Greater Bendigo
Brass

Christmas Carols throughout Greater Bendigo 20th December 2009

During the silly season Greater Bendigo Brass travelled far and wide to support may community Christmas events.

First on the list of community carols was the Maiden Gully Primary School where the band play a super-doper extra long version of "Jingle Bells" while the thronging crowd waited for Santa to arrive. We are happy to report that Santa arrived safely in the end.

Monday 7 December 2009 saw the band at the Strathfieldsaye Carols which seem to get bigger and bigger every year. This year's carols program was bright and breezy and featured a number of the primary schools in the Strathfieldsaye area, as well as the band.

On Friday 11 December 2009 the band performed at the Strathdale Carols. A technical glitch with the switching off of the bands lights didn't dampen the band's spirits and the band continued to play in the dark until they "saw the light". The evening program was well received by the local crowd and Santa's helpers made sure the band didn't miss out on the lollies.

Christmas season culminated with Greater Bendigo Brass at Bendigo's annual Carols by Candlelight held in Rosalind Park. The band performed a number of feature items and then supported local choirs and vocal groups throughout the night in front of an estimated audience of 6000 people.

All work and no play makes the band a very dull place so the bands Christmas break up party was held at the Rielley residence. Many thanks to Gary and Carol for allowing the band to have its end of year shin dig at their home.

Phew...

Now that the last Carols have been played, this brings a halt to the bands activities for 2009 and now the members will be able to put their feet up and have a rest until it all happens again next year!!!

On behalf of the band, we would like to wish all of the players, committee members and supporters a very merry and safe Christmas and we look forward to a very busy 2010.

Ho Ho Ho.

Brass in the Park 6th December 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass enjoyed a great day of music as part of the Bendigo Band's Group "Brass in the Park".

All of the member bands took a turn to perform a light 25 minute program in the picturesque Rosalind Park Gardens in Bendigo.

Greater Bendigo Brass' program was extremely well received by the audience with the inclusion of two marches being appreciated by the large audience. The program included Rimmer's "The Cossack", "Yellow Submarine" by Alan Fernie, "Kirkby Lonsdale" by Goff Richards and Alan Catherall's arrangement of that old disco favourite "Manhattan Skyline". The band also performed Geoff Timcke's arrangement of the cornet feature "Spanish Trumpets", complete with multi coloured sombreros.

David Turpie releases CD 4th December 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass is proud to announce that percussionist David Turpie has released his first solo CD. Entitled, "See How This Goes" the CD has been put together completely by David including the writing, performing and production. Having played locally in bands and as a soloist, David has a strong grounding in the local music scene and has released a number of CD's and EP's over the years. And now here is the best part. "See How This Goes" is free - yes, FREE. If you wish to hear one of Bendigo's best multi-instrumentalist at work on a 10 track CD, simply contact David and he can arrange for a CD to come your way.

David can be contacted at davidturpie@ymail.com

2009 Annual General Meeting 20th September 2009

A small but appreciative crowd braved the cool weather to attend the Fourteenth Annual General Meeting of Greater Bendigo Brass. After a number of musical items to warm up the meeting, it was down to business with a number of reports being tabled and awards being made.

The recipients of the Annual Awards were:

• Most Improved Senior Player - Jarrod Handley
• Most Valuable Musician - John Cairnduff
• Band Person of the Year - Carol Rielley

Jarrod is to be congratulated on his steady improvement as a player whilst John's award was most deserving for his valuable contribution as leader of the lower cornets. Carol Rielley was awarded Band Person of the Year after stepping in to fill Jan's shoes as President, whilst she has been unwell.

A number of special awards of acknowledgement were made.

The recipients were:

• Service to committee - Jan Davey
• Service to committee - Don Normington
• Service to committee - Briony Scott
• Service as VBL band delegate - Alan Davey
• Service as Web Master - Robert Hallinan

These awards acknowledged the contribution made by the three retiring members from the committee including the immediate past President, Jan Davey, who was present at the meeting with Ern. Also acknowledged was Alan Davey for his dedicated service as VBL Delegate and Robert Hallinan for acting as the bands Web Master.

The Committee elections were held and following were elected:

• President - Brian McMennemin
• Vice President- Geoff Timcke
• Administrator - Not filled
• Treasurer - Annette Conway
• Player Representative - Peter Scott
• Player Representative - Jarrod Handley
• Player Representative - Colin Wellard
• Non-player Representative - Joan Dean
• Non-player Representative - Carol Rielley

Congratulations to all within the Band for a good year's work. Thank you to the old committee, good luck to the new committee and congratulations to all of the recipients of the awards.

