After many memorable years at the Maurice Metcalfe Memorial Bandroom in Barton, the City of Hull Brass Band has officially moved back to the city it proudly represents. On Friday, 4th July, the band completed its relocation to its new rehearsal home at the Alexandra Hotel and Public House, right in the heart of Hull.

“It’s a real pleasure to be back within the city that the band is named after,” says Chairperson Julia Mathews. “This city is part of our identity, and we can’t wait to reconnect with our community, perform for local audiences, and continue our legacy in the place we call home.”

Conductor Jonathan Beatty added: “The Alexandra Hotel has given us more than just a rehearsal space—they’ve given us the chance to thrive in a setting that reflects who we represent. 

The City of Hull Brass Band looks forward to sharing more music with the community—and celebrating the culture, spirit, and resilience of Hull. 

The band extends heartfelt thanks to Mark Walker,  landlord and proprietor of the Alexandra Hotel and Public House for his generous support and for making the band feel so welcome. This move gives us a brilliant opportunity to develop the band and build something special - together. 

We would also like to thank Paul Poulton for putting us in touch with the Alexandra Hotel and also everyone who offered accommodation and assistance during the search for a new home. Your kindness and encouragement meant the world to us during that uncertain time.

Upcoming Performances include:

🎵 12th July – First-ever appearance supporting the Big Meeting in Durham for the Miners’ Gala, alongside the Washington Banner Group

⚓ 20th July – Supporting STAND “Remembering Hull’s LOST Trawlermen”, honouring the city’s heritage and fishing history.

#CityOfHullBand #BackInHull #HullMusic #BrassBand #MinersGala #STAND #HullTrawlermen #BigMeeting2025 #CommunityMusic #AlexandraHotel

On Wednesday 25th June 2025, the City of Hull Brass Band gathered for our final rehearsal at the Barton Upon Humber bandroom — a place we've proudly called home for the past 11 years.

This special rehearsal was dedicated to perfecting the programme for our upcoming concert at Hull Minster, with a focus on refining our sound, energy, and connection as a band. The rehearsal was filled with a mix of nostalgia and excitement as we brought our music to life one last time in the space that has supported so much of our journey.

Fittingly, the final piece we played was You Can’t Stop the Beat — a high-energy number that captured the spirit of both celebration and transition. It was a joyful, emotional close to a chapter that’s meant so much to us all.

We leave Barton with deep gratitude and look forward to our next performance — and the next stage of our story — with pride.

But where to next? .... announcement coming soon!

On Saturday 14th June, the City of Hull Band treated audiences to an exceptional evening of music that showcased the versatility, power, and heart of modern brass banding. From rousing marches to lyrical solos and film favourites, the concert offered a rich and varied programme that delighted listeners of all ages.

The concert opened in traditional style with “The Contestor”, setting an authoritative tone and immediately displaying the band’s precision and dynamic control. This was followed by the lively “Thievish Magpie”, Rossini’s overture brought to life with energy and a sense of playful drama.

Among the evening’s standout moments were the solo performances, each demonstrating not only individual artistry but also the supportive ensemble playing that underpins great brass music. Keir Luc’s emotive rendition of “Don’t Doubt Him Now” was particularly touching, delivered with sincerity and beautiful phrasing.

Film fans were in for a treat with the exhilarating performance of “633 Squadron”, followed by “Alone With My Thoughts”, where Dan Z took the spotlight with a sensitive and thoughtful solo that resonated deeply with the audience. The band then launched into “Barnum and Bailey Favourites”, a show-stopping piece filled with technical brilliance and circus flair.

Graham Drury’s solo in “Summertime” brought a moment of jazzy warmth and lyricism, providing a lovely contrast to the stirring power of the brass in “Star Wars”, which closed the first half with cinematic grandeur.

The second half opened on a more reflective note with the hauntingly beautiful “Sea Fever”, followed by the nostalgic charm of “Under the Boardwalk”, featuring a charismatic solo from Fiona Staples that added a touch of soul to the programme.

The band’s lighter side came through with “Singing in the Rain”, a buoyant and cheerful arrangement that brought smiles all around. This was followed by a highlight of the evening: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, tenderly interpreted by Wendy Orr, whose expressive playing captured the longing and beauty of the classic tune.

