KM Medway Band Benefit Concert

Gravesend Salvation Army Seating Fund
MD: Graham Wilson
St. George's Church,
Gravesend

KM Medway Band, under the leadership of their Musical Director Graham Wilson, kicked off their season of benefit concerts in Kent in aid of the Seating Fund of Gravesend Salvation Army.

Gravesend SA, whose Corps Officer Major Patrick Booth is a direct descendent of the SA's founder William Booth, plays a prominent role in the community of Gravesend. It is in recognition of this and a sign of the warm friendship which exists between different denominations within the Gravesham area that, at short notice, the concert was transferred from the Army to St. George's Church, Gravesend, due to unavoidable circumstances regarding the original venue.

St. George's Church, famous for being the resting place of Princess Pocahontas who died in Gravesend whilst returning to the Americas from her visit to the Royal Palace in March 1617, provided a wonderful setting for a varied concert of music which left those in attendance wishing for more and looking forward to the other concerts in KM Medway's busy schedule.

In spite of the change of venue and the many other concerts ongoing throughout the area, a good size audience enjoyed a musical feast of styles to suit all tastes. No one could fail to be entertained by at least one item on the programme. The band, who are sponsored by the Kent Messenger Newspaper Group and were recently nominated for the 2005 Pride of Kent Award, took the audience on a musical journey which began in Hollywood, travelled through the West End, took in the musical delights of our cousins Stateside, enjoyed a bit of rock & pop, paused for a time of quiet reflection and finished with some classical fireworks. Interspersed were a number of arrangements by the band's resident arranger as well as a number of SA pieces, all alongside the upcoming Area test piece.

The band opened the first half with Alan Catherall's arrangement of the 'Theme from Batman the Movie', which set the very high standard which was the benchmark for the rest of the evening's performance. This was followed by Goff Richard's arrangement of 'The Old Gumbie Cat', featuring the solo euphonium of Mark Hall who played the opening solo with great warmth and style. Next up was the band's solo trombonist Richard Parsons, who played "The Eternal Quest" by Ray Steadman-Allen, which is still widely regarded as one of the most important trombone solo in the brass band repertoire despite it's recent 50 year anniversary.

This piece is a test piece in itself for any trombonist, covering as it does a wide dynamic, style and octave range (around about 2 and a half octaves). It is descriptive of the emotional journey experienced by the Pilgrim in his Christian faith, experiencing the emotions of excitement, devotion, questioning of faith and finally salvation, which the soloist and band brought across to the obvious appreciation of both SA and non-SA members of the audience alike.

The band followed with two rather light-hearted pieces - Fred Brown's "Singing In the Rain", a favourite of all Bing Crosby fans (of which there were many in the audience), which was followed by Ray Farr's arrangement of Bach's "Toccata in D". Graham introduced this with a rather tongue-in-cheek apology to any purists present who may be offended by what was to come. With its opening taken directly from Bach's famous work which lulls the audience into a false sense of security ("ah - another classical piece, nice!"), the change of style midway through took many in the audience visibly by surprise - it was the undoubted highlight of the evening for many.

The penultimate offering of the first half was the first sectional feature of the night. The band's trombone section, comprising Richard Parsons, David Blowers and Phil Crossland, performed Frank Bryce's arrangement of "Trombola". The section played the piece with grand aplomb and just that hint of "cheekiness" that it needs, with good ensemble playing interspersed with solo highlights for each of the parts.

The first half was then brought to a close with Lorriman's arrangement of Wagner's 'Rienzi', the National Area test-piece being given its first dry-run by the band in preparation for their appearance at Stevenage on the 20th. Wagner's Overture, which in brass band circles has invariably been described as "a bit of a blow", began quietly with the single solo cornet of band principal Elaine Williams, joined by the bass end of the band. The piece soon transformed into a loud, fast-paced rendition, yet the band maintained a clear style, bringing across the orchestral origin of Wagner's work whilst still maintaining the "brass band" feel of Lorriman's arrangement.

There has been a lot of controversy regarding this piece's suitability for selection as an Area test piece, but this didn't detract from the appreciation of the audience, and provided a fitting and rousing end to the first half of the evening.
 
The second half began with the band's second visit Stateside, with J. P. Sousa's old favourite "The Stars and Stripes" and this was followed by the second sectional feature of the night, Derek Broadbent's arrangement of "Hey Jude", performed by the band's horn section of Sara Hinscliff, Lydia Fidler, Chris Horton and Stuart Brown. Wonderful ensemble playing in combination with an understated accompaniment from the band, this was another highlight of the evening for many in the audience.

David Cooper on soprano brought a little romantic mood to the evening, with a beautiful rendition of Mark Freeh's arrangement of Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade", before the band then visited the world of classical pop music with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". A favourite of the band, Graham regaled the audience with an amusing anecdote of when, during one outdoor performance, just as the band played "thunder bolt and lightning very, very frightening", the sky duly obliged - a literal "bolt out of the blue"!

The final sectional feature of the night again involved the trombone section, joined by the band's flugel horn Sara Hinscliff, who brought "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act to life in a way that Whoopi Goldberg could only ever dream of. This was followed by the band's second SA offering, Dean Goffin's arrangement of Mendelssohn's 4th Movement of "The Italian Symphony", where the cornet section was on fine form, producing a lightness of tone and dexterity to match any orchestral violins.

The penultimate offering of the night provided a more poignant, reflective moment with John Williams' "Hymn to the Fallen". Taken from the film 'Saving Private Ryan', it was a beautiful arrangement, played with balance and sensitivity by the band and it was the kind of piece which makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

After the vote of thanks was given, the band finished the evening with their trademark encore, "Lezghinka" from Kachaturian's "Gayaneh" Suite. This big, bold and loud piece rounded off what was for most, if not all, a wonderful concert of varied music.

The audience departed having had an enjoyable evening's entertainment. The MD had kept the evening flowing, informing the audience of each piece and entertaining with the occasional anecdote, whilst there were also many touching moments during the evening alongside the many musical highlights.

Most importantly, the evening was a great start to the fundraising efforts of Gravesend SA for their Seating Fund, raising a significant amount of money towards the estimated £3000 - £6000 required.

The KM Medway's upcoming fundraising concerts in the Gravesham and North Kent area are eagerly anticipated by many organisations on whose behalf the band are performing. These include the Mayor of Tonbridge's Charity Concert on the 2nd April, and a benefit concert for The Lions Hospice (Gravesend) to be held at St. Georges Church on the 24th September.

T. Perry

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