CONCERT: Friday 19 April 2024

Haslemere Methodist Church
Lion Green
Haslemere
Surrey
GU27 1LD

PROGRAMME

March Wonderful Day Steven Ponsford
The Christ of Calvary Lady Jane Scott
Arr. Sam Creamer
Prayer & Introduction Reverend Dr John Illsley

Congregational Song God’s love is as high as the heavens

Euphonium Solo Pictures of Perfection Linda Howe /Brian Willets
Soloist: Deputy Bandmaster John Hanchett arr. Michael Babb

Cornet Solo My Prayer Sam Creamer Soloist: Principal Cornet Faye Williams

Hymn tune arrangement Deep Harmony Geoffrey Nobes
Servants of God Steven Ponsford

The Lion King Can you feel the love tonight? Elton John/Tim Rice
arr. Frank Bernaerts
Interval

Quick March Triumphant Prospect Olaf Ritman
On the Road Howard Davies
Fantasia for Children James Wright
Featuring Tom Still Eb Bass

Who is he? Benjamin Hanby
Cornet soloist Simon Easton arr. Richard Phillips

Thought Doug Hulme

Prelude on Anastasis Sam Creamer

Thanks

Dance like David Andrew Mackereth

Benediction Thy Tenderest Blessing Stephen Wood

Encore Light up the Sunshine

After several concerts, Newport, Portchester, Warsash and Farlington where we enjoyed the wonderful acoustics of soaring Naves, the Methodist Church at Haslemere provided a very different challenge. The raised circular central dais provided space only for horns. baritones and basses with the remainder of the band spread around at a lower level. Further the band was playing under an octagonal concrete structure.

The problem for a spread band on two levels under an octagonal roof with the eight sides bouncing the sound around was further exacerbated by the sound, at floor level, quickly dissipating leaving many striving to hear what was happening across the Band. Seemingly, it led to some exciting playing, feisty even, at times until the Band settled and produced some stunningly beautiful playing especially in “Who is He” [As always beautifully introduced by Simon’s solo, although this time from within the Band as there was no suitable distant location within the Church], in “Deep Harmony”, conducted by Geoffrey Nobes, and “Thy Tenderest Blessing”. And, as ever displaying their musicianship, Faye Williams and John Hanchett performed deservedly well received solos.

So congratulations to Bandmaster Dan Redhead, our Principal conductor, Deputy BM John Hanchett who conducted “Servants of God” and Geoffrey Nobes who conducted his own composition “Deep Harmony” for dealing with a difficult acoustic with excellent musicianship and no little aplomb.

So what about the audience? This was an evening when everything came together. The Church was packed, with every seat taken, a tribute to the work done in preparation for our visit by the Church folk, the warmth of the response throughout was remarkable and we have never seem so many smiling and happy faces at the end of a concert nor heard so many kind comments.

The concert was obviously thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. It raised some £820: and a delighted Church gave the SA £100 and invited us back again.

“Fantasia for children”

It is said that the inspiration for the Fantasia came when composer Bandmaster James Wright of Sheffield Citadel watched two young boys running around letting off steam, and teasing each other after the Salvation meeting one summer evening.

Despite being intended as fun, it is a challenging piece of music to perform. And it needs a good percussionist who was very much to the fore at Haslemere. So far we have heard from our little band of “kazooists” , a soprano trombone that suddenly appeared in the back row cornets, and the unmistakeable quacking of a duck that seemingly arrived on the cornet benches during the piece.

The Fantasia is built around a number of Sunday School songs:

I
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rains came tumbling down
The rains came down and the floods came up
And the house on the rock stood firm

II

I don’t want to march with the infantry,
Ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery;
I may never zoom o'er the enemy,
But I'm in the Lord's army.
I'm in the Lord's army.
I'm in the Lord's army.

I may never march in the infantry,
Ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery;
I may never zoom o'er the enemy,
But I'm in the Lord's army.

III

Root them out, get them gone.
All the little bunnies in the fields of corn
Envy, Jealousy, Malice, Pride,
They must never in my heart abide.

