the band of the royal british legion...

The Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch Magazine Issue No. 1 - February 2013

© The Royal British Legion 2013 | Registered Charity No 219279 | 199 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1AA.

THE BAND OF THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION CHRISTCHURCH NEWSLETTER

WEGOOD YEAR IN 2012,

JOIN US TO MAKE 2013 EVEN BETTER!

FIND OUT ABOUT SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF

THE BAND IN THE MEET US SECTION

READ ABOUT SOME OF THE PAST YEARS EVENTS

IN OUR REVIEW OF 2012.

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE BAND, LIKE US AND FOLLOW US FIND OUT HOW ON THE WEBSITE:

ROYALBRITISHLEGIONBAND.CO.UK

THE FUTURE OF THE BAND

We are excited about the new year, especially as we have a new

Band Director, Nick Jarvis. We are looking at several new pieces of

music over the next few months, ready to play for our first

performances. We also have some new faces in the management of

the band, some of whom you can read about in the Meet Us section of

this publication.

A MESSAGE TO OUR SUPPORTERS

This is an exclusive magazine; it is intended as an online document.

We are doing our part to reduce the amount of waste paper in the

world. However if you have signed up and do not have access to email

or a computer we will also distribute the document by physical media.

We will, after some time, make the publication public to help with the

bands media footprint.



MEET SOME OF OUR BAND MEMBERS AND

FIND OUT SOME MORE ABOUT THEM!

MEET OUR COMMITTEE...

NICK JARVIS, BAND DIRECTOR

Recently appointed to the position of Band Director, Nick Jarvis has been active in music in Dorset for the past ten years and elsewhere before. He is building on his experience as assistant conductor of several local amateur orchestras. "It was an honour to be asked to direct the band of an organisation as prestigious as the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch. I am really looking forward to working with a great bunch of people and making quality music that is enjoyed both by players and audiences alike" - Nick Jarvis, 2013 Nick has previously been a cornet player with the band, as a soloist at many concerts including the Christchurch Festival of Remembrance in 2012. Nick started playing the Trumpet at the age of 10, moving onto the cornet as an adult. He has a wide range of musical experience including as an orchestral trumpet player in Dorset and Wessex Youth Orchestras, Southampton University Orchestra and more recently as a player with several local orchestras. Despite a busy set of musical commitments, Nick also works as a Head of Chemistry at a local secondary school.

More recently, Nick has been a member of Bournemouth Concert Brass working under Major David Barringer of the Army Corps of Music and Bill Willis, a successful local conductor, composer and arranger. Playing in such an environment has given Nick a wealth of experience to bring to his new role at Christchurch. Success with Bournemouth has involved playing at the Brass Band National Finals (involving a performance at the Royal Albert Hall) in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2011 this included an outstanding 2nd place finish at the First Section in 2011. Beyond the world of brass bands and orchestras, Nick has been a concerto soloist at the St.Stephen's Music Festival. He has gained extensive experience working as a pit orchestra player for productions at the Regent Centre, Bournemouth Pavillion and at numerous local musical productions; including Hairspray, Cabaret, Les Miserables and most of the Rodger's and Hammerstein musicals.



JENNIFER TINGAY, BAND CHAIRPERSON

Jennifer passed the "mouthpiece and hose" test to play baritone with a local youth band at the age of 11. From basic baritone Jennifer matured onto euphonium, having no formal lessons and learning from books and the people around her. The young Jennifer performed at the Albert Hall, NEC, Battle of the Flowers in Jersey and at the Winchester Barracks of the Royal Green Jackets. On leaving Bournemouth for university Jennifer had to give up banding and for the next ten years forgot everything she had learnt. Returning to the area in 2004 she also rejoined the band to reignite old acquaintances and have another go. "Playing with of the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch is what it's all about for me. To be able say thank you to those that have served our country. I have always attended a Remembrance service and the band leading the parade through Christchurch on Remembrance Sunday gives me an overwhelming sense of pride." - Jennifer Tingay

LAURA MORGAN, BAND SECRETARY

Laura started playing Clarinet at the age of 9 and joined a local youth marching band, at 15 she progressed to playing the Saxophone within the same youth band. Laura travelled throughout Europe with this band and also took part in many competitions. Laura was one of the founding members when the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch was established, in 2006.She has since taken part in many different concerts and performances with the British Legion Band, including trips to Belgium and Germany. This has prompted Laura to take a more active role within the management of the band, drawing on her skills from her working life as owner and manager of a florist in the Bournemouth and Christchurch area. "I consider it to be a privilege to be part of an organisation such as the Royal British Legion, with its aims and ambitions of looking out for ex-service personnel through many difficult situations." - Laura Morgan, 2013



