2005 National Band of New Zealand - European Tour

The 2005 National Band of New Zealand is preparing for its forthcoming European Tour. 4BR Down Under looks at the itinery, the lineup of personnel and the history of the band that hopes to come back as World Champions.

The National Brass Band of New Zealand is getting set to head off on their four-week tour of Singapore, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

The main details of the tour are:

19 June: Assemble at Lincoln University, Christchurch for extensive rehearsals and outfitting.
23 June: Farewell Concert in James Hay Theatre, Christchurch – bookings at Ticketek.  Proceeded by a schools matinee concert.
25 June: Outdoor concert at the prestigious Singapore Arts Festival.
26 June: Concert to celebrate 10th anniversary of a local Singapore church.
28 June: Concert, Regent Hall, London, England
29 June: Concert, Bristol, England
30 June: Concert, Brussels, Belgium

1 July: Concert, Malmedy, Belgium
2 July: Concert, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
3 July: Concert, Cologne, Germany
4 July: Concert, Grootegast, The Netherlands
5 July: Concert, Zaltbommel, The Netherlands
6 July: Concert, Egmond-Binnen, The Netherlands
7 July: Concert, Hulst, The Netherlands
8 July: Opening Concert for World Bass Band Championship at Kerkrade

9 July: World Brass Band Championship Test piece.  Dr Philip Wilby has been commissioned to compose this piece, titled Music of the Moving Image.  It comprises three sonatas: Street Scene and Deluge, Moonrise & River Run.

10 July: World Brass Band Championship Own choice program.  Each Band is required to present a 40 minute maximum program including one solo item.  Creative New Zealand has kindly provided funding to enable us to commission two works with a New Zealand flavour for this program.  Ken Young is writing an opening work and Anthony Ritchie a Trombone Solo featuring David Bremner.

11 July: Gala Concert at World Brass Band Championship.  The National Band of New Zealand has been invited to join with the Blue Devils Band from USA and the National Field Band of South Africa for this special concert to be held at the very large Parkstad Limburg Stadium.  The later two Bands will be presenting marching displays while the National Band of New Zealand will feature on centre stage.  This should prove to be a fitting finale for this intensive tour. The tour party returns home the following day.

National Band Background

Brass band music is truly a part of New Zealand's cultural heritage. It was introduced to this small country soon after the brass band movement took root in Victorian England. Today almost every city in New Zealand has its own brass band. So it is perhaps not surprising that since its formation over 50 years ago, the National Band of New Zealand has won worldwide acclaim for its brilliant musicianship and technical virtuosity.

The National Band of New Zealand has thrilled millions of enthusiastic listeners at many international events including the 1953 Coronation festivities in London, the Edinburgh Festival, the New York World Fair, Los
Angeles County Fair, Canadian Exhibition, Expo 70 in Japan and three Commonwealth Games. It is regarded by a number of authorities as one of the world¹s foremost brass bands. The National Band of New Zealand has undertaken 14 previous national and international tours since its inception. Countries visited include the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Greece, Japan and Australia.

Contest successes include the 1953 British Open Championship at Belle Vue, Manchester, three times world Championship Marching Band at the World Music Concourse, Kerkrade, the Netherlands and winner of the 1978 International Band Festival, Toronto, Canada. At the 1978 World Music Concourse at
Kerkrade, the National Band of New Zealand was awarded 3 gold medals with distinction. This was the highest number of medals ever awarded to any group.

The organisers of the fifteenth World Music Concourse to be held in Kerkrade, the Netherlands in July 2005, have decided to introduce a special 'World Brass Band Championship' and have hand delivered invitations to the top Brass Bands from throughout the world. These Bands will come from New Zealand, United States of America, Scandinavia, Great Britain and Europe. It promises to be a very exciting event and based upon their past successes, the National Band of New Zealand is very keen to be part of this prestigious event.

The high professional standard attained by the National Band of New Zealand makes it difficult to realise that the bandspersons are nearly all amateur musicians. The thirty five members of this National Band of New Zealand have been selected by audition from 70 community bands throughout the nation and represent our very top players. They come from a wide range of occupations.

Music played by the National Band of New Zealand includes symphonic brass works, transcriptions of classical music, light music, marches and instrumental features.

Musical Director – David Gallaher

David Gallaher's involvement in brass bands began as a cornet player in the St Kilda Junior Band of Dunedin in the mid 1960s. Brief flirtations with orchestras and jazz bands followed. A teaching transfer to Invercargill came after study at Otago University and Dunedin Teachers College. By this time the passion for brass bands had taken hold and was nurtured in New Zealand's southernmost city.

A change of instrument to tenor horn preceded selection in the 1980 National Band of New Zealand. David was also selected in the horn sections of the 1985 and 1992 National Bands.

In 1984 David became the first southern hemisphere performer on tenor horn to have been made a Fellow of Trinity College, London.