Mel Ornsby’s commanding solo in “Michaelangelo” displayed both power and finesse, with impressive technical control and musical maturity. The toe-tapping medley “Beatles Go Brass” brought familiar favourites to life with clever arrangements and warm ensemble playing, while the final number, “You Can’t Stop the Beat”, sent the audience off with an infectious sense of joy and celebration.

The City of Hull Band demonstrated why they continue to be a staple of the regional music scene — a fine balance of musical excellence, versatility, and community spirit. Each piece was performed with professionalism and passion, and the audience responded with enthusiastic applause throughout.

This concert was not only a testament to the talent of the individual soloists and the cohesion of the ensemble, but also a reminder of the lasting power of live brass music to uplift, inspire, and entertain.

The City of Hull band is delighted to announce a new musical direction for the band as it unveils an artistic partnership with not one but two of the country’s brightest conducting talents.

After the departure of the band’s former MD, Dean Jones, following the Grand Shield last year, the band worked with a number of conductors, but on the back of the work done for the recent performances at Durham and Blackpool, they have moved to secure both Jonathan Beatty and Danny Brooks in an Artistic Partnership which everyone involved hopes will yield major benefits for the band.

Band chair, Julia Mathews, said “We’re delighted to that both Danny and Jonathan have agreed to work with the band on a more formal basis. There has been a real buzz around the stands in the last 6-8 months and a lot of that is down to the work ethic that these have instilled in the band.”

Trustee Russ Orr adds “The band has been massively impressed with the professionalism that both Jonathan and Danny have brought to the bandroom and we felt that a partnership like this offered so much to our development and future plans.”

Danny and Jonathan will share conducting duties on both the concert and contest stage. Ironically, the band returns to the contest stage at the National Finals in October, under the baton of Jonathan Beatty, when it will compete against bands including the Leyland Band under the direction of Danny Brooks.

Speaking about the new partnership, Jonathan Beatty said "I've really enjoyed working with the band over the last 9 months.  They are everything a great brass band should be, striving for musical excellence, focusing on entertaining the audience with joy and camaraderie. There is a buzz in the bandroom after being directed by Danny Brooks at the Spring Festival. Danny is gaining in reputation as a leading MD through his work with Elland and Leyland and and a plan was hatched.  Danny has links with CoH and between us we will formalise our roles with the band going forward without compromising my relationships with Dinnington and Unite.  I've known Danny since his student days and am delighted we can create a musical partnership. I am super excited to be working on Gresgson's mighty work for the National Finals"  whilst Danny Brooks added “I look forward to working with the City of Hull Band, alongside my MD role at Leyland Band.  Jonathan is a great conductor and it will be great to work alongside him to deliver success to this great band at its upcoming events"

This news comes at the start of a busy period for the band as the begin their preparations for the National Finals, as well as performing a summer season of concerts which began at Howden on 1st June and will finish in Louth on 27th September.

The band is also hoping to announce another exciting partnership in the next couple of weeks which should further secure the long-term future of the band.

City Of Hull Band Awarded £1000 from Movement for Good

This month COHB were lucky enough to be nominated for a 'Movement for Good' award from the Benifact Group.  

The Benefact Group is an independent, specialist financial services group that exists to give all its available profits to charity.
Its Movement for Good Awards give away over £1million to help charities change lives for the better.

Each month charities are nominated and entered into a draw for the chance to win £1000.

And the fantanstic news was that our name was drawn out this month.

Liz Hillary was the representive who handed us over the cheque and was thrilled to hear that the money would be put to use in contributing towards the costs of our trip the Albert Hall in October.

Liz also encouraged us to encourage our supporters to keep nominating us as there is an award every month.

On 23rd March, the band travelled up to the Gala Theatre in Durham to compete at the North of England Area Brass Band Championships.

The Championships are the first contest of the year for the band in their calendar and are an opportunity to re-engage with friendly rivalries with other bands as well as being a chance to catch-up with friends from across the banding world.

Having worked hard under the direction of Jonathan Beatty over the past few weeks on the test piece, “Diversions for Brass Band” by Derek Bourgeois”, the band hoped that their performance would find favour with the two adjudicators, Melvin White and Sam Fisher.

The band drew last, which meant that we had the curious honour of playing the very last notes of the entire Regional Championships programme for 2025. It also meant that we had a long day waiting to play and dreaming of that cool, refreshing post-contest drink.

