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The Band have had the honour of performing at Lindsey (Solo Horn) and David's (Percussion) Wedding at Lartington Hall, Barnard Castle today. It was a pleasure to play for them and we hope that they have many happy years to come. 
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Today saw the band compete in the North of England Brass Band Championships at the Gala Theatre in Durham today, in the 2nd Section and were placed 8th, which is a result the band didn't want, but we are a one very proud band to say we came together as a team and pulled out a performance we were extremely proud of. We have reached new levels both as a band and as individual players and we don't need a contest to tell us how much we have improved.
A massive thank you goes to Ben, Iain, Garry, Emilie, Carsten, Simon and Lisa for all of your hard work helping us over the last 3 months. A special thank you goes to Joanna, one of our Solo Cornet players, for stepping up to the mark today on principal cornet. Michael, our usual principal cornet, had to sit out of the two contests (DCBBA Contest in February & this contest) due to recuperation from a major operation. We will live to fight another day. The band would also like to congratulate our conductor, Phillip Tait, for winning Best Soprano and for his band, NASUWT Riverside Band, coming first in the Championship Section for the second year running. To view the images from the contest weekend, then click Read More
Unfortunately, the band practice tonight was cancelled due to the snow, which puts a brief holt to the runup of the Area Contest but it hasn't stopped our members though. One of our younger members parents challenged the members to take the ice bucket challenge to the next level to show our dedication to the band. The MND Association are challenging people to do a snow angel in their pjs and our members have taken this one step further - to also play whilst they do their snow angel.
To raise money and awareness for this worthy cause, we have decided to nominate other bands and their members to take part and post on their various social media pages. All of the attempts from the band can be found by clicking Read More. The text code is SNAA55 followed by the amount to the number 70070 Tonight has seen members from the band form a small band to perform in Sherburn Church. They were part of various acts performing on the night helping to raise money for a new church roof. The band are delighted to have been awarded 3rd place at the Durham Brass Band Association Contest. Great feedback from the adjudicator Leigh Baker to work on ready for the area. We would like to say a massive thank you to Colin, Tony and Laura for helping us out today.
The band were also proud of our secretary, Marion, who was presented with a certificate and trophy from the Durham County Brass Band Association in recognition of 50 Loyal and Dedicated Years Service to the Brass Band Movement. All of these have been with Bearpark & Esh and we wish to take this opportunity to thank her for all of the hard work she puts in to keep us all in check and the superb job she does as Secretary of the Band. To see the images from the contest, click on Read More. Some photos are courtesy of Yvonne Wood. The band would like to formally welcome Ashley and Frank who have joined us on 2nd Cornet and Bb Bass ahead of our appearance at the Durham County Brass Band Association contest tomorrow. We hope you both have a long and happy time with the band.  The band completed a workshop day in preparation for the Area Contest in March. The day started with sections with tutors, full band work and then finished the day off with a mini concert to the general public. Lots of hard work done and the piece is sounding great. We would like to to say a big thank you to Ed Chapman, Mal Gill and Michael Fairless for working alongside Phillip and Michael as tutors to the various sections. Also, the band would like to thank Pittington Primary School for the use of the School and the facilities for the day, it is very much appreciated.
Some images from the day are courtesy of Cameracraft and some are courtesy of Nathan Clark Media and to see the images, click on Read More. Tonight has seen the band have it's first social night of the year, which was a a surprise 60th party for our secretary Marion who's birthday was back in December. Although Marion thought she knew something was cracking off she didn't know that one of our cornet players Laura would be there. Unfortunately Laura left us in September due to a relocation to Leeds and spent a lot of time in Portugal with her family before moving so we didn't get a chance to say a proper goodbye. Tonight became that opportunity. You will be sorely missed in our band Laura and we wish you all the best for the future. It was a fantastic night with many more on the cards in 2018.
We would like to wish all of our friends and followers a very Merry Christmas. We hope you all have a very happy and healthy 2018. Thank you all for your support over the last year and look forward to making more banding memories in the new year. The video is our message from us to all of you.
The Band have finished the final 4 jobs in December and 2017. Tuesday saw the band perform at St Thomas' Church at Stanley Crook, performing alongside the Crook and Weardale Choral Society. It is one of the band's favourite concerts throughout the Christmas Season and it was a thoroughly enjoyable performance by both the Band and the Choir.
