New Zealand National Band 2007 - On the Road

Ross Gerritsen, as soon as he was released from hospital, has put together a blog style article of the 2007 National Band of NZ on tour.

James Morrison, Howard Taylor and Håkan Hardenberg

The National Brass Band of New Zealand is on the road again. We may not have the romantic picturesque country roads of Belgium or the Medieval castles of eastern Europe that you may have read about in the 2005 Europe tour diary to wax lyrical about but this band is creating it’s own excitement, great music and of course as with any road trip, plenty of stories to share. Of course, to some extent we must exercise the proverbial, ‘what goes on tour…’ but we are well and truly into it and thought you might like to share some of our experiences with us.

The tour started last Friday at Wanganui Collegiate. A excellent venue with all of the comforts of home including communal showers, TV dinners (at least dinners’ on trays), communal sleeping and all of the other joys that come with living in Wanganui. Jokes aside, WCS is a very well equipped campas and the Prince Edward Auditorium was a superb rehearsal venue, within 200 metres of the accommodation and dining room.

The band rehearsed Friday night and into the weekend. These ‘band camps’ don’t really lend themselves to fascinating reading. It’s a matter of get up, eat, rehearse, eat, rehearse, eat, rehearse, drink, drink, sleep.

So following a lot of eating, rehearsing, drinking and rehearsing, we met James Morrison. This man is really a copy and paste of all the antonyms for awesome - amazing, astonishing, awe-inspiring, exciting, hair-raising, heart-stirring, impressive, magnificent, moving, overwhelming, spine-tingling, stunning, thrilling. Any one who has heard James play will relate to these descriptions of his phenomenal sound and musical brilliance. To play with him on stage is another great experience altogether.

Anyone in Timaru, Dunedin or Invercargill who is deciding weather to go to the concerts over the next three days, do it. You will love it!

The concerts to date have been well attended and the audiences have heard not only the best multi-instrumentalist in the world, but one of the top Brass Bands in the world. The programme ranging from Peter Maunder’s arrangement of Handel Parker’s "Deep Harmony" to Peter Grahams, programmatic "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" and the epic "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla" has showcased the diversty of strengths in the band. Comment has been made about the phenomenal level the band has reached after only four days of rehearsal, which has become a trait and expectation of the National Band over the years.

Musical Director Howard Taylor’s leadership of the band both in rehearsals and on stage have been exemplary and the band has certainly achieved outstanding results under his leadership.

So what of the ‘non-musical’ exploits of the band?

1. Solo Horn Mike Ford turned up on the bus this morning with a two centimetre gash on the side of his forehead. Some say he tripped in the bar last night but rumour has it, it is the result of an encounter with Voldermort.

2. Your’s truly had to leave the stage during the concert in Wanganui. This involved passing out during the performance taking music stands and instruments with me, followed by an ambulance trip to the nearest hospital - very quickly!  I think I am OK. Too much blood to the head perhaps.

3. Howard Taylor has not made the bus on time in the morning yet. People can make their own judgement about what’s going on there.

4. Dave ‘Chopper’ Bremners’ handlebar moustache.

5. The Dominon forgot to put our concert advertisement in the newspaper the day of the concert but made up for it by putting one in the day after. Thanks guys!

6. The measurements for Mason Elliot’s uniform were obviously written down in millimetres rather than centimetres. If you look close enough on stage you can nearly see his knee caps.

Touch wood, the bus has not broken down, no instruments or uniforms have been lost, the theatres have coped with our mega light show and no one has dies from smoke inhalation on stage.

The National Brass Band of New Zealand is touring well. See you in the deep south.

Photo: Lumsden Photography – Wanganui, New Zealand