HI SOP

Olney Brass were saddened to learn of the death of former Soprano player Martin Mills on the 31st

July at the age of 76.

Since he left the band Martin had continued to play with friends and former band members at the Friday morning Towcester Daytime band and was always a dedicated and encouraging musician.

Whilst he was with us he helped the band to a number of contest successes and also featured often

as a soloist. In 2012, not only did he help us win the Second Section at the SCABA contest he was

also awarded best instrumentalist and was mentioned several times in the adjudicator’s comments

about our performance of Laudate Dominum. His early playing days were for Jaguar Car Works

Band and he transferred to Coventry Festival Band in 1962. He then moved to Towcester Studio in

1977 before joining us. His funeral and wake took place in Coventry where he grew up and many

friends and fellow bandsmen provided the music. You always knew when Martin was at a rehearsal

from the distinctive number plate on his parked car! We send condolences to his family.

The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain take place for the first time at York Barbican on the 19-20 September, and although we won’t be there this year, we wish

all bands well. It is also the date for the announcement of next year’s test pieces for the Regionals at Stevenage. As we speculate what that will be we are currently working on ‘New

World sketches’ - Dan Price and ‘Olympus’ - Philip Harper it would be somewhat ironic if that was set as our challenge.

Silly Season (not just for the newspapers!) Whilst most bands break for a few weeks during August, Olney Brass decided to hold a few open rehearsals for any die hard brass players who were missing playing with their own bands. We were delighted to welcome so many friends to the band room and it was a privilege for me to conduct them. Rather than rehearse pieces in detail, we are able to play for enjoyment through a number of pieces we wouldn’t usually play. Enjoyment is number one priority, mistakes are made by players and conductor alike, but music is made. And, on such a lovely summer evening, friendships were rekindled.

Having moved up North, it’s great to see that ex Eb bass player Richard Colson has been signed up to play for Ashington Colliery band, we wish him well but would really like the uniform back!

Are you still reading this!

Grace Notes is sent regularly to over 100 players and ex members - I like to keep it easy to read with plenty of pictures and the occasional archive or humurous feature - I thank you for your comments on how much you like being kept informed please feel free to email any articles, stories or pictures which I might include. It would be gret to hear ‘What you’re doing now.

Forthcoming engagements

The band have two more engagements to round off their summer before the music is collected in and the repertoire changes, so if you haven’t heard us yet this season please come along to Emberton fete, Hulton Drive Sunday 6 September from 1pm

or

BOFF (Big Olney Food Festival) on Sunday 13 September Market Place from 1pm

In the planning

Autumn Concert Olney Church Saturday 24 October 7pm

Leicester Open Contest Sunday 22 November

Christmas Concert Olney Church Saturday 12 December 3pm

Joint concert with Newport Pagnell Singers Saturday 24 April 2027 7.30pm

I can’t let this issue pass without wishing Bob Wills a long and fulfilling retirement. Bob was another stalwart of the band - playing third cornet for 12 years, serving on our commitee and helping enormously with both the beginner and development bands. A true bandsman he always put us first and was rarely absent from either a rehearsal or an engagement. He seemed to know everyone and had an anecdote for every occasion. Bob, however, has not hung up his cornet altogether as he continues to play with the TSB Daytime band and enjoys the camaraderie and challenge of playing a variety of pieces.

Bob wrote

Keith, could you please convey my thanks and heartfelt appreciation to the band for that wonderful card, it covers pretty much all of my years with the band. Although I have moved bands somewhat over the years, at twelve years my tenure at Olney is the longest of the lot and given my age I doubt I will beat it now. It has been an incredible journey full of hi's low's but with an underlying fellowship that is the brass band movement. I am very proud of having been in the band and hope that in my own have helped to make a difference, my biggest enjoyment has been the opportunity to pass on some of my knowledge and see players develop and start to flourish within the band, of particular pride has been the number of former dev players that were welcomed to the senior band over the years. Thank you all for you kindness. Bob.

We wish Bob well and thank him for his contribution

Summer Showcase

Our annual Summer Showcase took place at Lovat Fields on Tuesday 23 June. On what was the first day of a week of extraordinarily high temperatures the Open Band, under the direction of Sara, performed magnificently to parents, friends and residents at the village. The showcase is a chance to highlight the hard work and effort of the band , under Sara’s command they played, Rock on It was also great to hear some individual players as they performed solos accompanied by Ross Thompson (percussion - playing piano) and Sara’s mum.

Olney brass took to the stage after the interval and performed a small selection of their summer repertoire . It was great to see Phil back at the helm after his leave of absence.

Pendley Manor

We were delighted to be invited back to Pendley Manor for a private corporate event. Such a delightful setting with peacocks roaming the grounds and a chance to perform to a captive audience. Many thanks to the Wood family for the invitation and great to welcome Tom (former principal Euphonium,) stepping in on trombone. Sara played a beautiful rendition of ‘Evergreen’ and Neil’s Euphonium solo ‘Whirlwind’ was stunning.

