Players from the Enderby Youth, Junior, Concert and Wind Bands recently joined forces for a special 'Brass Training Day'.

Thanks to the financial support of the Trustees of the William Davis Band, the organisation was able to link up with conductor Steve Philips and five tutors from Flowers Band, fresh from their Albert Hall National Championship triumph.

The day began with a run through of five pieces as a full band, followed by a series of sectional rehearsals.

Excellent progress

During the afternoon, the bands reconvened for a couple of full rehearsals supplemented by players from Enderby Senior Band. The excellent progress made was shown by the standard of playing as Steve Philips brought the challenging repertoire up to concert standard.

As a special treat there was also virtuoso showcase from Flowers euphonium star Daniel Thomas followed by a Q&A session with the rest of the Flowers team of Luke Barker, Emily Evans Gregor Spence and Ceri-Ann Townsend — from rehearsal regimes to the benefits of home practice watching Netflix! The day finished with a short concert to parents and friends.

Excellent

Speaking to 4BR about the day, Steve Philips said: "It was excellent — so well organised and such a positive advert for communal music making. Enderby is a real 'family' of bands featuring players of all ages and abilities who can come together in a really meaningful way."

A band spokesperson added: "Our thanks to Steve and the players from Flowers who took the time after their wonderful win to share their experience. Everyone went away inspired to continue their banding to the next level."