Be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see.

IV

Building up the Temple,
Building up the Temple of the Lord,
Boys, won’t you help us?
Girls, won’t you help us?
Building up the Temple of the Lord

Derek Dunn

CONCERT: Friday 17 May 2024

South Hayling United Reformed Church
Hollow Lane
Hayling Island
PO11 9EY

CONCERT IN SUPPORT OF HAYLING HOLIDAY LUNCHES

March Collaroy Barrie Gott

The Christ of Calvary Lady Jane Scott
Arr. Sam Creamer

Prayer & Introduction

Congregational Song “God’s love is as high as the heavens”

Euphonium Solo Pictures of Perfection Linda Howe /Brian Willets
Soloist : Deputy Bandmaster John Hanchett arr. Michael Babb

Cornet Solo My Prayer Sam Creamer
Soloist : Principal Cornet Faye Williams

Hymn tune arrangement Deep Harmony Geoffrey Nobes

Servants of God Steven Ponsford

Can you feel the love tonight? Elton John/Tim Rice
The Lion King arr. Frank Bernaerts

Interval

Quick March
Triumphant Prospect Olaf Ritman

Swing Hosanna Ty Watson

Fantasia for Children James Wright

On the Road Howard Davies

Thought Band Sergeant Doug Hulme

Prelude on Anastasis Sam Creamer

Vote of Thanks

Flag of Freedom Bramwell Coles

Benediction
Thy Tenderest Blessing Stephen Wood

Starting with Barrie Gott’s 1976 “Collory” and ending with Bram Coles “Flag of Freedom” written half a century earlier the band played an eclectic programme of music within a cubic shaped church providing yet another challenging acoustic and yet another configuration necessitated by an odd shaped dais. A very gentle and beautifully played “Thy Tenderest Blessing” provided an appropriate Benediction.

Almost instinctively the band adjusted to the environment and once again performed to a standard that drew much appreciation from the audience.

As always, our soloists Faye Williams and John Hanchett were on top form and well received by the audience: and Dave Morris excelled when dealing with more than a few challenging flugel “spots”. Outstanding on the night were our team of bass players. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and they are a team that would enhance any Band.

As well as their widely expressed delight with the concert our friends at the URC and the Baptist organisers of the Hayling Holiday Lunches were grateful that the Band had devoted the concert to raising money, £500, in support of the project. Hayling Island Holiday Lunches.

For many, Hayling Island is a very pleasant and happy place to live and enjoy a comfortable and fulfilling life. But not everyone, for there are more than a few families in financially difficult circumstances who are struggling to make ends meet.

There is a small group of people from the Hayling Island Baptist Church striving to provide lunches during School holidays mainly for the youngsters normally eligible for free School meals. There are some 200 children getting support.

The URC provides the Baptist folk [who have no premises of their own but operate from the Community Centre] with day to day accommodation for the storage of non-perishables.

Our friends at the URC will donate everything raised tonight to help fund the "Hayling Holiday Lunches". As always, the Band will give the concert without charge and will also donate any money raised from the sales of its CDs on the night to the cause.

There will be a collection as you leave after the Concert and we commend to you this very necessary local outreach that deserves your generous support.
[Extract from programme]

Derek Dunn

CONCERT: The Church of the Resurrection, Drayton,

Programme:...

March Wonderful Day Steven Ponsford
The Christ of Calvary Lady Jane Scott
arr. Sam Creamer
Prayer & Introduction: Rev Canon Paul Gully
Euphonium Solo Pictures of Perfection Linda Howe /Brian Willets
Soloist : Deputy Bandmaster John Hanchett arr. Michael Babb
Innaccord Guitar Group
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
La Cumparsita
Romance
Danza – by Antonio Ruiz-Pipo,
Cornet Solo My Prayer Sam Creamer
Soloist : Principal Cornet Faye Williams
Deep Harmony Geoffrey Nobes
Servants of God Steven Ponsford
Interval
Quick March Triumphant Prospect Olaf Ritman
On the Road Howard Davies
Innaccord Guitar Group
Where Is Love – by Lionel Bart
Tango – by Whitworth
Scarborough Fair – arranged by Ian Gammie
I’ll Have to Say I Love You – by Jim Croce
The Darktown Strutters’ Ball – by Shelton Brooks,
Apart from Scarborough Fair, all the guitar pieces
were arranged by Derek Hasted
Who is he? Benjamin Hanby
Soloist: Simon Easton arr. Richard Phillips
Thought: Doug Hulme
Prelude on Anastasis Sam Creamer
Thanks: John Upton
Fantasia for Children James Wright

