I have been in several bands but never one where there is no ‘tea break’ in the middle…until I joined Ebbw Valley Brass. Because we have only have one band rehearsal a week the maestro, Gareth “do you reckon’ it’s hot in here or is it me?” Ritter, gives us a damned good thrashing with […]
After setting up the Nezzyonbrass website I started to get very itchy feet. At first I assumed it was a horrific dose of athletes foot but then it dawned on me I needed to play in a band again. I last played in 2007 for Newbridge conducted by Paul Holland and have since been taxiing […]
For those of you who have stumbled upon this web site and are wondering what is a Brass Band?, I will do my best to enlighten you and put in it layman’s terms. A brass band consists of groups of brass instruments of various sizes and tones. At the top and squeaky end is the […]
10 quick fire quiz questions to test your brass band knowledge (Answers at the foot of the page) Cloudcatcher Fells, composed by John McCabe for the 1985 National Finals of Great Britain comprises of four movements, played continuously. The piece describes several mountainous places in the Lake District in north West England. ‘Angle Tarn’ is […]
The Good the Mad and the Ugly! It takes a lot of guts (or insanity) to take up the baton, especially on stage at a brass band contest. Hours of hard slog in the band room for weeks before a contest magically conveying their interpretation off the score into the brains of the players. Getting […]
In the Nezzy interview Rodney Newton gives his slant on brass bands and other musical experiences in his long and varied career with some quick fire questions… If you were sent to a desert Island, what is the last thing on earth that you would want to take with you and why? A mobile phone […]
10 quick-fire quiz questions to test your brass band knowledge (Answers at the foot of the page) William Rimmer made an arrangement of the overture ‘Ruy Blas’ but who composed it? In 1971 Edward Gregson wrote the test piece ‘Essay’ – Which of the following is not a movement from this work? Monologue Epigram Soliloquy […]
Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they were? The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker, They all sailed out to sea, ‘Twas enough to make a man stare. This ancient but well known rhyme is believed to originate from a children’s annual called ‘Christmas Box’, published in London in 1798 – ‘Bagatelles […]
Hungarian March, Carnival Romain, Beatrice and Benedict, Judges of the Secret Court and the Corsair are all wonderful compositions by Hector Berlioz transcribed for brass band. You will have all heard and probably played these pieces at some point in your banding career. But what do you know about the master of the romantic period […]
A cautionary tale for ambitious brass bands Your band has been in the doldrums for years down in the bargain basement of the banding world. It’s the same faithful faces week in week out the loyally turn up to rehearsal come rain or shine. You have been sat in this band for years and wish […]