LOCAL BRASS BAND SCOOP PRESTIGIOUS TITLE

Members and supporters of THE THORESBY COLLIERY BAND, based in Edwinstowe, were screaming Hallelujah on Sunday 24^th January as they convincingly won a major national title. 

The event was the Butlins Mineworkers Brass Band Championships, with over 4000 bandsmen and women attending the event at the holiday camp in Skegness now being heralded as the largest brass band competition in the world.Their unrestrained joy was based on the fact that they had been named as the ENTERTAINMENT CHAMPIONS of the weekend, and with that title came the huge Butlins Trophy and a cheque for one thousand pounds.

The mastermind behind the award-winning 25 minute programme was the band’s new Principal Conductor, Melvin White. Each of the six pieces used was new to the band and required a huge amount of effort from Melvin and the Resident Conductor/Principal Cornet player of the band, Peter Collins. An innovative version of Ravel’s “Bolero” was the starting point, with the band making its way onto the stage in small groups as the music grew to a forceful ending. This was followed by a big band classic “Spain” by Chick Corea before Peter gave a stunning rendition of Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No 5” inspired by trumpet legend Rafael Mendez. “Mother of God, Here I Stand” by John Tavener turned out to be a real gem according to the discerning members of the audience and brass band aficionados alike. It featured a quartet of the Thoresby’s principal players, led by Flugel Horn player Andrew Bevan, in a simple yet beautiful arrangement of a piece of music recently brought to prominence by Simon Cowell’s latest discovery, Faryl Smith. This segued straight into highlights from the Finale of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony before the band delivered their “brilliant finale”.

As the compere (Frank Renton of BBC Radio 2’s Listen To The Band fame) talked briefly betweens numbers, 14 of the players slipped off stage to re-emerge 90 seconds later as 10 monks and 4 nuns (not all of the appropriate gender). The remaining 13 players then launched into the “Hallelujah Chorus”, from Handel’s Messiah. And now for the killer punch – instead of breaking into song, the ecclesiastically garbed 14, apparently from a silent religious sect, proceeded to hold up the appropriate words on prompt cards. As the piece developed, the relative high notes and low notes were represented by the height at which the cards were held, proving something of a challenge for the poor little fella in position number 9 who found himself jumping high to match his colleagues. Then more mirth ensued as the words changed and there was more card shuffling than at an evening with Paul Daniels. Wrong cards creating gobbledygook sentences, upside down words, wrong heights, more jumping and a final Hallelujah that saw the monks about turn and wiggle their bottoms at the crowd (and the judges!) added to the hilarity and as the crowd went wild with rapturous applause, the thought was planted firmly in the minds of the Redcoats who were judging the entertainment aspect – Thoresby Colliery Band were the Butlins Entertainment Champions.

Following the announcement of the results, Melvin White said he was “thrilled for the band. It was great to be involved in a ground-breaking, multi-dimensional performance that entertained thousands of people. There were moments of great beauty but also of side-splitting humour.” Thoresby know that the work doesn’t end there though. Whilst their overall finishing place of eighth was several places higher than the current rankings would have forecast, they have their sights set on more lofty goals with a hectic contest programme for the year. They are also hoping that the title of Entertainment Champions might lead to some more concert bookings both locally and nationally.