SIMON TRANTER, BAND TREASUER

Simon is one of the younger members of the band has been with the us for nearly a year and currently holds of position of lead clarinet as well as Treasurer. He also performs for other wind bands and also is working towards professional grading. Simon has been playing clarinet since the age of 8 and has a vast amount of experience playing in full bands since 12 which has given him a range of experience playing a variety of parts. He enjoys the technical challenges and opportunities to teach that being section leader can provide. The role of Treasurer is a more recent string to his bow. This has left him ensuring the continuous financial stability of the band. He holds a variety of bookkeeping and accountancy qualifications and currently is a member of the association of accounting technicians which is why the band felt he is capable of handling the role. ‘I greatly look forward to the coming musical year for the band.’ – Simon Tranter, 2013

ROB JAMIESON, BAND QUATERMASTER

Rob has been a band member for 4 years and has taken on the role of Quartermaster to keep track of the instruments and equipment that the band owns. He has a military background and uses this knowledge to keep the players’ uniforms up to standard. Rob plays the cornet and is a dependable member of this section on all practises and performances. Rob is one of our players who have taught himself his instrument. Teaching yourself requires more dedication than having lessons, but this practise is quite common in our band.



JAQUE DURRANT, YOUTH REP

Jaque’s role has within the committee will develop as time goes on, along with George he has been a major developer with the newsletter that you are currently reading, and hopefully enjoying! He is a very accomplished percussionist and has already played in, and paraded with 4 different bands. He mainly plays the side drum, which is a snare drum, but also changes instruments when called for in more traditional concert pieces. When performing around Christchurch he has been known to encourage audience participation, by weaving around the crowds with a tambourine and a smile. When he made his first trip to Germany in 2011 he was introduced to the Kochen Clan Pipe Band, who taught him their very complicated “Drum Salute” and performed this to an audience of over 6000 people at the ‘Twinning Festival’ in Aalen, Germany.

GEORGE WEST, PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR)

Like Nick, George works in a local Secondary School in Christchurch as an IT Technician. He was chosen for his role on the committee as he has experience with both web and graphic design. George is another percussionist, although not as accomplished as Jaque having only played in the RBL Band for 2 years. Before joining this band he had performed with the 171 ATC band, as a Bugle, Side and Bass Drum player. He had performed at the Remembrance Concert in 2010 with the ATC band and in the latest (2012) with the RBL Band. “I was very pleased to be asked to be a part of the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch, the community aspect of the band appealed to me. Several members of my family and friends have been involved with the services and I am pleased to help in any way that I can.” – George West, 2013



THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS...

READ ABOUT SOME OF THE PAST YEARS

EVENTS IN OUR REVIEW OF 2012.

2012 - What a year! Both for the band and for the country, with the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee we have been celebrating our Britishness more than any other year in recent history. The band has been very busy also with the year, from the success of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic in spring to the Festival of Remembrance in November. Jennifer Tingay writes about the Teddy Bears’ Picnic:

If you go down to the quay today you’re sure of a big surprise.

If you go down to the quay today you’d better go in disguise.

For every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain, because

Today's the day the RBL Band have their picnic.

Picnic time for teddy bears,

the little children are having a lovely time today.

Watch them, with their mums and dads, and see them picnic on a Sunday. See them dance with granddad.

They love to play and shout, they never have any cares.

At one o'clock the band will play a grand selection of popular songs

and the Nana’s will sing along.

Every flautist, that's been good, is sure of a treat today

there are lots of wonderful rhythms to beat and wonderful tunes to play

Up on the stand, you’ll find the band they’ll trill and frill as long as they will

'Cause that's the way the Clarinets have their picnic

Picnic time for tuba players, the little tuba players are having a lovely

time today. watch them, crash the cymbals too,

and see them bang on their big bass drum. See them gaily gad about. They love to play and toot;

they never have French horn players. At four o'clock their conductor promises

He’ll take them down the pub because there are tired little cornet players.

If you go down to the quay today,

you’d better not go alone. It's lovely down in the woods today,

but on the quay they’ve got a trombone. For every bear that ever there was

will gather there for certain, because Today's the day the RBL Band have their

picnic

We already have planed the next one, see the upcoming events section to plan you band year!

Calendar of events 2012

February 5th ATC Parade

March 8th ATC Presentation

April 22nd Bournemouth St George's

Day parade 28th Old George Mall Salisbury

May 20th Teddy Bears Picnic

June 2nd & 3rd Queens Diamond

Jubilee Celebrations 10th Burton Veterans Parade

July 14th Olympic Torch Relay

August 4th Alderney Hospital Fete 18th Christchurch Carnival

25th Milford on Sea Carnival

October 27th Poppy Appeal Launch

November 4th Remembrance Concert at

Regent Centre 11th Remembrance Parade 24th Bournemouth Pavilion

December 8th Alderney Hospital Carols

8th Highcliffe Carnival 22nd Christmas Concert at Legion



In June we were pleased to host the Kochen Clan Pipe Band from Aalen, Germany who performed around Christchurch over the Diamond Jubilee weekend. The bands performed at a Jubilee concert, which included flag waving and a sing-along of ‘Songs of the Forties’ and at a Jubilee Celebration on Christchurch Quay with several other local bands.