Since we were the last band to play, the auditorium of the Gala Theatre was pleasantly full and there was a calm focus about the band as we settled on the stand, waiting for the signal to start our contest performance.

The performance started well, with Melvin White commenting “Good opening and control of dynamics.” Indeed, the performance grew into the second movement, with the adjudicators noting “Lovely opening (with) excellent contributions from Euph and Baritone” and “(a) nice feel / flow to this.” The final movement also received similar praise with “details coming through well”.

The soloists of the band all put in a shift with strong support from across the band. The generous applause from the audience showed that the performance had found favour with them and the advantage of drawing last meant that the band didn’t have long to wait to find out whether our performance had also landed favourably with the adjudicators.

Before the main result, we were able to celebrate three soloist prizes, with Danny Zobkiw making it a hat-trick of Best Baritone prizes at the contest, as well as the Maurice Metcalf Memorial Trophy for Best Euphonium for Mel Ornsby and Best Trombone for Elizabeth Pearce.

The Best Euphonium trophy holds a special place in the hearts of the band as it was given to the Regional Committee by the band in memory of Maurice who played an important part in the development of the band in the early years.

Fresh of these individual trophies, the band was delighted to find out that it had placed 2nd, behind the NASUWT Riverside, and had secured a invitation to represent the North of England at the National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall in October.

Commenting on the result, Chair of the band, Julia Mathews, said “It’s a great result and testament to the hard work that the players in the band have put in over the last few months.”

City of Hull Band welcome Brighouse to Hull

We were delighted to welcome the Brighouse and Rastrick Band to the Albert Hall of the North this Sunday as we performed a joint concert at Hull City Hall.

It’s always exciting to have 60 musicians of any type on a stage at any one time but a 60 piece brass band is on another level. The quiets are just as quiet but the louds are monumental! The programme we presented to a near capacity audience proved both of these points as well as showcasing a number of our fantastic soloists.

To open the programme we chose one of the hardest starts in brass banding with Ray Farr’s arrangement of Bach’s Toccata in D minor. Our Principal Trombonist, Charlie was heard to mutter “I blummin love this” as he plucked a top B out of the ether, perfectly in sync with the massed cornets and trombones of the massed band before we raced through the piece in double quick time.

Once the rapturous applause had died down we played Esenvalds’ Only in Sleep which showcased the sonorous flugal playing of Fiona Staples. This haunting piece perfectly highlighted the full, rich tones of the massed bands. The final Massed Bands piece of the first half was a Show tune, You Can’t Stop the Beat which sent the Brighouse players off the stage with a spring in their step!

The musical theatre didn’t end there though, after a spot of stage wizardry, the City of Hull band took to the stage alone and not in traditional band formation. Even more surprisingly we immediately turned our backs to the audience! “What what?” I hear you cry! “Is this just a way to show off the magnificent embroidery on the back of our band jackets?” Not this time! For our solo spot we chose to tell the life story of Roald Dahl, a story narrated by our very own Sam Kind and that starts with a Nordic Polska.

As Sam introduced the great author’s early life to the audience the band started playing in accompaniment. Six soloists standing in the choir stalls high on stage then broke in to an up tempo polska dance based piece, which ended with the band executing a contrary motion turn forward that the Band of The Royal Marines would be proud of and that lifted the sound further for a truly absorbing beginning to the set.

Dahl’s life story continued through his war time years in the RAF with the 633 Squadron theme tune, his marriage to the film star Patricia Neal with Moon River, the tragic death of his daughter with a beautiful cornet solo, A Little Star Went Out played by the peerless Keir Evans-Brown and finally, his contribution to stage and cinema with Philip Harper’s The World’s Greatest Story Teller. The finale was again choreographed to present the polyphonic sounds of the band and prompted another ovation from the audience. The City of Hull Band departed the stage having showcased it’s sound, versatility, footwork and the Band Sergeant breathed a sigh of relief.

After much ice cream was consumed at half time the Ladies and Gentlemen in Purple addressed the audience in time honoured fashion by playing all the notes, very quickly, and in perfect synchrony to awake the audience from their sugar crash induced coma with a brilliant performance of the Capistrano Overture by Peter Graham. This was shortly followed by a virtuosic performance of Bass in the Ballroom by Shaun Crowther who delighted young and old with his wit, repartee and bass playing although I think the Principal Cornet player may have something to say about his low notes!

