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BrassBeats The ‘Friends of Derwent Brass’ Newsletter

2021 Summer Edition

t last! It is with great

pleasure that I’m able to finally write to you with some positive news, including - wait for it - details of upcoming live events! A very warm welcome to this summer edition of ‘Brass Beats’...

controls and general covid guidance, but also through retaining members. Bands from the grass roots through to the number 1 ranked brass band in the world have seen players leave through changes in circumstances and perhaps also changes in life’s priorities - I guess a global pandemic can have that kind of effect! Thankfully changes at Derwent Brass, whilst significant, have also been balanced with a selection of new appointments which makes for very exciting times indeed. Firstly we were sad to say goodbye to Adam Rutter who had been the band’s Solo Euphonium for some 16 years.

Back to Band

Throughout the pandemic, we have always put the safety and health of our members and their families at the forefront of every decision. From the start of the year some bands were trying to find ways to safely return to music making, be that in small ensembles, playing outside, or in large halls, etc. On May 17th the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport finally confirmed that brass bands could return to rehearsals, but with a wide variety of restrictions in place. However for us and our setup, we felt it best to stick to our own risk assessments, review what was happening in our local areas and wait until stage 4 of the restriction road map had passed so we could return to band properly, i.e. in our own setting with all of our members onboard. Finally, Thursday July 22nd came along and following a 16 month hiatus the band were finally able to safely get back together. Risk assessments were renewed, guidance documents produced, jabs in arms and everybody tested prior to rehearsal. There was a palpable sense of anxiety before that first note was blown in unison - what was it going to sound like?! Never before in Derwent Brass history had there ever been a break for more than the typical 2 or 3 weeks over Christmas! Thankfully it sounded good and to hear that full band tone once more was a heart warming moment - and no doubt a huge sense of relief for Jack! It is still a challenging time, what with the ‘pingdemic’ and isolations making rehearsal planning more difficult, but the thrill of live music and sharing quality time in the company of friends is certainly more than making up for it.

Bums on Seats!

We have seen first hand that for many ‘amateur’ organisations, including several brass bands, returning back to the arts following Covid has proven very difficult, not just because of the safety

We paid homage to Adam and his commitment to the organisation during our online AGM evening (complete with emotional video, speeches and parting gift!) and at the same time to Richard Simnor who had also put in a long shift on Baritone. Personal circumstances for the two, plus long distance travel for Richard following a house move, meant that sadly they felt they could no longer commit to the band. As the proverb goes - ‘bad things come in threes’, and shortly after this time we were also sad to lose Ben Armstrong on EEb Tuba, again for several personal reasons. These three lads were fantastic players and characters in the band and will be missed no doubt - we wish them all the very best in their future endeavors and I’m sure it won’t be too long before our paths cross once again. Balancing this out with some warm welcomes then, the first of which goes to Abbey Watson. Abbey is a very talented young horn player who has helped the band out on many occasions in the past, including playing for the band at the British Open Spring Festival. Abbey, who passed Grade 8 tenor horn whilst studying a-level music and has toured with bands such as ’The Open Road’ joins us from Gresley Colliery Band onto Second Horn.

BrassBeats Replacing Richard Simnor on Baritone we welcome David Holling who is a highly regarded and recognised brass musician. David holds a Bachelor of Music with first class honors and has played Baritone in some of the country’s finest bands, including Sellers Engineering, Desford Colliery and Rhodian Brass. He’s also been awarded the Harry Mortimer Award for exceptional brass studies and is a highly regarded conductor and published composer and arranger of music. He recently trained at the Llangunlo School in music instrumental repairs and has now embarked on his new career from his home workshop. Also joining alongside David is his wife Mandy Holling who is another exceptionally talented musician and cornet player. Mandy joins the band on Repiano Cornet, with Ben Jowett making the move from Rep onto Assistant Principal in the absence of Izzy Jepson (formerly Rutherford) who is away from the band having recently become a Mum. Mandy brings a wealth of experience having played with many top bands and joins from the rep seat at Carlton Main who are currently ranked 9th in the world. She has previously played Principal Cornet with many bands including the likes of Thoresby Colliery, Strata, Oddfellows and more. David and Mandy met at university and were both students of the famous cornet player Philip McCann. Bringing even further depth and talent to the cornet section is Tom Wallage who joins us from the Assistant Principal Cornet seat at NW Championship Section band Accerler8 (formerly known as TCTC Group Band and Co-op Crewe) onto Solo Cornet. Prior to playing for Acceler8, Tom also played Solo Cornet with Midland’s contenders Hathern Band for some 5 years, during which time he qualified as a vet with first class honors - that will be Dr Tom from now on then, (or rather Dr. Thomas Wallage BVMedSci BVM BVS(Hons) MRCVS to be precise!). And we aren’t finished there! Also making a full time welcome return to the band is Sion Hathaway. Many of you will have seen Sion at the odd concert or contest here and there, but we were delighted to receive communication from Sion that he wished to up his commitment to the band and return as a full time member. Sion is a highly qualified and fantastic musician - previously Principal Euphonium with the William Davis band - and brings both experience and great character to the band.

birth to baby Louis back in June 2020, but then went on to become a chartered engineer a year later! Now holding a masters degree in engineering, a masters in business, 5 professionals exams in systems engineering and an advanced diploma in Railways Control Engineering she is quite the brain box extraordinaire. Both Ben Jowett and James Emberley have also made additions to their respective [Emily and Louis] families over this Covid period and we wish all the young children related to the band all the very best for the future!