[Featuring Tom Still Eb Bass]

Benediction Thy Tenderest Blessing Stephen Wood

Whilst not the largest crowd for some time, the congregation was treated to an
evening of good music played to a very high standard. There is no doubt that the Band
enjoys playing in the larger spaces of a church.
The deep smooth sonorous sounds of a great Army Band filling the Nave with the
opening hymn tune gave an indication of what was to follow.
One of the highlights of the evening for the Band was Geoffrey Nobes taking the
baton for his setting of “Deep Harmony”. As always, Faye and John excelled as soloists,
Simon seemingly further away than ever in the far reaches of the church, opened “Who
is He” with immaculate tunefulness and control: just a single instrument, playing a
simple melody, providing a beautiful musical moment or two. And Tom Still had great
fun negotiating James Wright’s deliberate wrong notes in the “Fantasia for Children”
demonstrating his skilful Eb Bass abilities.
We were joined by the guitar group Inaccord who charmed everyone with the
gentle sounds of their beautifully played two sets.
And as always, Dan gently and skilfully guided our way through the programme.
£497 was raised, including a gift from the Band of £55 from the sale of its CDs;
the money is going towards the cost of repairs needed to the roof of the sister Church of
St Andrew’s

The melody was composed by Handel Parker: a talented man. By the age of 10,
he was the lead organist at his local church in Haworth, and he would go on to become a
multi-instrumentalist, hymn and music composer, brass band judge and performer, in a
career that lasted 60 years.
His most famous piece of music was “Deep Harmony”, which is performed by
brass bands across the UK to this day. The piece was synonymous with him, and also
appears on his gravestone in Nab Wood Cemetery in Shipley, the town he is said to have
introduced to music in the C19th
The words, usually used when singing the melody, were written by Isaac Watts in 1719:

Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
To praise Thy Name give thanks and sing,
To show Thy love by morning light,
And talk of all Thy truth at night.
My heart shall triumph in the Lord,
And bless His works, and bless His word:
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine,
How deep Thy counsels, how divine!
And I shall share a glorious part,
When grace has well refined my heart,
And fresh supplies of joy are shed,
Like holy oil to cheer my head.
Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I desired or wished below:
And every power find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy.

On the Road

The suite is from the pen of Howard Davies and incorporates two of the
composer’s original melodies: “On my way to Heaven with my Lord” and “It’s a long way
to travel alone”. The middle section of the suite is a sensitive arrangement of “He’s The
Christ of the human road”
The composer was born to Salvationist parents in November1940 and from the
very start of his life, he was immersed in a musical environment He began studying the
violin at the age of seven and in 1959 he achieved his A.MUS.A (Violin – performing).
Howard Davies entered the Melbourne S.A. Training College in 1964. He served
forty years as an Officer in varied appointments, mainly Corps. He came to England,
when he was appointed to the IHQ Music Editorial Department. He worked there from
1973 to 1976, during which time he played in the ISB. He has also served at the
Melbourne Training College and has held Headquarters appointments in both the NZ and
Australian Southern Territories.
He has been called a “tunesmith”: someone who composes melodies or songs. He
has written dozens of songs (melody and lyrics) for the Army over the years.

