History of The Sleaford Concert Band
Compiled by Jim McQuade - December 2012
The Sleaford Concert Band was formed on 9th May 1998 and has developed into one of the leading Wind Bands in Lincolnshire.
The first rehearsal included a violinist, a pianist, a guitarist who couldn’t read music, a recorder player who played clarinet (Ken is now the leader of the Training Band and the solo clarinettist!!) and a saxophonist who could not sit down and play because she hadn’t had that lesson yet! We had one piece of music and spent two hours rehearsing it – oh how I hate Aida!
Mr John Larder and Mr Frank Graves, local businessmen, were two of our earliest supporters. John provided much needed finance and Frank is now the President of the band.
The band now consists of 48 amateur and semi-professional musicians who rehearse every Saturday morning to produce a very professional sound. We have never lost sight of the fact that we are an amateur band with a motto ‘Music for all in a rural area’.
In 2000 The Sleaford Training Band was formed to provide an opportunity for both young and old beginners to participate in music making in a training environment. Ken Garfield was appointed as Director of Music and his undoubted talents as a teacher have been put to good use ever since.
We have an extensive library of music journals and perform pieces from almost every genre including classical, big band, jazz, TV and film and light concert pieces. In 2002 the band found a home at The Sleaford Methodist Church and has remained in these premises ever since.
The Band has won numerous awards for its charity work having raised over £30,000 in the last 10 years. It was nominated for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2012 and although it was unsuccessful, it did get into the last five nominations from the whole of Lincolnshire.
The band undertakes foreign tours. In 2000 it visited Marquette-Lez-Lille in France as part of the Twinning agreement with Sleaford. It returned to Lille in 2009, visited Berlin in 2011 and is visiting Paris in 2013.
We are now looking to introduce a new uniform. The design has been agreed and now it is just the hard task of raising the money. We hope to have kitted all members with the new uniform by the end of 2013.
All members of the band would like to thank our supporters and audiences for the help they give us. Without you we couldn’t survive. |
Miller Magic provides the sound of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Formed in 2012 by musicians of the Sleaford Concert Band, it has the full big band line up including 5 saxes, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, rhythm section and vocals.
At its first engagement, the band received three standing ovations and performed an encore to a rapturous reception. The unique fact about this band is that none of the musicians receive payment for their performances as all money goes to the Sleaford Concert Band, therefore the cost to potential clients is kept to a minimum.
Perfect for your 1940's evenings, this style of music still proves popular even after 60 years
The band is available for hire at any time of the year. For further details or a quote for your engagement please contact Jim McQuade on 01529 303661 or send an email to this website. |
