West Lothian Schools Brass Band
Fundraising Cafe Concert June 2007
At St Margaret’s Academy, Livingston
On Friday 22nd June 2007, the band held it’s final event of the Spring / Summer season - a fundraising Cafe style concert, which was the culmination of a Lower Brass Masterclass given by Craig Anderson.
The concert also featured a visiting Norwegian band, “Hof Horn Music”. The visitors kicked off the event, treating us to a lively and varied programme of music.
West Lothian Schools Brass Band commenced their programme with a first for the band - the 1986 hit song by Swedish heavy rock band Europe, “The Final Countdown”, written by Joey Tempest, arranged by Frank Bernaerts and featuring the band’s baritone player, Matthew Zurowski on electric guitar!
From the sublime to the more refined. The band’s second item was the much more sedate - Joy Webb’s “Share My Yoke” featuring the band’s principal cornet, Susannah Downs.
It was to Russia that the band turned for their next piece and the well known “Kalinka” arranged by Ray Woodfield.
It was time to feature the evening’s guest soloist, Craig Anderson. The first piece featuring the Tuba was an old favourite of the band, “Fnugg Blue”. This piece written by Oystein Baadsvik and Svein H. Giske features the Tuba as you’ve never heard it before - multiphonics is the term used to describe it - no other words can!
To further feature the talents of their guest soloist, the band then treated us to a recital of “Tubby the Tuba” by George Kleinsinger, arranged by Andrew Duncan, and expertly narrated by the band’s Tenor Horn player, Brendan Glen.
The next item on the programme was “Havah Nagilah”, arranged by Alan Fernie.
It was time for another favourite of the band next - “Soul Bossa Nova”, written by Quincy Jones, arranged by Andrew Duncan and made famous by Austin Powers!
To conclude the event, the band were joined by their Norwegian visitors, Hof Horn Music, and the massed bands treated us to a medley from Walt Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean”, written by Klauss Badelt and arranged for brass band by John Blanken.
It was an excellent evening’s entertainment which also helped to add to the band’s coffers to support their planned foray to foreign parts in 2008.
