Posted on Sunday September 19th, 2021
The Great British Bake Off may be back on our screens next week but they're not the only people dealing with warm baked goods currently - tickets for our Autumn Concert are selling like hot cakes!π° People have been snapping up tickets since the box office opened last weekend and as a result, we now have just 26 tickets remaining! If you're intending to come along and haven't got your tickets yet, please don't delay! You can book and choose your seats here: bit.ly/3zZSWJz. See you there!
Posted on Sunday September 12th, 2021
We're incredibly excited to announce that tickets for our Autumn Concert on Saturday 9th October are on sale NOW!π΅ We have an amazing programme of well-known and popular music lined up and have been working hard on what promises to be a fantastic evening's entertainment! Due to the size of the venue, we have a strictly limited number of tickets available so make sure you get yours now!
Full info + book your tickets here:
www.facebook.com/events/250462646954858
Posted on Thursday September 9th, 2021
Is there anything more quintessentially English than a wind band playing a cheery march under a marquee at a village fete in summer?! No, we didn't think so either!π Here's a video of us playing Kenneth J Alford's classic composition Army of the Nile at the Binfield Heath Flower Show a couple of weeks ago!πΆ We had an excellent time and particularly enjoyed the fudge...!π¬
PS...big thanks to Nigel Howard for conducting us for this gig whilst MD Claire took a well-earned break!.
PPS...don't forget that tickets for our Autumn Concert - Strike Up the Band go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 AM!
The best march! Great workout if you’re a tuba player!
Well done Nigel or should I say a mini Brian
My favourite march.
Posted on Sunday September 5th, 2021
It's time to Strike Up the Band!πΊ We're thrilled to announce our Autumn Concert - a celebration of our return to live music-making, packed with tunes you'll know and love from the music of stage and screen to well-known folk tunes and pop - there really will be something for everyone! We've got a great programme lined up and are already hard at work to ensure a really special evening's entertainment!π΅
The concert takes place on Saturday 9th October at 7:30pm at Woodley Baptist Church and tickets (Β£14 / Β£12 over 65's / Β£5 under 16's) go on sale at 10:00am next Saturday (11th September) - we'll have a link available to book your tickets when the box office opens.ποΈ
Make sure the date's in your diary - we can't wait to see you there!π
Posted on Sunday August 29th, 2021
How we loved being back at the Binfield Heath Flower and Dog Show on Saturday! It was all as it should be, the sun shone, and the band played to a very appreciative audience. We thought we might have missed out on the cake as demand was clearly high this year but fortunately we were just in time π. Big thanks to Nigel Howard, we enjoyed having him as our guest conductor for the event.
It was a pleasure to be with you. The band played very well. Thank you.
So sad to miss one of my favourite gigs. (I notice you were short of armless chairs again and had people sitting on hay bales.)
You sounded fantastic! We enjoyed it very much, great day!
Thank you very much Molly Roworth for depping for us!
Well done to all involved Woodley Concert Band
Great to be back xx
Posted on Friday August 27th, 2021
Don't forget! One of our favourite summer gigs - the Binfield Heath Flower Show - is back this Saturday (28th)!π The quintessential English village fete with enormous vegetables, sideshow games and plenty of homemade cake, there's something for all the family, plus of course, great music from WCB!π΅ We'll be performing between 1:40 and 4:00pm so make sure you come along to enjoy a great afternoon!
Full info here: www.woodleyconcertband.org.uk/binfield-heath-flower-show-7/
Posted on Wednesday August 25th, 2021
We've got a VERY important announcement coming up next week and we're VERY excited about it! In the meantime, make sure you put the evening of Saturday 9th October in your diary...you're going to want to make sure you're available!πΆ
Posted on Sunday August 22nd, 2021
We had a great rehearsal last week and are really looking forward to performing at the Binfield Heath Flower Show next Saturday! Here's a little taste of one of our favourite musicals which will definitely be making an appearance!π΅
You can find full info about the event here: www.woodleyconcertband.org.uk/binfield-heath-flower-show-7/
We'll see you there!
Posted on Thursday August 19th, 2021
Famous again!πΈ Last week, we were were delighted to have our return to live performance featured in Wokingham.Today! We're thrilled to be back bringing live music to audiences & looking forward to more very soon!πΊ Let us know if you're coming along to hear us at the Binfield Heath Flower Show on 28th August!πΌ
Posted on Sunday August 15th, 2021
π¨π£π¨ NEW GIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! π¨π£π¨
We're really excited to announce our second post-Covid gig of the summer!π΅
After a year off in 2020, the Binfield Heath Flower Show returns on Saturday 28th August for its 72nd occurrence, and we're delighted to be playing once again! With vintage vehicles, prize vegetables, amazing home-baked cakes, a dog show, traditional sideshow games (including hoopla and bat the rat), tea and beer tents and much, much more, this event is everything that a traditional English village fete should be! Long established in WCB's annual calendar as one of our favourite engagements, we'll be be playing our usual selection of popular and upbeat favourites to set your toes tapping as you enjoy all the fun of the fair!