There followed two brass band classics in Deep Harmony and Personent Hodie to round off Brighouse’s solo spot and reinforce why they are one of the top ten bands in the world.

For the (in the words of a 12 year old fan) “Mega Band”’s finale the bands played the magnificent march The Contestor, the beautiful Little Serenade and Friedman’s Slavonic Rhapsody no.2 before delighting the audience with a rendition of The Lost Chord which raised the roof under the towering direction of David Thornton.

A brilliant concert by two fantastic bands who very much hope both to bump in to each other at the Hull City Hall of the South later in the year.

The 36th Lost Trawlerman Memorial Service – St John The Baptist Church, Hull – Sunday 26th January at 12 noon

Once again the City of Hull Band was proud to be part of this moving service in support of STAND and the bereaved families of the 6000 men who lost their lives at sea.

As the congregation arrived the band welcomed them with a moving rendition of Be Still (Finlandia) Arr Dorothy Gates.  Then  Dan Zobkiw’s sonorous sound filled the church as he played Tide, the middle movement of Peter Graham’s baritone concerto Torque, Tide and Turbulence.

The service was opened by Rev Richard Coutts and prayers were said.  Ruth Creasey, Chair of STAND paid tribute to the 40 souls who were lost 70 years earlier when the Roderigo and Lorella went to the aid of another vessel. There were readings and an address by Emma Hardy MP. Chiltern Primary School choir sang beautifully and then the band played An Anchor for the Soul arranged by Andi Cook.  

An Anchor for the Soul was commissioned by the City of Hull Band in 2017 and is dedicated to the families and friends of the 6000 fishermen lost at sea. It combines the hymn tunes Melita and Nearer My God to Thee.  Soloists Keir (cornet) and Mel (euphonium) created a wonderful, note perfect atmosphere with the band entering with the sound of turbulent seas and haunting echoes of the bells.  The whole piece reaches a beautiful climax before the haunting sound of the soloists bring the piece to an emotional close. It was followed by 2 minutes silence and the presentation and blessing of Wreaths.

The service drew to a close with the congregation signing Eternal Father and final prayers.  The congregation was asked to reflect as the band played Only in Sleep  Eriks Esenvalds (arr Littlemore) featuring Fiona (Flugal) and the whole event was brought to a close with the ever popular Crimond (arr Goff Richards)

This wonderful event is always a favourite date in the band’s calendar and we look forward to being part of the first summer service at the City’s Memorial to the Lost Trawlerman of Hull on Sunday 20th July 2025 at 12noon.

Well that’s a wrap for the City Of Hull Christmas season of 2024 and what an enjoyable time it has been! We have had fantastic audiences and it is you, our supporters, that make it all worthwhile. So firstly we must say a huge ‘thankyou’ to all those who have supported us not only during the Christmas season but throughout the year. 

We have enjoyed performing in venues not only in Hull but in surrounding areas also (Beverley, Gainsborough, Grimsby, Elloughton and Howden). 

We hope you have enjoyed our variety of Christmas music. We always aim to please everyone by including traditional music, fun pieces, popular songs, beautiful solos and if you heard us this year you’ll know we even managed to get a ‘cha-cha-cha’ in our programme to please our Strictly Come Dancing fans! 

A shout out must go to our fantastic soloists this year - Keir Evans-Brown, Wendy Orr, Fiona Staples, Graham Drury, Charlie Flintoft and Maddie Stapleton (plus substitute / warm up act, Russ Orr at Parkway). The band are proud to have such fantastic soloists that love to perform to our audiences. We also featured our baritone section with a duet this year - beautiful playing from Dan Zobkiw and Steve Ornsby. 

The band are very grateful to have had the support from Jonathan Beatty who has stepped in to conduct the band throughout the season. Jonathan has made the rehearsals really enjoyable and the band look forward to working with him in the new year. We know Jonathan has been a massive hit with the audiences too! 

We are very proud of our youth band for joining us at a concert in Hull Minster conducted by our very own Garry Oglesby. On this occasion we were conducted by Richard Grantham – thank you Richard for your help and support with this. The youngsters played a selection of pieces which really showed how they have improved throughout the year and then joined us with a few pieces which included a fun Schneewaltzer as an encore. A fun and joyful end to the concert.