Many local people enjoyed this event:- 'It is very good to see such a community event happening in the centre of Christchurch. The stalls and music here is a brilliant mix for all the family, it's a shame this can't happen every year.' - A Christchurch Resident The band also played outside the Mayors Parlour on the 14th July for the Olympic Flame Relay as it passed through Christchurch, this also included

other acts such as The Funky Little Choir as the torch made its way further into the New Forest.

We performed at The Old George Mall in Salisbury twice this year, raising funds for the band. We were delighted to be helped out by several other local bands that joined us in this event. We played several ‘sets’ of music over about 4 hours, with varying genres of music played. By far the most popular piece of music with the younger members of the audience was Mary Poppins Selection and the theme from Wallace and Grommet.



In August we were pleased to be leading Christchurch Carnival, from the Civic Centre through the Highstreet and to the quay. This was where some of our new pieces of music for the march were performed for the first time, after we had reached the Bandstand on Christchurch Quay we were conducted by both the Mayor and his wife in front of the large crowd. November is an important and busy time for the band, being part of the Royal British Legion we try to help with the Poppy Appeal throughout the year, raising both awareness and funds.

We helped launch the Poppy Appeal in Saxon Square along with the RBL Branch members, the local Cadet forces, the Royal British Legion Bikers and local Standards. This was extremely successful and included a small parade from The Priory to Saxon Square.

The Remembrance Concert was incredibly moving, with excerpts of aircraft engines surrounding the audience throughout ‘633 Squadron’. We were pleased to welcome

residents from the Armed Forces Memorial Homes, on Castle Lane to 'The Boys of the Old Brigade' along with the local Standard Bearers.

At Christmas the band had several events, starting with playing at the Pavilion in Bournemouth while there was a craft fare was happening. We had our own Christmas Concert at the British Legion Ballroom which was very successful.

We also had a very busy day on the 8th December as we had a carol concert at Alderney Hospital, following on from the summer concert. We then went on to march in the Highcliffe Christmas Carnival in the evening, which was an experience being in the dark. Excluding the percussion section there were some interesting solutions to seeing the music with no light. Despite this there were lots of comments from the crowd saying that the band led the carnival brilliantly and that they were pleased to see the band involved.



PLAN YOUR YEAR AND SUPPORT THE

BAND IN 2013.

THIS IS THE YEAR

As you have just learned all about the exciting last year, I’m sure that you want to know where to catch up

with the band in 2013. Use the band Facebook page to keep completely up to date with the events.

April

o Saturday 27th - Old George Mall - Salisbury

May

o Tuesday 7th - Night at the Movies - Ballroom, Royal British Legion, Christchurch

o Sunday 12th - Teddy Bears Picnic - Christchurch Bandstand

July

o Tuesday 30th – Thursday 1st August – New Forest Show

August

o Saturday 17th – Christchurch Carnival

September

o Saturday 7th - Old George Mall - Salisbury

October

o Saturday 26th - Poppy Appeal Launch

o Thursday 31st – Sunday 2nd November – Trip to Belgium

November

o Tuesday 5th - Armistice Concert - Ballroom, Royal British Legion, Christchurch

o Saturday 9th - Armistice Concert - Ferndown Royal British Legion

o Sunday 10th - Remembrance Parade, Christchurch

December

o Tuesday 17th - Christmas Carols at the Legion - Ballroom, Royal British Legion, Christchurch

We also are possibly playing at the New Forest Show and are planning a trip to Belgium for the band and

the Fanfare Club. Please feel free to ask our Band Secretary more about these events, as we are looking to

take non-playing members to Belgium with us.



WE ALWAYS LIKE YOUR SUPPORT...

CONTACT INFORMATION

JOIN OR SUPPORT THE BAND IN 2013.

If you can help us, either by joining us as a playing member or supporting us in another way, we always appreciate what time you can give to us.

If you feel that you can help us please get in contact with our Band Secretary, Laura Morgan, in one of the

following ways:

Telephone: 07876211399 or 01202 466932

Email: [email protected]

Write to us at:

Secretary of the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch Royal British Legion Club

61-63 Bargates Christchurch

Dorset BH23 1QE

We are also looking for more budding journalists to contribute to the subsequent issues of this magazine, if you want to contribute to this then please contact us in the same way as shown above, adding the subject

of Magazine Contribution.

Most importantly ‘like’ our page on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and share our information with your friends and followers.

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you at more events over the next year and into the future.

See our Night at the Movies concert in May for our next major event.

mailto:[email protected]



THANKS TO ALL INVOLVED

We would like to thank all who have helped make this evening as successful as it is.

Our new and guest players for joining us in 2013.

The support of our continuing players.

The Royal British Legion Christchurch Branch and Club.

The previous and current committee members.

Band Director Nick Jarvis.

And most importantly you for coming and supporting us, we hope to see as many as you in the future.

The Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch

Night At the MoviesA night of music from stage and screen. Including music by John Williams, Lionel Burt and Meredith

Willson.

Dress for the red carpet.

TTuesday 7th May at the Christchurch Royal British Legion. To book your seat contact the

Band Secretary on 01202 466932.

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