It is a fact that most bands in the country take part in contests. These are events where bands pit themselves against each other and are maked on their playing and perfomamce by expert adjudicators. For those of us who do this, we would all agree it can be quite stressful and the music we are asked to play isn’t always the sort of piece you would necessarily go to hear in a concert. They are however challenging to play and can be fun to rehearse.
We also have a lot of players in the community who just want to play music and for whom contesting is not an activity they are especially keen on participating in. Often these players would love to have a go at working on one of the test peices we play, but unless they sign for a contesting band, they will not generally get to play one.
We thought there was a solution to this problem so we set up the Project Band. This is open to anyone in the community or from the wider area who simply wants to come along and rehearse some of the pieces written for band contests. The band rehearses for a couple of hours once a month at our rehearsal facility at Portakabin in York and there is a warm welcome for anyone who wishes to come along and play.
The band is led by Richard Wilton, the musical director of Shepherd Group Brass Band and members of the Senior Band will be there to offer support throughout the rehearsals. Keep a lookout on our Facebook page and here on the website for details of the next rehearsal, we hope to see you soon.
