Devizes Town Band

On Sunday, September 7, Devizes Town Band performed it’s first “out of town” concert at Royal Victoria Park in Bath.

The band will be presenting a concert on 20th October, 2008 to support the Royal British Legion 2008 Poppy Appeal. Anybody wishing to advertise in this year’s programme should contact Hilary Hams or Julie Bennett  (jnsonbnntt@mac.com) prior to 4th October. We offer:

• 1/4 page ads for £10
• 1/2 page at £15
• Full page for £20.

Last year’s show sold out and we raised £500 for the Poppy Appeal.

Each year, Devizes Town Band selects local charities to support throughout the year. The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a new cause for us during the 2008-2009 season. This is a vital resource in our community that relies on public support to provide £350,000 each year to keep it running. We look forward to seeing you at the Marston Open Air Hymns service, at 6:00 PM on Sunday the 3rd of August. The offering will support the band and the Air Ambulance.

Devizes Town Band held its annual general meeting on the 9th of June, 2008. During the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the band raised £1,700 for local charities (with a special focus on the Devizes and District Opportunity Centre), as well as investing substantially in new music and uniforms. Highlights of the year included the second annual St. George’s Day Concert and first Poppy Appeal concert. Kelvin Nash was re-elected as Chairman, and Paul Jakeman was elected to join the committee as Librarian. Victoria Winchcombe has stepped down as Publicity Officer after her recent move. The chair offered special thanks to Vicky for her contribution to the band in recent years. The band voted to support the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Devizes Guides Building Fund during the 2008-2009 season.  

Devizes Town Band has raised £600 for the Mayor’s Appeal at its second St George’s Day Concert.

Due to the band’s growing popularity the event was held at the Corn Exchange. Gazette reporter, Lewis Cowen, was compere.

Featured for the first time at Devizes Town Band Concerts, Trombonist Becky White captivated the audience with a rendition of ‘Autumn Leaves’.

Other items included Verdi’s ‘Nabucco’, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Memory’ from ‘Cats’ and Khachaturian’s ‘Adagio from Spartacus’, better known as the theme from ‘The Onedin Line’.

Members of the Devizes Light Operatic Society made a guest appearance with a selection of songs from the shows, accompanied by Victoria Winchcombe.

The finale of the first half gave the percussion section a chance to shine with a rousing Tudor tune attributed to Henry VIII called ‘Pastime with Good Company’.

After the interval the band celebrated St George’s Day in ‘proms’ style. ‘The British Grenadiers’ featured flutes and drums, and the band’s B flat bass player, Philip Hiscock, lead the audience in ‘There’ll Always Be an England’. Flags were waved and hooters blown as the audience sang ‘Rule Britannia’, ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ lead by DLOS members.

The band has a new web site and if you’re reading this then you’re already there. It’s WordPress based with a theme heavily modified to suit the purpose of the site and hopefully the style and colours of the band. This should make it much easier to keep the site up to date as content can now be added by different band members as appropriate.

If you have any questions about the web site please email me or any of the band members listed on the Contact page.