Exciting times are afoot for the Aldbourne Band! After winning the West of England Championships, the band are busy preparing in earnest for both the British Open at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall.
The band are delighted that dynamic Belgian conductor Ivan Meylemans joins them for the second time, to lead their British Open performance. Meylemans is one of the most exciting conductors in Europe in recent years and brings with him a wealth of experience leading orchestras and brass bands across the continent. He is currently chief conductor of the Zeeland Orchestra in Middleburg (Netherlands) and Professor of Orchestral Conducting at Belgium’s finest conservatory, the LUCA School of Arts. After leading the band to a fantastic 9th place in 2019, the band are really excited to work under Meylemans again as they prepare for their performance of Edward Gregson’s ‘The World Rejoicing’.
To complete the international flavour, the band are also thrilled to welcome Erik Janssen who will fly in to take the band for the National Brass Band Championships in October. Janssen is also a leading figure in the conducting world and has had over the years highly successful associations with Carlton Main Frickley Colliery and Brassband Schoonhoven. Throughout his career, Janssen has performed and conducted worldwide, and in recent years has turned also to adjudication, recently sitting in the ‘box’ for the set test piece at the 2022 European Championships in Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The band are really looking forward to working with ‘The Flying Dutchman’ (as Janssen is sometimes known!) on Peter Graham’s Hyperlink.
Glyn Williams, as our resident Musical Director, will lead all the preparations in advance of Ivan and Erik – a formidable team to lead us forward in 2022!
The playing team remains very stable, but the band would like to welcome Cerys Hughes to the flugel position.
Mark Yarham stood down from the flugel seat earlier in the summer, after a distinguished number of years as a key soloist, and all in the band wish him the very best. A recent graduate from the RWCMD, Cerys comes to the band after two years at the City of Cardiff Band. Cerys would like to place on record how grateful she is to Chris Bond and for the opportunities he gave her at City of Cardiff. She wishes them all the best in the future, and commented on her new position “I was thrilled to be asked to join the Aldbourne Band, it’s a band making all the right moves and something I’m really looking forward to being a part of”.
Ian Keene, ex-Chairman of the band, has also taken a step back from the baritone section due to work pressures, and whilst sorry to see Ian not on the contest stage with us, we are thrilled to see Ed Latham back in the band after a short break. Ed brings great musicianship and experience as an ex-solo Euphonium in the band and will help bolster the euphonium and baritone section on second baritone as the band looks to build on its success at Cheltenham in April.
All in all, a busy but exciting period for the village band from Wiltshire. In amongst performing at these world-class contests, the band continues to fulfil its commitment to the village it hails from, putting on four free open-air concerts across the summer months, supporting the village’s music and song festival and even marching in the village carnival the week before the British Open! The band are incredibly grateful for the support of those in the village and especially the Friends of Aldbourne Band whose financial help make booking these incredible conductors possible.