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Goodbye 2024 - Brass Band Highlights

Looking Back on The Brass Band Adventures of the Last 12 Months

Well, that's it. 2024 is nearly over and what a year it's been! From joining a new band to ticking a number of pieces off the bucket list and opportunities that have been opened up for the blog - it's been an eventful 12 months. I'm honestly so grateful for the banding experiences I've had this year, so I thought I would look back on the events of the last year.

Brass Band Resolutions

So, at the beginning of the year I set myself a few banding New Year's resolutions and, for the most part, I think 2024 was a successful year.

1. Plan my practice sessions

We started out well with this resolution. I spent 5 mins planning each session and recorded quite a few of them to listen back to. But, as the year went on, my practice sessions became a little more erratic and it was a case of getting as much done whenever and wherever I could. So, this resolution is sticking for 2025!

2. Less focus on contest results and more on enjoyment

This resolution has definitely been achieved. I've walked onto every contest stage this year with the only hope being to walk back off satisfied that I put down the best performance I could. I've started enjoying the actual contest day more than I ever have and that's down to the lovely people that make up Rainford Band.

3. Stop neglecting the blog

As the blog approaches its tenth year - I'm chuffed that this has been its best year so far! It's been a lot of fun covering a range of different banding events and experimenting with different content on both the blog and social media. I just want to say a huge thank you to you for following along, reading the blog, interacting on social media and watching the videos. I'm just a bander who loves creating content about banding and I'm so grateful for anyone who follows along - so thank you! I've got lots of plans for 2025, so stay tuned!

4. Less pressure, more progress

The priority this year has been to stop being so self-critical and focus more on putting that energy into practice and taking the time to take stock of the progress made. There's still work to be done, make no mistake, but 2024 was the year I fell in love with playing again and this was a huge achievement.

5. Attend More Concerts

I wanted 2024 to be the year that I not only enjoyed playing music, but made the time to enjoy listening to other bands in their concerts and it has been amazing! Over the course of the year, in amongst playing in my own band's concerts and dep gigs, I managed to catch performances from:

• Eccles Borough Band

• Cory Band

• Freckleton Band

• WFEL Fairey Band

• Pemberton Band

• Wingates Band

• Brighouse and Rastick Band

It was an amazing experience to see so many performances from the UK's top bands at Brass in Concert too!

I hope to carry this on into next year and experience even more concerts!

2024 Brass Band Highlights

This has been my best banding year for a little while and that's without any silverware or podium placings - what was gained this year was worth so much more. I don't really know where to start, there have been so many highlights this year, so I'll try and summarise the best ones!

Cory Band - Year of the Dragon - RNCM International Brass Band Festival

To see one of my favourite pieces of all time performed live by the band it was written for in its 140th year was something special.

Freckleton Band - Kinky Toots - Blackpool Tower

This collaboration between Freckleton Band and two drag performers, Len Blanco and Donna Trump, has to go down as the coolest brass band performance I saw this year. Both performers were incredibly talented, both comedically and vocally. Any arrangement from the pen of Adam Taylor always becomes an instant favourite for me, but his arrangement of Barry Manilow's 'Could it be Magic' was a highlight of this performance. I was very lucky to go on to perform this arrangement with the band at the Red Admirals Entertainment Contest later on in the year in September.

The entire concert was incredibly polished, professionally produced and just outstanding- there is no other word for it! Please, please, PLEASE bring this back for 2025!!!

WFEL Fairey Band - MacArthur Park - Live at Pemberton Band Club

Alan Catherall's iconic arrangement of MacArthur Park is always a joy to listen to and hearing it performed live by the WFEL Fairey Band was brilliant.

A Brussels Requiem - Spring Festival

The first of three bucket list pieces I was lucky to tick off this year! This performance with Rainford Band was something incredibly special - you had to be on stage to understand. This piece was a fantastic experience to work on, but it was one hell of a challenge and the band worked so hard for the performance we put down on the day. It may have earned us an 8th place, but I came off stage feeling like we had won. It truly felt like I was part of a team during that performance with everyone putting everything into it. The soloist performances from Adam on Principal Cornet, Danny on Solo Horn, Louis on Euphonium and James had me in awe.

It was a goosebumps moment on stage and I had tears in my eyes as we stood up at the end of the performance. It is in my top 10 contest performances of all time and that is solely down to the wonderful people I shared the stage with.

Blue - Summer Pops

Since Leyland debuted John Doyle's arrangement of Thomas Gansch's 'Blue', I have been desperate to perform one of the trumpet parts and 2024 granted this wish. The first time we sightread this in rehearsal, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as we were playing it - like, I know it's sad but the excitement to perform this was indescribable.

Our Summer Pops series consisted of three performances, so I had the pleasure of performing this cracker of a piece three times - what a treat. We performed it in the style of a flash mob, which looked fab. I had the easy job of the second trumpet part that has a cool little solo and duet moment but without the stress of the pyrotechnic 1st trumpet line, which virtuosically performed by Adam. Performing this piece in and of itself was such an awesome experience it, but again it was even more special performing it with Rainford, especially alongside Adam and our third man Amy. The smiles at the end of each performance were definitely real! I gave the Cheshire Cat a run for its money!

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - Scottish Open

Now, I hope I get another opportunity to perform this in the future, as I didn't come offstage completely happy with my performance. I know I could have done better - but that's the thing with music, there's always room for improvement. However, this was the third piece that I've always wanted to play and was happy to finally have a chance to work on it and tick it off the bucket list.

Brass in Concert 2024

Now, this was something incredibly special and is still a 'pinch me' moment. If I told 18-year-old me that her little blog would one day be invited to cover Brass in Concert, she would tell you to stop pulling her leg.

To be invited by Brass Bands England to cover this year's contest was a huge honour to say the least. I think it took me in the press box (I know, little old me, in the press box!!) until around band number three to fully believe it was really happening. Huge thank you to Brass Bands England and Brass in Concert for the invite!

The event also marked my first attempt at live commentary and the messages and comments I had over the course of the day and beyond were so positive and incredibly humbling, so thank you very much! It was a huge confidence boost for sure!

What's Next?

So, 2024 was the best year yet for both my banding and the blog, can 2025 top it? I've got plenty of ideas in the pipeline for the blog, including its 10th anniversary later in the year. I'm super excited to see what the next year brings and I do hope you'll join me for the ride!

I just want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to you, dear reader. This year wouldn't have been as great as it has without you. Thank you for reading my little ramblings and for all your support on my social media, I feel like I've got a huge community of friends out there and I just want you to know that I appreciate you!

I also want to say a huge thank you to the amazing people at Rainford Band, who I'm blessed to call friends, friends who have invited me into their bandroom as a dep, as well as my friends in bands up and down the country.

Here's to making 2025 awesome! Happy New Year!