance either: Someone has been teaching this young man a lot, which bodes well for his time at college and beyond.
The prolonged applause meant that there was just time for the band to let their hair down and pick up the trumpets in Leigh Baker’s thumping arrangement of Lennon and McCartney’s ‘Got to Get You into My Life’.
Development
There were 52 players in the Foden’s Youth Band, which has been formed to complement the existing youth set ups in Cheshire and not compete against them: It therefore provides a different learning experience to assist the youngsters with their overall development.
Two pieces, ‘Lament - To the Unknown’ and ‘Fanfare for the Future’ came from their own cornet player Andrew Stevenson, whilst there was also a neat bit of Philip Sparke in ‘Saying Goodbye’ - one of a series of short, original pieces written to give bands their own popular vocabulary and identity.
A nice touch of nostalgia was provided by the march ‘Punchinello’ (which is now nearly 110 years old but still remains freshly bombastic when played with such vibrancy), before an all too short hour had ended with well deserved applause from an appreciative audience and plenty of smiles from the talented performers and their excellent MDs.
Tim Mutum
