Tag Archives: Concert

St Andrew’s Day

Three parades for St Andrew’s Day – the annual church parade at Tamatea Community church on Sunday, entertaining the residents at the Taradale Masonic Village on Monday followed that evening by the St Andrews night concert at the Taradale RSA where we were the only entertainment which was a bit of a challenge for the team.

St Andrews Day Church Parade Nov 2015
St Andrews Day Church Parade Nov 2015
St Andrews Day concert Taradale RSA 2015
St Andrews Day concert Taradale RSA 2015

Update #42+

Good evening

Our new name is now official having been approved by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.  Tonight’s practice was really good and it was especially enjoyable being able to play out on the park and to play a variety of music.

Practice with the youngsters at Nelson Park
Practice with the youngsters at Nelson Park

On Saturday we will be leading the Napier Christmas Parade and then on Saturday night our concert at the Napier RSA starts at 6pm.

Sunday is the St Andrews Day church parade at Tamatea Community Church followed on Monday with some pipers playing at the Masonic Village, Taradale.  The last of the busyness is Monday night at the RSA for the St Andrews Day ceilidh.

Regards
Kerry

Update #42

This coming weekend (Sat 28 and Sun 29 Nov) is a busy one.  Starting on Saturday the contest group is meeting at the band rooms for a practice at 10.30 and then the band is meeting at 12.30 at the Sound Shell.  We will be leading the Napier Christmas Parade which will travel down to Clive Square after which at 1.30pm we’ll be playing at Clive Square.  Saturday night we are staging a concert at the Napier RSA starting at 6pm so we’ll meet at 5.15 at the RSA.  Those wanting to stay on for a meal afterwards need to let Ken know so he can book us in.

Sunday is the St Andrews Day church parade at Tamatea Community Church – meet in the car park over the road at 9.30.

Then on Monday the business continues.  We’ve been asked to provide some pipers to play at the Masonic Village, Taradale on Monday 30 Nov (St Andrews Day) at 11am and on Monday night we are at the RSA for the St Andrews Day ceilidh.  Meet at 7pm standard band uniform.  We’ll mix practice with the items we have to play.

Kerry

Better Performances?

In September we staged a concert at St Paul’s church that I thought was one of our better performances – well done everyone.  So how do I rate our playing as “one of our better performances”?

Firstly the overall competence of how we play our instruments.  Can we start well, every time?  Do we play together through the entire tune (or bracket of tunes)?  Do we play without mistakes?  And then do we finish cleanly and together?

These skills come with practice of course, both our individual practice and the preparation we do together as a band which requires commitments of time and energy from us all.  There are different ways in which people’s energy and enthusiasm is re-charged: for some it’s a parade that contributes to the community, for some it’s a performance like a concert, for some it’s individual improvement and achievement, and for some it’s a sense of competition, whether solo or band contesting.

Secondly, the variety of music and the way it is presented is important.  The ultimate test for me is not what people see or hear but what they feel as a result of our musical performance.  If our music can stir the emotions of our audience then we’ve succeeded.  I remember one New Year’s eve up by the Masonic Hotel, we’d been playing for a while and a young lady kept pestering the band to play Amazing Grace.  We’d already played it but in the end we relented and played it again.  As soon as we started this young lady broke down with tears streaming down her face.  What memory we had evoked for her I don’t know but it was how she felt.  How often does our music do that for you?

To achieve a variety of music we must keep adding to our repertoire which again requires a commitment of time and energy to learn the music to a performance standard.

It was Maya Angelou  who said “life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”  I hope our music takes your breath away sometimes.