Greater Bendigo wins Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod 13th September 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass had a very successful weekend at the Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod winning both the "B" and "C" Grade sections.

A varied program with solid performances saw the band receive the nod from the adjudicator, Mr Mark Ford.

Doug Trottman OAM leading the band has certainly seen the standard of the band improve over the last 12 months and the results on the weekend clearly showed this as the band secured clear victories in both sections.

The band combined "business with pleasure" and stayed the Saturday night in Traralgon, enjoying the hospitality of the town by having a social meal and chin wag at the local RSL Club. Although some distance away, the Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod is a most friendly competition and the band looks forward to returning in the near future

The band would like to thank its permit players for the day Brendan, Cathy, Bonnie and Chris and Nick Beale who travelled to rehearsal in Bendigo all the way from Lang Lang! We extend a special mention to Leon Duncan who filled in on the day for an incapacitated Roger Adams. Thank you one and all.

Musical Director Position Advertised 1st August 2009

Today the position of Musical Director was advertised. Application details are on our Vacancies page.

Greater Bendigo enters Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod 1st August 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass will make the trip down to Traralgon as it competes at the 2009 Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod. Musically, the band will be prepared by resident conductor Colin Wellard whilst Mr Doug Trottman OAM will again lead the band on the day.

The band will play in both the "C" Grade and "B" Grade sections. The last time Greater Bendigo Brass played at the Eisteddfod in 2007, it caused a stir by winning "C" Grade and then being placed third in "B" Grade ahead of a number of higher graded bands. Not only will the band compete in the bands section on the Sunday, but a number of the bands members will play on the Saturday night in the solo and ensemble section.

The band is looking forward to a great weekend of social fun and good music.

Winter Concert 28th June 2009

An enthusiastic audience braved the cold Bendigo winter weather to listen to Greater Bendigo Brass as it performed for friends and lovers of brass music.

The afternoon performance at the Spring Gully Hall involved a varied repertoire of pieces ranging from the "Celt of Glencoe", "When I'm 64", "Little Prayer" and "County Scene". The afternoons feature items include Geoff Timcke performing the cornet solo "Carrickfergus", while Geoff and Hayley Weston teamed up to perform "Ein Schnapps", which was the piece with which they won the recent Bendigo Competitions Open Duo title. The band took responded for the call of marches performing "Simoraine" and "Kirkby Lonsdale" whilst the afternoon concluded with a very filling afternoon tea.

Thanks go to the supporters of the band for braving the weather and being there. Congratulations go to Melissa Kemp who made her performance debut with the band. Well done!

Turpie Announces Engagement 28th June 2009

Congratulations go to band member David Turpie on the announcement of his recent engagement to Kerrie. The entire band and its supporters wish them the very best for the future

We Won - Bendigo Competitions Society 30th May 2009

Tonight Greater Bendigo Brass Band won the C Grade section at the Bendigo Competitions Society brass eisteddfod which was held in conjunction with the Victorian Bands' League and the Bendigo Bands' Group.

Lead by Mr Doug Trottman OAM, the band continued its recent good form from this year's National Band Championships in Sydney to play a program which found favour with the adjudicator. The bands major work was Gilberts Vinter's "Symphony of Marches" whilst their concert program comprised the march "Simoraine" and the blistering "Sosban Fach".

In winning, the band competed with Marist Brothers Band, City of Bendigo Brass Band and Eaglehawk Citizens' Brass Band. This was the first occasion for some years that all of Bendigo's brass bands had faced off against each other in the one grade.

Congratulations go to City of Bendigo for their first performance in C Grade after recently being promoted, and to Eaglehawk for competing after having time off the competition stage.

Greater Bendigo's Geoff Timcke and Hayley Weston made the weekend extra special by defeating highly fancied rivals and winning the open duet section of the competition for consecutive.

Sincere thanks go to the bands permit players for the night Brendan Davies, Cathy Timcke, Tim Curnow, Wally Pope, Broden Ford and the currently injured Roger Adams who performed on crutches after injuring his Achilles. The band greatly appreciates the valuable assistance given by these people.

Thanks also to Musical Director Doug Trottman who took the band on the night and who continues to guide the band in its development and a big thank you to our Resident Conductor, Colin Wellard, for his continued hard work and enthusiasm to keep the band running smoothly.

Finally, big congratulations to all of the players for their hard work and dedication over the last number of months. It has been a big couple of months with the Nationals and all of the public performances, so enjoy the win. Well done.

Greater Bendigo Brass will now prepare for a number of public performances over the coming months. Details will be announced shortly.