Weston Underwood Fete

Newport Pagnell Carnival

Once again Olney Brass headed up the Newport Pagnell Carnival - a great turnout with a special

guest star! The band, seated on the back of a truck played Karma Chameleon, Music to watch the

Girls go by, Baggy Trousers, The Wellerman, Football’s coming home and Sweet Caroline, several

times on the 2 mile route from Blakelands to Riverside Meadow going under the M1 bridge and

over the Iron Bridge via the town centre - a route at one time we use to march.

Everyone embraced the theme and even Bob succumbed to a Hawaiian shirt and Lei!

We have a couple more Summer Season events to look forward to firstly the Beer Festival, held annually in the grounds of the Bell and Bear, Emberton on Sunday 12 June starting at 1.30pm

and The Emberton Fete on Sunday 6 September on the playing field at 1.00pm.

August is generally a quieter month as band members take their annual holidays, although rehearsals will continue on Tuesday evenings and we are hoping to hold some ‘Open evenings’ for any players or ex players to come along and have a blow - dates will be published on our facebook page.

Spring news

As I’m sure most of you are aware we have been without our musical director Phil for a few weeks whilst he recovers from a medical emergency - we are delighted to report he is well on the mend and will be back with us shortly, in the meantime I have really enjoyed conducting the band ( a bucket list item) and thank all members for their support and patience during this time. They have endulged me by playing various pieces that haven’t seen the light of day for a while. I’ve also been playing with AI to see whether it may help produce Grace Notes more efficiently - here is the header it generated

Here’s what AI says we should be doing

Tips for Brass Musicians

Here are some useful tips to enhance your brass playing skills:

• Warm-Up Routine: Start with long tones and lip slurs to ensure your lips are flexible and ready for performance.

• Breathing Exercises: Practice deep breathing to improve your lung capacity and support your sound production.

• Consistent Practice: Set aside regular time each day to practice, focusing on both technical exercises and musical pieces.

It could have been written by Phil!!

Development Band News

Led by Musical Director Sara Cawte

The Olney Brass Development Band continues to flourish under the expert guidance of Sara Cawte. This term has seen remarkable progress from our dedicated learners, with several members now confidently tackling Grade 2 and 3 pieces.

We are thrilled to welcome five new members who joined us in February, bringing fresh enthusiasm to our Tuesday evening sessions. The band has been working diligently on a varied repertoire including traditional marches and contemporary

arrangements.

Sara reports that the ensemble sound has improved tremendously, with particular praise for our growing cornet section. New players of all ages and abilities are always welcome to join our supportive learning environment.

Congratulations to our four fabulous beginner brass musicians, who officially graduated from Stage 2 of our 'Learn to Play Brass' programme (devised by David Rose).

Very well done to our four superstars!

I am very proud to be a big part of their journey since September and helping them to develop their playing skills further. Our next complete beginner brass group will start in October 2026. Please email us to register your interest in advance (see below)...

The band room is now all set tonight for our graduates to 'debut' at Olney Brass Open Band, in addition to our existing improving players who have returned for the new term, following a nice long Easter break. We always welcome new/returning brass players, of all ages to our Open Band (including trumpets, french horns and even alto trombones).

Our rehearsals are 630-730pm, Tuesdays (term time only), at Lovat Fields Retirement Village in Willen, MK.

Please PM via social media or email olneybrassinfo@gmail.com for more information.

THE DEVELOPMENT BAND WILL BE JOINED BY THE SENIOR BAND AT THE SUMMER SHOWCASE ON TUESDAY 23 JUNE at 6.30 in LOVAT FIELDS (keep an eye out for details)

Now the contest season is over thoughts turn to our summer season, currently in the pads

When I’m Sixty Four!

Congratulations to Andy and Simon on reaching their 64 birthdays, one of the reasons it will be appearing on this year’s play list

Following the AGM in March the following members have been elected to serve on the

committee

Keith Underwood, Andy Harris, Simon Harris, James Taylor, Sara Cawte Sharon Occleshaw and Alaisdair Fraser-Lowe

If you have any suggestions, ideas or thoughts please get in touch

It is great that at the moment local bands are acknowledging the importance of working together to help the movement thrive in this area. Maintaining a good relationship means that we can ‘borrow’ or lend players as busy lives don’t always allow us to attend all of our engagements.

Recently Ross, Andy and Barney have helped Towcester with their contests whilst we often borrow players from them to fill our seats as many of you know I conduct the Towcester Studio Band on Friday mornings where players new and old (mainly old) gather to play in a more relaxed atmosphere - it’s great to see former players from the area and members of Bradwell Silver Band attending regularly.

Our friends at Bradwell have reached a real milestone this year as they celebrate 125 years of banding in Bradwell. A few of us attended their ‘launch’ party and we were able to play alongside the band in an informal concert and enjoy a slice of their birthday cake.

Meeting old friends

David ‘Tug’ Wilson (chairman and principal cornet BSB) Maria Belton Me Debbie Hodder and Andy

Brian Keech conductor with BSB has asked if we could share details of their upcoming concert to celebrate this milestone