South Lakes Brass Ensemble at A Poem and a Pint

After many months of not updating this site just wanted to let you all know that we are still alive and very active! In fact I’ve just got back from performing with the South Lakes Brass Ensemble at ‘A Poem and A Pint‘, a local poetry event which took place at Greenodd Village Hall.   We were the guest musicians and performed a 20 minute set in the middle of the evening, following readings from open mic poets and the special guest poet, Beatrice Garland.

Our program included an arrangement of ‘Pastime with Good Company’, composed by Henry VIII.  Apparently in the sixteenth century, this piece became very popular and people as far north as Scotland would perform it – the equivalent I guess of a video going viral on Youtube today!

We then played a Hoagy Carmicheal song ‘The Nearness of You’ featuring Jody McQuiston on the French Horn.  Our third piece was an arrangement of ‘That’s A-Plenty’ which our trombone player has been practicing so much that apparently his wife has threatened to divorce him if he plays it one more time!

We finished our set off with an arrangement of ‘Unter Donner Und Blitzen by Johann Strauss.

We had a fabulous time at A Poem and a Pint and thanks to the organisers for inviting us and paying us so promptly as well.

Upcoming Appearances – South Lakes Brass Ensemble

Good morning all!  The South Lakes Brass Ensemble have had a busy couple of weeks.  We’ve been working hard for the last couple of months to prepare for some upcoming dates.

Last Sunday we played in Grange Over Sands, setting up on the main street and playing to the public as they made their way into the Town Hall to visit Prom Art, which is a wonderful art and craft fair regularly held in Grange.

There were moments when I was quite worried about passing motorists who seemed to be getting very distracted by the music.  I was envisioning a crash to the sounds of Liberty Bell…

We decided as it was not even December, to play a mix of general music and carols.  It was a very cold morning, but there was no wind and no rain, so we were very lucky with the weather.

On Sunday 29th November we will be performing at the Dickensian Festival in Ulverston on the Theatre Stage from 11am to 12pm where we will be playing a mix of carols and other music.  If everyone seems very festive, we will play lots of carols.

Kim Anderson, our principal trumpet, will be conducting the Barrow Shipyard Junior Band, the largest brass band in Cumbria on the Theatre Stage afterwards from 12-1pm.

On the 11 December we will be playing from 4-5pm at Kendal Christmas Market in the Marketplace and this time it will be Christmas Carols all the way.

On the 20th December we will be playing carols in Barrow Market from 12-2 to get shoppers into a festive mood.

Keep an eye out for us and do come and say hello and request a Christmas carol!