David began teaching brass instruments in schools while in Invercargill. He has made a significant contribution in this field. Many of his students have gone on to gain selection in National Youth Bands and the National Band of New Zealand. It was in this field of endeavour that he was to come under the influence of the late Mervyn Waters who provided much early encouragement and inspiration. Ken Smith is another significant musical influence.

Following Mervyn Water¹s death and Ken Smith's appointment to Woolston Brass, David was invited to be Woolston's Deputy Conductor and moved to Christchurch. After Ken's retirement, David assumed the conductorship of Woolston Brass, now know as New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass.

David's prowess as a Music Director is evident when that Band won the A Grade National Championship Contest in 1997 (in his first year) was followed with further successes in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Under David's direction ‘The Band of the Year' title was Woolston's in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003.

David has been an avid supporter of New Zealand Music and is delighted to see the growing interest of some of our most significant composers now making contributions to the Brass Band repertoire.

Band Personnel
2005 National Band of New Zealand

SOPRANO
Colin Clark (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)

Bb CORNET
John Lewis (Sentinal St Kilda Brass)
Bede Williams (Dalewool Auckland Brass)
Stephen Gooding (Ascot Park Hotel Brass of Invercargill)
Kevin McMorran (Canterbury Foundation Brass)
Barrett Hocking (Dalewool Auckland Brass)
Kevin Dell (Ascot Park Hotel Brass of Invercargill)
Tyme Marsters (Marlborough District Brass)
Chris Reside (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Graham Hickman (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Kevin Moseley (Marlborough District Brass)
John Sullivan (North Shore Brass)

FLUGEL HORN
Mason Elliot (Dalewool Auckland Brass)
David Johnstone (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)

TENOR HORN
Bill Vail (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Sergio Marshall (The ‘Trusts' Waitakere Brass)
Abbey Edlin (St Kilda Sentinel Brass)
David Suttie (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)

BARITONE
Ross Gerritsen (The ‘Trusts' Waitakere Brass)
David Mallett (Canterbury Foundation Brass)
Gary Bilton (Hamilton Brass)

EUPHONIUM
Riki McDonnell (Marlborough District Band)
Jessica Blair (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Errol Moore (Ascot Park Hotel Brass of Invercargill)

TENOR TROMBONE
David Bremner (Dalewool Auckland Brass)
Richard Shirley (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Ross Hurley (The ‘Trusts' Waitakere Brass)

BASS TROMBONE
Haydn Randall (Canterbury Foundation Brass)

Eb BASS
Nigel Seaton (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Kerry Benge (Pelorus Trust Wellington Brass)

Bb BASS
Phil Johnstone (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Leigh Martin (New Plymouth Brass)
Gareth Lawless (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)

PERCUSSION
Roanna Cooper (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)
Grant Myhill (Marlborough District Brass)
Katherine Peterson (The ‘Trusts' Waitakere Brass)

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

David Gallaher (New Zealand Community Trust Woolston Brass)

MANAGER

Murray Warrington (Napier)

ASSISTANT MANAGER

Ian Levien (Auckland)

TRAVEL MANAGER

Simon Hocking Timaru

Aotearoa Maori Cultural Group

Fascinating glimpses of the art and culture of New Zealand's Maori people are provided by the group of twelve entertainers accompanying the 2005 National Band of New Zealand on its four week tour of Singapore, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

Items presented by these talented young Maoris, who are chosen for their expertise in all facets of performance, include ancient chants and war dances, action songs and poi dances.

The haka, which is generally understood to mean a war dance, is probably an inclusive term for all forms of Maori dance. In essence it is a controlled rhythmic response of voice and body which gives the fullest possible meaning to the story being unfolded.

In the poi dance, the graceful turn of the head following the ever-twirling poi, the swing of the body and the shift of weight from one foot to the other, all help to distinguish this from the indigenous dances of other races. Poi's are soft flaxen balls attached to lengths of cord. They are swung in increasingly intricate patterns to vocal accompaniment.

'Titotorea', meaning stick games, is another popular form of Maori entertainment. It requires strict co-ordination of hand and eye as the sticks pass from hand to hand, in time with the melody.

It is appropriate that ‘Aotearoa' should be chosen as the name of the Maori Cultural Group travelling with the National Band of New Zealand. Aotearoa, meaning ‘the land of the long white cloud', was the name given to New Zealand when the Maori race first sighted the land at the time of the Great Migration from Hawaiki about 1350 AD.

The Maoris are an essentially musical people and their traditional singing combines a delicacy and accuracy of tone unknown in the western world. The spirit of Maori entertainment is centered upon togetherness and this makes the music more meaningful.

AOTEAROA MAORI CULTURAL GROUP

 Avril Dell
 Tania Fraser
 Whetu Henare
 Metiria Light
 Maria Ngawati
 Tui Ranapiri-Ransfield
 Ramari Sherman
 Kaperiere Hogan
 Eraia Kiel
 Nokora Nitro
 Te Hira Paenga
 Te Rangianiwaniwa Whauwhau