Becontree Brass Band

Conductor: Graham Sheldon
Leigh on Sea Salvation Army Hall
Saturday 14th October

There were very few empty seats at the Salvation Army Hall in Leigh on Sea when Becontree Brass Band, conducted by Graham Sheldon, presented a concert in aid of Little Havens, the local children's hospice. The crisp opening bars of William Himes' toe-tapping march "Rolling Along" set the tone for the evening, which featured many items with a Salvation Army connection. 

The audience was still expressing their appreciation as Graham led the band into Len Ballantine's "Mid all the traffic", providing a marked contrast with its sustained lines.

Peter Graham's "A London Celebration" was written when he was the Bandmaster at Regent Hall, and features amongst its attractions the music of Arthur Sullivan and "A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square". 

The evening was of some significance for the band as it marked the final concert appearance of two of their key players, Principle Euphonium Paul Hicks and Principal Cornet Alan Duguid.  Although only with the band for a short period, Alan had made quite an impression, and his scintillating rendition of Alexander Goedicke's "Concert etude" showed that he will be a hard act to follow.

The special guest for the weekend, which was the Leigh on Sea Band Weekend, was Howard Evans, currently bandmaster at Boscombe Corps, and a noted pianist as well as conductor.  His selection of pieces complimented the exuberance and excitement of the preceding band items as he played the first of Grieg's "Lyric Pieces", followed by a Chopin "Berceuse".  The delicacy of his playing in the Grieg impressed, despite some muddiness in the piano sound, whilst his technique in Chopin's "Cradle song" was amazing - and who but Chopin would use so many notes to rock the baby to sleep?!!

Andrew Duncan's arrangement of "Highland Cathedral" - without bagpipes, to the obvious approval of several present! - preceded the second soloist of the evening, Principal Trombone Chris Bailey, who presented Peter Kneale's "Blue John".  Introducing William Himes' setting of "Amazing Grace", Graham Sheldon related how he had met the composer a few years ago at Chelmsford, when he had disclosed that the piece had lain in the bottom of a drawer for a couple of years until Rosehill Publishing had asked him if he had any music available, since when it has become established in the repertoire of many bands.

Howard Evans spoke of some of his pet hates, including people who constantly cough at concerts, and also those who feel the need to burst into applause before a piece of music has reached its (quiet) conclusion. He then reminded the audience of the role of silence in appreciating music, quoting Thomas Merton, who wrote in "Man is not an island", that ". . . without the combination of sound and silence we have no rhythm.  If we have no silence, God is not heard in our music".

The first half closed with Ray Farr's arrangement of "Riverdance", accompanied by suitable images projected onto the wall behind the band.

The percussion opened the second half, "vamping till ready" until the rest of the band took their places for Barry Gott's "Lightwalk".  Alan Fernie's restful working of the "Eriskay Love Lilt" led up to the appeal on behalf of Little Havens.  Charlotte Davies outlined their work offering respite and end of life care for children, and also the importance of their involvement with parents and siblings, as they help to improve the quality of life for both the youngsters and their families.  She stressed the vital role of fund-raising events in meeting their annual running costs of £1.6 million. 

James Wright, former bandmaster at Sheffield Citadel, died earlier this year but has left behind him some fine compositions and arrangements, including his "Fantasia for Children".  This was a fitting choice to play while the collection was being taken, and allowed the two percussionists to make their presence felt with various toys and special effects.

For his second spell at the piano, Howard chose two of George Gershwin's own piano arrangements, firstly "The man I love" and secondly "I got rhythm", complete with rather Scott Joplinesque cascading  figures.  These items led nicely into a big band slot, comprising "Hot Toddy" (arr Geldard), "Malaguena" (arr Freeh), "I've got you under my skin" - featuring Alex Campbell on flugel horn, who didn't let his beloved Rangers' home defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle cramp his style one bit! - and "In the mood", also arranged by Mark Freeh.

Giving an expression of thanks, Retired Bandmaster Norman Johnson referred to the decision in the 1990's to make Salvation Army music more widely available, and of the ensuing benefits.  He also mentioned the work done behind the scenes by Becontree's Kevin Marjurum, a product of the Leigh on Sea Corps, before announcing that the evening had raised the sum of £800.74.

Becontree had a final opportunity to let their hair down with three movements from Peter Graham's "Windows of the World": "Amazonia", "Rainforest" (featuring David Howell on horn and the afore-mentioned Kevin Marjoram on baritone) and the finale "Earth Walk".  The evening concluded on a quiet note, with Ray Steadman-Allen's setting of John Rutter's "Gaelic Blessing".

Peter Bale

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