INACCORD

Photo: Suzanne Griffiths
Inaccord is a classical guitar ensemble, formed of eight guitarists who enjoy
playing classical guitar together. The ensemble started in December 2017 after the
Hampshire Guitar orchestra - to which the founding members of Inaccord had all
belonged- sadly disbanded when its musical director Derek Hasted, retired. We decided
to start our own, much smaller group to keep playing music together and over time, we
have had more guitarists join the group.
To date, Inaccord have played in a variety of places since we formed. We have
performed at the Portsmouth Music Festival for several years, winning a cup one year
and having the honour of playing for professional guitarists such as the late Arne
Brattland, Christopher Stell (of the Eden Stell Guitar Duo) and Carlos Bonell. We have
been part of two large shared concerts, where we played one half with a second group
playing the other.

The first was in 2019 in memory of a founding member of Inaccord, Avril who
gave our group its name and who sadly passed away earlier that same year. We shared
this concert with the Hayling Island handbell group Bell Canto, which was our first ‘big’
concert which was well received and a fantastic experience.
During Covid our rehearsals stopped, although the group still met online
regularly. Once the restrictions lifted, we were able to meet up again outside, socially
distanced, and usually wearing several coats, a blanket and a woolly hat, which made for
some interesting rehearsals! We shared another concert in the summer of 2023 at the
Emsworth community centre with the Liquorice Stix, a clarinet ensemble, to a packed
hall with standing room only, which was a resounding success. The concert raised money
to help towards the upkeep of the community centre. We have enjoyed performing in
several other concerts as a supporting act, in Hartley Wintney and Alton and have also
played special mini concerts in a local nursing home at Christmas for the residents.
Inaccord meets fortnightly in member’s homes most often in East Hampshire,
with a couple of our members travelling from as far away as Salisbury and London for
rehearsals each time. We don’t have a leader, but run the group collaboratively and
employ a guitar teacher on an occasional basis to assist us with our music and
interpretation, which is great fun. Our rehearsals usually involve a lot of music, laughter,
friendship and most importantly, cake.
We were honoured to play alongside the wonderful Solent Fellowship Band at the
Church of the Resurrection in Drayton on Friday 8th March.
Jenny Wenman Inaccord

A SUCCESSFUL CONCERT!

The band were delighted to put on their first concert since the lockdown, two years ago.

Ironically, despite the slow and careful return to full function there were 9 bandsmen missing on the night due to illness, mainly through covid!

This meant a simplification of the intended programme but nonetheless a well balanced and what appeared to be an enjoyable concert was presented to a large and appreciative congregation at The Church of The Resurrection, Drayton on the 4th March.

There were a couple of unique features to the evening.

Firstly the band presented a memento, of a collage of photographs to young Bandsman Thomas Jones as he was to leave shortly after the concert to join his cruise liner as his first professional contract as a percussionist in the ships band. The band hope to see Tom when he is ashore and between jobs in the future but wish him well as he embarks on his new profession.

Secondly, in recognition of the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine (even as we were listening) and following Russia's invasion of that country, The Band decided to donate all the monies raised from the sale of its CD's on the night to the Salvation Army in Ukraine. We know that the Salvation Army there are fighting a battle of their own against hunger, wounds, homelessness and all the situations associated with a refugee crisis in our continent. The spiritual thought brought by the band also centred on the tragedy and the need to still put God at the forefront of our prayers and to trust in Him.

The concert also raised £387 for the church defibrillators fund. This was in addition to the £240 which was donated to the band through the sale of those CD's for the Salvation Army’s work in Ukraine. The congregation clearly were moved by the bands gesture and thought as many paid more for the CD's than had been asked.

The band give their concerts free of charge in order that the hosts for any concert can raise funds for their chosen cause. Many thousands of pounds having been raised in this way over the years.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to take advantage of this and put on a concert of your own.

SFB IN CONCERT

We are delighted to be giving a concert at Sholing Salvation Army, which has been our home throughout the winter installation of a new heating system in our Portsmouth hall. Friday 1st April at 7.30pm. Southampton Sholing Corps of The Salvation Army. North East Road, Sholing, SO19 8AF. Admission is £5. Tickets in advance from stephengshaw@me.com or in person from Becketts Music Store, 56 Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GD or on the door on the night. We would be delighted to see you if you can make it.