Sunday afternoon band rehearsal for our Autumn concert

We all came together for a band rehearsal on Sunday 29 September to practise for our upcoming Autumn concert. One of our flute players, Dom, describes the afternoon – and of course there was a social to follow!…

To many, Sunday is known as the day of rest. Not the case however, for the Bournemouth and District Concert Band last weekend. There is no rest for the wicked and certainly not for the most wicked concert band on the south coast – ‘wicked’ in the 90’s/early 2000s sense of fun and freshness, of course.

Sunday afternoon band rehearsal in school hall

Getting some practise in for our Autumn concert

In preparation for our upcoming concert on Saturday 12 October at St Thomas’ Church, the band coalesced on the day of rest, fired up and ready to blow. All-day rehearsals are rare for the band however, given our exciting, brand-spanking new programme put together by our Musical Director & Conductor Simon Nicholls; we’re putting in the work here at the BDCB!

‘G’ joined our band rehearsal

Our brass and percussion section at band rehearsal in school hall

Our brass and percussion section practising for the afternoon

We were also very pleased to be joined by Gwilym Davies (just ‘G’ for short!). ‘G’ is a talented colleague of Simon’s from the Royal Marines Band Service. He joins us to further his experience conducting bands and will be conducting a couple of pieces at the concert. He is also serving as a welcome addition to the brass section with his bass trombone!

Despite starting a few colleagues short due to vehicular congestion following an unexpected and seemingly spontaneous motorbike festival near our rehearsal space, the day was very successful. While many of the new pieces are challenging, we had a great time getting our hands dirty and cannot wait for the pieces to be heard. Thankfully, the day was punctuated by tea and cake breaks to make the experience slightly less intense; a good time was had by all!

Time to socialise

To round off the day, many of the band enjoyed what is universally coined and without exception, a ‘cheeky Nando’s’. A just reward for a hard day’s work!

The concert is set to be a terrific affair with plenty of rich new pieces to look forward to and some elegant solos to boot.

By Dom on flute