Posted on Sunday October 18th, 2020
Another never-before-seen video released from our archives today!🎬 Venture into the murky yet weirdly toe-tapping world of Dickensian London with our medley from smash hit musical Oliver!🎵 Consider yourself entertained!😉
Love this. It’s nice to hear the whole band rather than just what I can hear from my seat!
The band sounds great.
Posted on Sunday October 11th, 2020
Huge congratulations to WCB flautist Cath who last week completed the virtual London Marathon around the streets of Woodley, Reading and Twyford!🏃♀️ Despite some fairly unpleasant weather🌧️, Cath completed her 26.2 miles in 5½ hours and has raised over £2,000 for the Trussell Trust, Crisis and the Woodland Trust, in Cath's words: "all charities which do great work to help ensure that everyone has access to the things that 2020 has shown us we all need and value: somewhere safe to call home, enough food and essentials, and open spaces to exercise, meet friends and escape the stresses of life." A few other members of the band joined Cath (socially distanced, naturally!) for sections of her run, to provide some moral support.
Well done from all of us to Cath for her amazing achievement, and if you'd like to sponsor Cath, it's not too late - you can find her fundraising page here:
uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CatherinePiper1
Such an amazing achievement Cath. 👏🏻👏🏻🏅
Well done!
Great job !
Posted on Sunday October 4th, 2020
Welcome to...The Great WCB Bake Off!🍰 This week saw the first round of WCB's latest socially distanced social - our very own baking competition! With this round's challenge being cakes, we had a wide variety of bakes (including no less than two Pineapple Upside Down Cakes!), all showcased in our online competition. There were marks on offer for creativity, impressiveness, appearance/finish and the cake's back story, and three highly experienced judges (well...eaters of cake).
It was a closely fought competition but in the end, the judges awarded star baker🌟 to Sally for her magnificent carrot cake with cinnamon salted caramel walnuts, whilst the winner of the popular vote (and a special commendation from the judges) was Brian's very impressive and oustandingly-titled Baton-berg cake!
Check out the photos for all of the entries, plus some of the amazing backgrounds to why the bakers made the cakes that they did!
Posted on Sunday September 27th, 2020
4 months in the making, 33 players, 39 video feeds and 579 individual video clips - we're really excited to reveal our second whole-band collaboration!🎉 We're still missing being able to make music together - recent changes in Coronavirus legislation have enabled us to start exploring how we might get together again physically in the not-too-distant future (hopefully!) but in the meantime, here's our version of ABBA's pop classic Thank You For The Music, recorded in our homes over the last few months - we hope you enjoy it!🎺🎵🎷
Sounds great!
Sue Foyle watch this it’s AMAZING😍 Catherine Piper I LOVE that pic part!! This is so so good xx
Brilliant. Awesome percussion section! 🙂
Lovely. Great pic part Cath.
Totally loved it! Everyone was amazing, loved looking for Annie West! Xx
Awesome, thank you all for the music, amazing editing too! What an uplifting Sunday morning treat 🙂
Sounding good. Keep it up. There are still some members there who I remember.
Love it!! Great playing and brilliant editing Owen!
WCB thankyou for the music that was amazing, truly impressive.
Amazing guys! Miss you all and glad to see the music is still flowing 😍
Well done everyone. What a mammoth task. Sounds great xx
Well done all, that is just great 😃
Very nice 👌
Posted on Saturday September 26th, 2020
Coming very soon!🎺 We're launching our biggest virtual performance yet right here on our facebook page tomorrow morning! Keep an eye out to get a little bit of feel-good ABBA in your life...! We can't wait!🎶
Posted on Thursday September 24th, 2020
Well, it's been a long time coming but our second full band virtual recording is in the final stages of editing! Keep your eyes peeled this weekend...it's going to be a cracker !🎷🎵🎺
Posted on Sunday September 20th, 2020
We're excited to be releasing another new video from our archives today!🎬 Our musical-themed concert back in Spring 2017 featured a whole host of fabulous music, including this beautiful arrangement of one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most popular hits - Don't Cry For Me Argentina from Evita. Listen out for some lovely instrumental solos and some very subtle percussion!🎵 Enjoy!
Posted on Sunday September 13th, 2020
The results are in!🌻 After months of horticultural expertise, tender care and fierce competition, the sunflowers have been independently verified (well...we've looked at the pictures) and we're excited to be able to announce the winners of the inaugural WCB Lockdown Sunflower Growing Competition! Are you ready?! Drum roll please🥁...