Cornish Pleasant Sunday Afternoon 24th May 2009

For the second year running, Greater Bendigo Brass was involved in the "Cornish Pleasant Sunday Afternoon"

Again held in the quaint Long Gully Uniting Church in Wilson Street, the afternoon took the form of a church service and featured the musical skills of both the brass band and resident organist, Mr Cliff Ellis, in accompanying the congregation whose numbers had swelled considerably from the inaugural event.

Both the band and Cliff were also in the spot light with feature items with the band performing the miners' hymn "Gresford" as well as "Simoraine" and "Belmont". Special guest for the day was noted Methodist historian, Ms Susan Pellowe, who hails from Chicago USA.

The band closed the service with a rousing rendition of "Hey Look me over" and the afternoon was capped off by a fantastic afternoon tea.

Thanks to all involved, especially Mr George Ellis and the Bendigo Cornish Society for the kind invitation to participate.

ANZAC Day 25th April 2009

The rain didn't dampen Greater Bendigo Brass's enthusiasm to participating in ANZAC Day ceremonies. Korong Vale was the first port of call for the band which included the usual morning tea feast. The street march to the town's cenotaph was abandoned because of the welcome rain and the outside ceremony was relocated to the local hall. After Korong Vale, the band went straight to nearby Wedderburn, where a short break in the weather allowed the band, ably led by Drum Major Don, to lead the ANZAC Day procession down the street to the Town Hall. Like Korong Vale, it was an inside ceremony which included the MC nearly forgetting to announce the last post!

After the service, Greater Bendigo Brass Band performed some toe tapping music including "1914 March", "Kiss Me Good Night Sergeant Major", and "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag".

Geoff played "The Last Post" at both Korong Vale and Wedderburn. He also played the Last Post not only at the Crusoe College Remembrance Services on Friday, but also at the main ANZAC Day Dawn Ceremony in Bendigo. Well done Geoff.

Thanks to the Wedderburn Korong Vale Sub Branch of the RSL for the kind invitation to be a part of this year's services.

Australian National Band Championship 12th April 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass competed in the 2009 Australian National Band Championships at Sydney over the Easter weekend. The band is very proud of its achievements over the weekend after being placed 4th in the music section, 4th in street march and 2nd place in the test piece.

We played the hymn and test in the Seymour Centre on Good Friday. A couple of slips and blips made the band think that it might not have played as well as it could have, however, the score and the recording proved otherwise. A very stylish and solid performance indeed.

The Street March was held at Sydney's Royal Easter Show on Saturday morning. The band looked smart under and played very well under the direction Drum Major Mr Don Normington achieving 4th place.

On Easter Sunday we played our own choice and stage march in the Seymour Centre. The sound on stage was fantastic. It felt tight and comfortable but it didn't find favour with the adjudicator and we didn't score as well as thought. Oh well... that's competitions for you!

When the results were read out our small band from Bendigo had made a sizeable impact in the competition and was able to hold its head very high.

To get the band to Sydney involved a lot of people. All of the players are to be congratulated on their hard work and dedication toward the band and its music. The standard of the band is on the rise and to score as close as we did to both the Victorian and NSW State Champions is a credit. This weekend was Emily's first National Championships and Geoff, Hayley and Melissa's first Championship with the band. We had a number of helpers on the day at various times including Roger Adams, Erynn Trewartha and past member Rob Coulson all on percussion (yes, you read right, Rob played percussion) whilst Jenny Magoulas and another past member in Cathy Timcke also helped out. Our most sincere thanks to you all.

Carol and Don are to be thanked for their tireless efforts including organising buses to and from the venues, uniforms and fundraising... we wouldn't have got there without them both.

Musical Director Doug Trottman is to be thanked most sincerely for leading the band on the stage and for continually pushing the band's music standard up and up. Don is also to be thanked for leading us down the street as Drum Major. Well done gentlemen.

The adjudicator was James Curnow and the test piece was Symphony of Marches by Gilbert Vinter. The results for the hymn, test, own choice and stage march are shown below.

Relay for Life 3rd April 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass took part in the opening ceremony of the Bendigo area Relay for Life. The weekend involved a walking relay to raise funds, celebrate cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost to cancer.

The band marched a lap of the La Trobe University Athletics Track behind the official party. Then a short bracket of concert items was played for the crowd.

Greater Bendigo Brass band would like to thank members of other Bendigo bands who marched and played with us on the evening and especially Ken Wellard for conducting the band in place of his brother Colin, who was unable to conduct on the night.

