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Band News The band took part in the National Championships of Great Britain (4th Section) on Sunday 30th September. There were 20 bands from across the country in the section, all of who had qualified to compete by already being either winner or runner up of their respective Regional Championships in March. Amidst some very stiff competition, adjudicators David Hirst and Allan Ramsay deemed Marske Brass's performance worthy of 14th place. The band is naturally very proud of this achievement, and would like to thank MD Alun Prest for all the hard work he's put in to steer the band down the road to this success. Long may it continue! More details on the band's appearance to follow. Please check back soon. The band once again took part in the DLI "Picnic in the Park" Entertainment Contest, run by the Durham County Brass Band Association, and held at the Durham Light Infantry Museum. The contest requires a 20 minute concert programme which has to include a march and a stand up solo. Our Musical Director, Alun, put together a very solid programme consisting of: The band worked hard, but special credit goes to Bruce, our 1st BBb Bass player, who was nominated to be our soloist and did a sterling job - we are all very proud of him *applause*. We were competing against a mixture of Section C and Section D bands (DCBBA grading) and 5 bands took part including us. Although we were placed 4th overall, we were the highest placed Section D band and accordingly were awarded the Tom Finkel Memorial Trophy for the second year running. A creditable achievement indeed. Once the trophy has been engraved, it will be on display (joining our trophy from the regionals) in Garry.biz Computer Shop in the Wynd shopping square in Marske. The one dampener on the day was that our drummer, Pete, couldn't be with us due to an illness in his family. It wasn't the same without him, as apart from being a fine drummer, Pete is known within the band to bring life to any party (although it has to be said we did try to follow somewhat in his footsteps by Nicky 2 covering us all in self-tanning lotion in the pub, resulting in us all ending up streaky orange!!) We are pleased to announce that the official opening of Garry.biz - the new computer shop in Marske owned by our principal cornet, Nic, and her husband, Garry - was very successful. The sun shone, Mike Findley cut the ribbon and the residents of Marske flocked to the square to bask in the warm weather and listen to the band, whilst drinking the wine and cheese provided by Garry.biz. The band played extremely well, and Nic enjoyed taking time out of the busy morning's activities to listen to the whole ensemble as an outsider for a change. Photos of the day will be added to our gallery soon. Garry.biz made a donation of £125.00 to Mike's MND fund which was made up of 10% of the day's takings and a like for like donation by Garry and Nic. In addition, Mike had a team of collectors out with buckets in the square while the band played, which raised a further £82.06 and a coffee morning was also held in the White House at the same time which added a further £194.73. All in all, the day contributed £401.79 towards research into MND. A very well done to everyone! We are delighted to announce that our principal cornet player, Nicola Stonehouse, together with her husband, Garry, have opened the doors on their second computer shop. Garry.biz, which is at 9 The Wynd (the former Doctor's Surgery) in the square, can supply everything computer related, from laptops and custom built desktops to inks and cables. Nic and Garry are celebrating the occcasion with a launch ceremony on Saturday 21 April and Cllr Mike Findley, a great supporter of the band, and respected local figure, has agreed to do the honours of offically opening the shop. In return, Garry.biz will donate 10% of their day's takings to Mike's MND Fund. Nic does a lot for the band, for as well as being principal cornet, she is band sergeant and ensures that the members are kept fully informed of engagements and other matters. She also manages the band's website, and in fact Garry.biz have donated the site, including hosting and domain, to the band. The band will be there at the opening ceremony and play in the square outside Garry.biz. The ceremony begins with Mike cutting the ribbon at 11.00 am and the band will play immediately after until around 12.00 noon. Nic has also said that there will be refreshments available for all customers of the shop - and the band! Come along, listen to the band and show your support for Mike's MND fund and your local businesses. What a day 18 March proved to be for Marske Brass! A special mention has to go to three outstanding youngsters:
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If you have any news or pictures relating to Marske Brass Band, please send them to us for inclusion on our website. enquiries@marskebrass.co.uk |
Bank Holiday Monday May 1st 2006 has seen some fundraising success increasing band funds by a whopping £265 (Put into perspective this is more than DOUBLE what a band would earn at a local concert!!) Thanks to resident band enthusiasts Nicola Stonehouse and Andrea Davies for planning and holding a car boot stall on behalf of the band with help from relatives and other band members. It started early getting to Stokesley Showground for 7am (Yes - in the morning!!) Setting up stall for an immediate impact selling a good portion of our stock within the 1st hour alone even in the pouring rain!! Also set up was a Tombola stand raffling off many decent prizes consisting of bottles of very good spirits, chocolate and biscuit selections and other raffle prizes. The band would like to thank Nic and Andrea for successfully planning this event - WELL DONE!!! 19th March 2006 is a day to remember for Marske Brass. After 2 years of non competing we have finally brought together a band and attended the North of England Championships held at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington. After months of hard work, its finally paid off and after a great performance on stage the band walked away with the 3rd prize out of 11 competing bands. After 2 years away from contesting, Marske Brass Band are pleased to announce that we are back with our first contest being the 4th Section Regional Qualifiers held at The Dolphin Centre, Darlington in March 2006. We will be playing Anglian Dances by Alan Fernie, competing for a well deserved place at the 4th Section National Finals of Great Britain 2006 held at Harrogate International Conference Centre towards the end of the year |
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