The Big C

No, not Cornet! We are always in awe and support of our fellow members and friends during troubled times, so it’s difficult to bring bad news, but with bad news there can be good news too. We’ve experienced two such stories during the lockdown period. Dai Roberts (Soprano) and Steve Bottomley (Tuba) have done battle against two differing cancers. We’ll spare the details, but what we can share is the amazing news that both have come through the trauma of surgeries, chemotherapy and subsequent follow ups, and have been given the fantastic news of being all clear! As both Dai and Steve have acknowledged: “We thank you to all those that knew, our families, our close friends and most of all, our wonderful wives who have been nurses, carers, cooks, and naturally offering the full 24 hour service.”

We hope to bring you news on replacements for remaining Tuba and Euphonium vacancies soon, but for sure we are enjoying inviting different friends and some old faces down in the meantime! [Sion is pictured below left alongside Justine Reid, Steve Hargreaves, Steve Jones from the Cory Band, Adam Bloor and Elliot Davis]

Race for Equality Something In The Water

As we just mentioned above Izzy (now Jepson) not only managed to get married to her partner Harry, but also gave birth Charles Henry Jepson (8th March 2021) during covid which is quite the achievement. Another big achiever is Emily Bramble who not only managed to give

“A challenged world is an alert world. From challenge comes change. And from change, comes transformation.” As many of our regular followers will know, Derwent Brass are huge supporters of Brass for Africa and are advocates of all the fantastic work they do. Aside from being the first english brass band to make a gold pledge to their brass band scheme, we have organised our own fundraising events, promote their good work and are generally

Leading the way in brass band music and entertainment... partnered to them as a charity, alongside our other charitable initiatives. Recently Brass for Africa started a new campaign #ChooseToChallenge. The goal was to bring equality to 50 disadvantaged girls and young women, in some of the world's most impoverished communities, in one of the most challenging years. In the East African country of Uganda, the threat of COVID-19, a soaring rate of out-of-school girls and an escalating rise in female unemployment, have made the need for life-skills more essential than ever. It costs £350 to provide 1 girl with music and life-skills education for a year, so the overall target was to fundraise £17,500, through donations that will have a direct impact. Cat Johnston, the band's Flugel Horn player, is no stranger to fitness, regularly running and cycling considerable distances. So, as part of the charity's 'Race for Equality' campaign, Cat set about preparing for a marathon which took place back on Sunday 11th April - the Marathon De Tissington - a grueling 26 mile journey from Thorpe to Cromford.

The Coronavirus situation in Africa remains, like many other geographies, unclear and our thoughts are with all in such turbulent and unsure times. As usual, if you wish to offer any support, require more information, or for anything else, please contact Rob directly on rob@brassforafrica.org or (mobile) 07973 116653.

Library Days

It’s a thankless task being a brass band librarian. So much to organise, sort and arrange and it’s an ever-evolving collection of music. One thing these Covid lockdown periods have allowed us though was some much needed time on our library, catching up on those pieces that “we will file later” and making sure sets are full and pads thinned out, etc. Our library is home to over 3500 pieces of music so when we do take the time to ratify our database it is a major undertaking. Cue several weekends spent by Cat (Librarian), Graham (Chairman), Justine (Percussion), Chris (Band Manager) and support days from the likes of Jenny, Emily, Rachel, Chris, Malcolm and more so we can get the job done and make the way for no doubt many new works as we get back into the swing of things.

Not only did Cat smash her PB with a time of 3:50:58, averaging 8:49 per mile, but she also toppled the fundraising target of £400 with a massive £910! James Trott MBE, the Executive Director and Founder of Brass for Africa commented: " A brilliant achievement Cat! Everyone at Brass for Africa is very impressed and very grateful!" Well done to Cat for a great performance and another donation to the fantastic organisation that is Brass for Africa!

Berlin Recognition for Topowa

Mental Health Charter

In the last episode of BrassBeats we bought you news that “TOPOWA! Never Give Up” featuring Brass for Africa, recently won the Best Music Documentary award at the prestigious Raindance Film Festival in London, UK.

The band are proud to have recently endorsed a ‘Mental Health in Brass Bands Charter’ put together by ‘Mode For’ - a trio of businesses focusing on music publication, event planning and coaching prioritised around wellbeing and mental health.

Since then the film has gone on to win ‘Best Feature Documentary’ at the Berlin Independent Film Festival 2021! Featuring the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Alison Balsom, it is a truly inspiring and powerful watch from the Katwe slums in Uganda to the streets of London as the Brass for Africa teacher band prepare for an unforgettable experience that will transform their lives forever.

The charter is aimed at bringing individuals and organisations in the global brass band movement together in support of mental health awareness and prioritising protective factors and wellbeing by creating a mentally healthy environment in brass bands and organisations.

Click into the below to view the trailer.

Sitting behind this, the band have launched a ‘Positive Mental Health’ policy with an aim to promote positive mental health for every member of the band, to be pursued using supportive and recognised methods. Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of mental health and as a result it is also our aim to recognise and respond to mental ill health too with the guidance of our safeguarding and mental health officers and first aiders.