Pre-National's Public Performance 29th March 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass was put through its paces with a pre-Nationals public performance. Today the band played its Hymn, Test, Own Choice and Stage March to an enthusiastic crowd at the JB Osborne Theatre. The band rehearsed both prior and after the performance, such was the dedication to its Sydney music.

Band Administrator Don Normington commented, "The band was tired on stage but we got though the pieces well and it was great to play under pressure in front of local supporters and friends... especially those who cannot make it to Sydney to hear it on the day".

The bands Monster Raffle was drawn at the performance with the winners were:

• Winner 1st Prize: Barbara Dugan
• Winner 2nd Prize: Mark Jones
• Winner 3rd Prize: Douglas Trottman

Congratulations to the winners. The band would like to thank all of the supporters of the raffle and are happy to say that all proceeds will be going toward the trip to Sydney over the Easter weekend.

Dahlia & Arts 21st March 2009

On Saturday the band participated in the local Dahlia and Arts procession in Eaglehawk. Drum Major Don Normington ably led the band down the main street of Eaglehawk to the applause of the crowd as part of the local community event.

The warm day didn't deter the band from marching and playing well. It made good marching practice for the coming Australian National Band Championships to be held in Sydney.

Doug Trottman to take us to The Nationals 15th March 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass is building the momentum toward the 2009 Australian National Band Championships being held in Sydney over the Easter weekend.

Mr Doug Trottman, OAM, has been busy running the band through its paces as it prepares to compete at the highest level in Australia.

"The music the band will be playing over the Easter weekend is challenging and Doug and the band are coming together very nicely" Colin Wellard said. "The band has been working very hard on the rehearsal stage as well as the marching arena and we are very hopeful of making an impact at the competition. Through inabilities, the band is only taking a small team up which is not ideal, but the music is coming along and we are having a lot of fun so we are looking forward to playing some top notch music as well as completing some sharp marching over the weekend".

In preparation for the Easter weekend, the band will be performing all of its Nationals music on Sunday 29 March 2009. The free performance will take place at the JB Osborne Theatre and will commence at 2.00pm. So come and have a listen to the band before it heads away to the harbor city. We would love to see you there.

Upcoming Performances 14th March 2009

The band has a busy couple of weeks leading up the 2009 Australian National Band Championships.

The band will be having a public performance of all of its Nationals music on Sunday 29 March 2009. This performance will take place at the JB Osborne Theatre, Kangaroo Flat and will commence at 2.00pm.

The band will also be participating at the Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Procession on 21 March 2009 at 12.30pm as well as the official opening of the Bendigo Relay for Life event at the La Trobe University sports ground on 3 April 2009.

Quintet of Cornets 18th February 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass is happy to announce a quartet of new cornet players. Hayley Weston, Melissa Harrington, Geoff Timcke and Kaid Normington have all signed with the band. Hayley, Melissa and Geoff all came from the Marist Brothers Band and will play solo cornet at the coming National Competition at Sydney. "The band is so pleased to have been able to sign up three local quality cornet players in Hayley, Melissa and Geoff" Committee member Colin Wellard said. "Not only are they fine players but they are also great people so we are most fortunate". Kaid is not so local and works at Wagga Wagga with the Australian Army. "Kaid is an ex principal cornet of Greater Bendigo Brass and has played with many of Queensland's top bands whilst working in the sunshine state with the Army" Colin said. "It's great that he has agreed to sign with the band and we look forward to seeing him as soon as his busy work schedule allows".

Australia Day 26th January 2009

Greater Bendigo Brass made its first performance for 2009 at the Bendigo "Australia Day" festivities. A small but dynamic band braved the blistering heat and searing sun to perform for the assembled throng at the festivities which take place at the famous Lake Weeroona.

With this performance completed, the band will now concentrate its energies toward rehearsing for the upcoming Australian National Band Championships to be held in Sydney over the Easter weekend.

Greater Bendigo Brass Scholarship 1st January 2009

Jarrod Handley is the inaugural recipient of the Greater Bendigo Brass Scholarship. The scholarship is open to both brass and percussion students at Crusoe Secondary College. "The band previously supported the Crusoe Secondary College Musician of the Year, however, it thought that a more targeted approach in providing a scholarship to assist brass and percussion players with their music studies might be more beneficial to the recipient" Resident Conductor Colin Wellard said.

Jarrod has been a member of Greater Bendigo Brass for 5 years playing baritone, however, the scholarship now sees Jarrod take up a joint position on bass trombone. "The scholarship involves supporting Jarrod both financially and academically.

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