Thursday and Friday saw the band perform outside at Sainsbury's (Arnison Centre in Durham). A big thank you goes to all the shoppers who stopped and listened to us and put something in our collecting buckets. It is very much appreciated. Saturday saw the band play in the final job of 2017 in Durham Market Place. Thank you to everyone who dug deep on Saturday and put a donation into our collecting buckets. It is much appreciated. Thank you also goes to David who helped us out on Euphonium today, the help was really much appreciated. Overall, the band have really enjoyed spreading Christmas cheer to people right across County Durham throughout 2017. A big thank you goes to everyone who saw us performing during the Christmas Season and by digging deep and putting a donation into our collecting buckets throughout all the jobs where we were collecting. A hard earned break now begins for the band and once the New Year comes,, it will be time to start preparing for the League Contest (Durham County Brass Band Association Contest) on Sunday 4th February and more importantly, preparing for the Area Contest (North of England Brass Band Championships) in March 2018. To look at the images and view the videos from the past week's performances, please click on Read More The third week of December has finally been completed for the Band with 3 jobs completed but unfortunately 1 was cancelled. Thursday saw the Band perform at Newhouse Club in Esh Winning. It was good to see Doug Cairns in the audience. We also featured Richard & Anna from the Back Row playing Little Donkey.
Friday saw the Band perform at Beamish Museum's Christmas Night. It was great to see so many people enjoying the Christmas Market Stalls The Band were meant to perform at Bishop Auckland's Christmas Market on Saturday but the organisers cancelled it. This meant the Band got a much needed day off. The Band played for the final time this week at Wharton Park on Sunday. However, it was a very damp and cold morning and due to the weather, we were only able to play Christmas Carols, but we still made the park feel festive. To look at the images from the past week's performances, please click on Read More.
The Band has had another busy week, again by playing at another 3 jobs, this time at Tesco Extra in Gilesgate (Friday 8th December), Crook Salvation Army Hall (Saturday 9th December) and at Derwent Manor Hotel for Willow Burn Hospice (Sunday 10th December).
A small group of the Band spread Christmas Cheer to the shoppers in Tesco Extra, Gilesgate on Friday. A big thank you goes to everyone who put money in our collection buckets - it is very much appreciated. Saturday Night saw the Band performing at the Salvation Army Hall in Crook. It was a mixed program of Normal Music (in the 1st Half) and Christmas Music (in the 2nd Half). The audience were great and we would like to say thanks to the organisers for a lovely buffet during the interval. We would also like to say a big thank you to Laurie & David for helping us out tonight on Solo Cornet. The help is really appreciated. To finish off the weekend, the Band performed at the Willow Burn Hospice Charity Christmas Event at Derwent Manor Hotel on Sunday Afternoon. It was a pleasure to support this worthy organisation. To view images from the weekend's events, please click on Read More. This weekend has seen the Band perform at Durham City Christmas Festival & Birtley Masonics on Saturday and Pittington School Christmas Fayre on Sunday.
It was a busy morning on Saturday entertaining the crowds in Durham on Saturday Morning. It was also great to see so many familiar faces who came to say hello and a massive thank you goes to all of the general public who dug deep to put something in our collection buckets - It is very much appreciated. The Band are also proud to announce that following her solo last week at Quebec Village Hall, Leila has passed her audition with flying colours and is now a member of the senior band. Today was her first official outing with the band. Well Done Leila!!!. Saturday Night saw the band perform at Birtley Masonics. The audience were on form as usual and what a laugh we all had. It's a job which the band look forward to every year and this year was a special occasion as it marked the 25th Year of entertaining these wonderful people who attend each year. Sunday Morning saw the band perform at Pittington Primary School's Christmas Fayre. The school hall had a wonderful Christmas atmosphere about it. A new member joined the band today in the form of a very cheeky elf. He got up to some mischief with our percussion section and even tried his hand at playing Bass. He was bought from Elves Incorporated today at the Fayre. To view the images from the weekend's jobs, please click Read More.
Today has seen the Band complete the first two jobs of the Christmas Season at Dalton Park and Quebec Village Hall. It was a cold Dalton Park this afternoon, but the Band were sporting the new band winter hats for the first time. A big thank you to all the general public who dug deep in their pockets and put money in our collecting buckets.