WCB's performance times are still being confirmed (we'll let you know when we know) but the show opens at 12:00 in the field opposite Holmwood, Binfield Heath, RG9 4DP and runs throughout the afternoon.
Admission (on the door) is Β£4 (adults), Β£2 (senior citizens & children 6 to 15) and free for children 5 and under (family ticket Β£10 for 2 adults + 2 children). Parking is free. Full info (or enter your dog / vegetables!) at www.binfieldheath.org.uk/whats-happening/in-the-village/events
Posted on Sunday August 8th, 2021
As things begin to return to some sort of post-pandemic normal, one of the activities that we've been most excited to organise is a band workshop. Accordingly, a couple of weeks ago we were thrilled to welcome back friend of the band Rob Wiffin to spend a whole day working on new and challenging music that we might not otherwise get a chance to play. With six great pieces, picnics, a very cute dog and Pimms to round everything off, it was a great day of music-making (if something of a musical workout!) and a welcome opportunity to reintroduce one of our favourite musical activities! Huge thanks to Rob for coming to conduct and we look forward to more great music making soon!π΅
Posted on Sunday August 1st, 2021
Whilst we've been delighted to get back to making music together in the same physical space in the last couple of months, we do still have one or two virtual pieces up our band jacket sleeves which were recorded during various lockdowns and which our editing elves have been working on ever since!πΌ
Bugler's Holiday is a brilliant and jolly little trumpet feature by well-known light music composer Leroy Anderson (of Sleigh Ride and Typewriter fame) which is always popular at summer engagements and gives the trumpet section a great opportunity to show off a bit (like they needed it...).πΊ This arrangement for 3 solo trumpets plus cornet, two french horns, euphonium and tuba holds the dubious honour of being the virtual piece which has taken us by far the longest to put together! Originally sent out to players for recording almost a year ago in August 2020, it was beset by difficulties, with the player lineup changing several times for all manner of reasons (including extracted teeth, hectic work schedules and newborn babies arriving next door) so we're delighted that we're finally able to share it - we hope you enjoy our efforts!πΆ
PS...big thanks to local player John Berry for stepping in to cover the cornet part when we eventually ran out of WCB trumpeters!
PPS...for the grammar pedants amongst you, we've checked carefully and despite there being three 'buglers', we can confirm that the piece is formally titled "Bugler's Holiday", not "Buglers' Holiday." Sadly, Leroy Anderson passed away in 1975 so it's a bit tricky to take the issue up with him....
We bloomin love The Buglers Holiday it has to be one of our favourite trumpet pieces. Marvellous.
Great job guys. That’s soooooo hard!!!! Well done all xx
Another brilliant video you two. Some lovely red faces too π₯΅
Brilliant π
Brilliant π
Posted on Sunday July 25th, 2021
πWe're back!π
Yesterday saw WCB's first whole-band performance in 16 months at the lovely Alexandra Gardens in Windsor. Miraculously, the rain held off and it was fantastic to finally be able to play to a live audience again!
We asked some of the band for their thoughts on this first performance back and there was clearly quite a range of feelings. Some focused on the practical...
"...is my bow tie still in my jacket pocket?..."
"...will my lip hold out?..."
"...please donβt rain, please donβt rain, please donβt rain..." and
"...ooh, these trousers are tighter than I remember..."
But ultimately, we were all delighted to be able to return to what we love doing - "It was really special to be playing to an audience again and to such an appreciative one too." "You could feel the excitement within the band and everyone played so well."
Thanks so much to everyone that came along to hear us (and to all those band members and their friends and families who contributed their thoughts and photos!). We're looking forward to more performances over the coming months - we'll see you soon!
And "is my sax in the boot?"......to which the answer turned out to be no! π±π
Looks like a really nice bunch - but where are you?
Woodley Concert Band well done to all involved
Looks like you had a nice afternoon for it.
Posted on Friday July 23rd, 2021
π¨DONT' FORGET! Our first gig since March 2020 is this Saturday (24th) at 2:00pm in the delightful Alexandra Gardens in Windsor and is absolutely FREE! We've got loads of our favourite pieces lined up and we hope you can join us for an afternoon of toe-tapping tunes, chilled relaxation and glorious weather [sadly only the first two of these are guaranteed - the third looks a little dicey but we're determined to have a good time anyway!].π΅ We'll see you there!π
Good Luck ππΆπΌ
Posted on Sunday July 18th, 2021
As Covid-19 restrictions start to come to an end in the UK, we thought we'd make a little video to show how we've been keeping all of our members safe since we restarted in-person rehearsals back in May. Here's clarinettist Gemma to show you the steps that we've been taking!π·
Don't forget that next Saturday (24th) is our first live full-band gig in almost a year and a half!π We'll be playing loads of fabulous tunes including ABBA, Les Miserables, Frank Sinatra and the Great Escape in Alexandra Gardens, Windsor from 2:00 - 4:00pm - why not come along and enjoy some live music!πΊπ΅π·