🥉 In third place, at an impressive 255cm - Sally
🥈In second place, at a mighty 280cm - Elaine Robinson
🥇and in first place, at a whopping 297cm, big congratulations to Steve Stevenson!🏆
Take a look through our photo gallery for all of our entrants with sunflowers epic, tiny and in one case, not even definitely a sunflower (hi Phil)! Big congratulations🎉 to all of our competitors - we'll see you at our glittering sunflower competition awards ceremony just as soon as things are back to normal...😃
Congratulations to everybody who took part it was fun and and so enjoyable watching them grow. Well done to you all.🌻
Well done everyone! And thank you Owen for sunflower spectacular management! 🌻🌻🌻🌻😀
Great fun and well done all! 🌻
Well done Steve 🌻
Well done everyone! Good job Steve Stevenson.
Well done everyone, great work!!! 🌻❤️
Well done Steve and thanks Owen
Brilliant! The scientist within is dying to know if there is any correlation between instrument played and sunflower-growing ability?!
Well done
I hope we'll be drug testing the winner?
Fantastic, well done everyone!
Well done Steve.
Posted on Sunday August 30th, 2020
CANCELLED! It probably doesn't come as a huge surprise but due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken the decision to cancel our Autumn Concert in October. Although recent weeks have seen some relaxing of lockdown restrictions and new guidelines from the government with respect to amateur music-making, we do not feel that we would currently be able to perform a concert that was safe for us and safe for our audience and as such, have had to cancel the performance. Whilst we're all incredibly passionate about our music, the safety of the band and our audiences has to be our No.1 priority and as such, rehearsals and performances just aren't possible yet.
In more positive news, we are currently in discussions about a possible first opportunity for a small WCB ensemble to play together live in the coming months which might give us the chance to start exploring performing together again - we'll be sure to keep you up to speed!
Don't forget to like the band (or follow us on Twitter or Instagram) to keep up to date with our latest progress towards making more music!
Posted on Sunday August 16th, 2020
A sprinkling of magic for you this week, with a trip back to our Spring Concert in 2014 and our sparkling performance of Paul Dukas' fabulous Sorcerer's Apprentice!
Do you have a favourite piece of magical music? Let us know in the comments!✨🎶✨
Posted on Sunday August 9th, 2020
If we're honest, the trouble with trumpet players is that if left to their own devices without the structure of weekly rehearsals, they tend to, um, get a little bit out of control. Here are Gregor and Owen who apparently decided that the most constructive use of their time during a global pandemic was to experiment with new facial hair styles. We understand that their partners weren't all that impressed...😂🎺🧔🏻
I rather like them guys! I tried, but just ended up looking about 120 years old. 😂
Annie West where are your photos? 😂😂😂
Eh? What?
Posted on Sunday August 2nd, 2020
As you're probably aware, all ensemble wind and brass playing is currently forbidden due to the potentially enhanced risk of spreading Coronavirus. Whilst the government has commissioned some scientific research to clarify exactly how dangerous flutes are (don't laugh...they're apparently seen as particularly risky), we at WCB wondered whether there might be an alternative solution, so we set our best creative problem-solving experts onto the case and we think we've cracked it - here's principal trumpet Gregor demonstrating what is clearly the ideal way to get band rehearsals back on track! 😷🎺
Sounds a bit like me now - without the mask! 😉
It's the latest type of Mute 🔇
Nutter!!!!
Posted on Thursday July 30th, 2020
MAMBO!!! A quick trip back into the archives today, to our 2017 Spring Concert, entitled A Night in the West End! A friend of the band has recently been kind enough to edit together the videos from this concert (thanks Simon!), so we'll be sharing some of these over the coming months - here's our spectacular opening, the instantly recognisable Mambo from Leonard Bernstein's fabulous West Side Story! Enjoy!
youtu.be/T7PdzkRxODU
Posted on Sunday July 19th, 2020
With all live WCB music-making on hold for almost 4 months now, we thought that it was about time that we gave you an update on how the band's doing and the ways in which our members are keeping musically active without any rehearsals or concerts - here's our chairman Phil and a few of our members to bring you up to speed...enjoy!
PS...we're not just on Facebook - find us in these places too...!
Website: www.woodleyconcertband.org.uk/
Twitter: twitter.com/woodleyband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/woodleyband/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/WoodleyConcertBand
Annie West you are a legend! Or maybe Kev is the legend for getting involved in the madness! 😂
Love the raffle so much!
Owen Lloyd I didn't know you have another little one!! Congratulations😍 Time goes so quickly. Brilliant video!😆 xx
“It’s a balance issue” 🤣🤣🤣
Posted on Wednesday July 15th, 2020
Last week, we were delighted to be featured in Woodley Town Council's newsletter, the Woodley Herald. Circulated to approximately 10,000 homes in Woodley, the update features a picture of Owen, one of our trumpeters, playing the Last Post during the VE Day commemorations back in May. We know that the renditions of the Last Post played by a number of our players on this important occasion were greatly appreciated by local residents across Berkshire so we're very pleased to be recognised by being featured in our local newsletter. Those of you who've witnessed Owen running a raffle will understand when we say that we reckon he could give Tony the Town Crier a run for his money too...!📣