The band then had a very enjoyable evening playing at Quebec Village Hall. Tonight featured one of our learners, Leila, who played the solo Little Donkey. She was amazing and the band are all incredibly proud of her. (A clip of her playing the Solo will be down below). Well done Leila! Tonight saw the Band hold their AGM & Presentation Evening tonight. The Band's Life President, Bill Lamb presented the presentations. Congratulations goes to all of the award winners:
It was an honour to take part in the Remembrance Parade at Sunderland this morning alongside the Royal Signals (Northern) Band. It is the second largest outside of London. A massive thank you goes to Garry, Steady and Chris for helping us out today, it is very much appreciated.
The Band performed in Durham Market Place this morning. It was great to see so many people stopping to listen and to catch up with close friends of the Band. A big congratulations goes to Anna who passed her audition on Wednesday night to become a regular member of the Senior Band from our learners. Today was her first official job. Well Done and we hope you have a long and happy time with the Band.
The Band has had a very enjoyable afternoon performing to a wonderful audience on such a glorious autumn day at Beamish Museum today. It was also the first official concert for our new 3rd Cornet player Pauline who has been promoted to the Senior Band from the Learners Band. Well Done Pauline!!!!!. Also, thank you to Les for coming along for a blow and helping out on the Front Row.
Today has seen the Band perform at the final concert of the Summer Season at a windy South Shields. A big thank you goes to our helpers today, it is really appreciated. The Band also took part in "Brass the Baton" which was organised by England Athletics. The Video of our entry can be found at the bottom of the blog post.
The Band had a very enjoyable afternoon spent at Saltburn Bandstand. Unfortunately, our audience got caught up in the rain and moved to shelter under the umbrellas and trees. The Band carried on regardless and stayed dry in the Bandstand. Today was the last appearance at Saltburn for the Band this year and we hope to be invited back next season. A big thank you goes to Sean for helping us out today on Euphonium. The Band escaped some of the showers to play to a busy Beamish Museum audience. A big thank you goes to all of our helpers today who covered due to holidays.  Dr Lamb viewing all of the entries As part of our CD Project this year, we decided to open the design of the front cover out to Year 6 Children in 3 Primary Schools that have connections with the Band: Bearpark Primary School, Esh Winning Primary School and Pittington Primary School. The Year 6 Children were given the huge task of bringing together a film themed cover including the name and picture representation of what music will be on. We left it very open ended to allow their imaginations to run wild. Yesterday, our Life President, Dr Lamb did the difficult job of judging the winner. He chose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place from each school and then an overall winner. Dr Lamb chose a winner from each school, along with a second and third place. He was delighted with how creative the children have been. He chose an overall winner who will get their design printed onto the front cover of the CD. The winner also gets a family cinema ticket to see a film of their own choice. The overall winner was Ella Docherty from Pittington Primary School. We would like to say a massive congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone else for taking part.  The winning design created by Ella Docherty from Pittington Primary School
Today has seen the Band play in the Durham Miners Gala. The atmosphere was great and the new polo shirts went down a treat. A big thank you goes to all of our supporters on the steps outside Waterstones, both going in and out. Happy Birthday goes to our learner Leila, we hoped you enjoyed the whole crowd singing to you. A massive thank you also goes to Jordan, David, Yvan, Christian, Emma, John, Garry, Steady, Les and Helen for helping us out today. Thank you goes to Doreen and Roy Lambeth who took photos of the Band during the day.
We even had a celebratory drink in the pub after we had finished playing. We even had our very own community police officer as our photographer. Tonight has seen the Band perform at the annual Pre Durham Miners Gala Concert in Newhouse Club tonight for the Esh Winning Banner Group. The Band will be up bright and early on Saturday to take the Esh Winning and West Rainton School Banner into the Gala.
The Band competed in the DCBBA 'Picnic in the Park' Contest this afternoon. Although we didn't come away with any prizes, the Band played well and we received some excellent remarks from the adjudicator. A Big thanks must go to Dan, Connor, Abi and Colin for helping us out today. A big thank you also goes to Hugh Stephenson for allowing us to use some photos of the Band from today. |