Christmas wouldn’t be complete without mince pies and mulled wine, so we thank those from the church at Elloughton for keeping the band and audience supplied with the festive treats! As always this was also the venue where our annual awards were presented.  The winners being: Players Player – Dan Zobkew;  Outstanding Contribution - Julia Matthews; MD's Award - Graham Drury.  Huge congratulations to all three of them!

So now that the Christmas season has come to an end, we hope we have filled you with joy, with Christmas spirit and with love. Wishing all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you again to entertain you in the new year of 2025…

City of Hull Band does Oktoberfest!

We decided to put on a special invitation only social event for friends and family of the band at the Albemarle Music Centre.

Our programme was made up of a mixture of Oompah music and well known crowd pleasers, including Queen, The Beatles and ABBA.

Costumes were bought, the hall was decorated and the fridge was filled with beer, ready for a crazy night of fun, singing, dancing and laughter!

Musical highlights of the night were solos from Keir on trumpet with Georgia on my Mind, Maddy on xylophone with Taps in Tempo and a cornet duet from Keir and Russ.

The audience were also invited to join us with The Birdie Song, YMCA, singalongs and playing the spoons, lead by Maddy, Debbie, Wendy and Fiona! 

Huge thanks to everyone involved, especially Wendy, the chief organiser, Jonathan Beatty for conducting us once again, all our deps, Sam and James from the Albemarle and of course the audience for being such good sports and joining in with the craziness!

After lots of rain recently, we were very relieved to find Thursday 3rd October dry and sunny, if a little windy!

Why? Because we had been asked to play on Withernsea sea front to send Classic FM presenter Dan Walker off on his coast to coast charity bike challenge!

As Dan talked to the camera, we hoped our high tech music holders (clothes pegs!) would make it to the end of our first piece, Radetzky March, which began when Dan turned to us and said 'hit it!'.

Fortunately, the pegs held their own against the wind, so while the final checks of the bike and equipment were done, we resecured our music ready for Dan's departure.  

After a few final words, Dan set off to us playing Triumphal March from Aida, with a salute as he left and applause from the crowd that had gathered.

Thank you to Classic FM and Dan Walker for asking us to be involved and best of luck with the challenge!

If anyone wishes to donate, the link is https://dan-walkers-coast-to-coast-challenge.raiselysite.com/ 

Love is All You Need 

Earlier this year we received a request through our website for a small group of brass players to be part of a ‘Love Actually’ style finale at their daughter’s wedding.  The bride -to- be had once joked that if she ever got married then she would love this to happen in the ceremony.   This prompted some family members to launch into action and try to organise a surprise version of the song for the happy couple.  (If you have no idea what we are talking about then check this video out first https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdIRmDmDUnk). 

After several secret phone calls, we started to formulate a plan. We met with the vicar and 

musical director at All Saint’s Church Hessle and then set about arranging the music for the Beatles Song ‘Love is all You Need.’ The choir were booked, the brass players were booked, all that was needed (aprt from Love of course) was a lead vocalist to sing the song.  Our assistant principal cornet player, 

Russ was promptly volunteered by his wife to fill that gap, and we were all set.

The All Saints Church Choir meet on a Tuesday evening, so this was a perfect opportunity for us to pop down and rehearse with them as City of Hull Band rehearsals normally take place on a Wednesday and a Sunday.

Some of the family members also attended these rehearsals but as it was a surprise for the bride and groom, they had to come up with a variety of creative excuses to be out of the house on a Tuesday evening! 

Rehearsals done and logistics sorted we were finally ready for our flashmob performance.   

On the morning of the wedding, we dropped our instruments off early at the church so that none of the congregation knew what we were up to, then headed back to Russ and Wendy’s for a pre Wedding Breakfast.  

Suited and booted, we made our way to All Saints Church in the hope that nobody would question who we were and what we were doing there.  This was the most nerve

wracking part of the performance, wondering if our cover would be blown.   

The bride entered looking stunning and didn’t even flinch as she clapped eyes on six strangers looking shifty at the back of her congregation.  The ceremony was beautiful with readings and singing, followed by the signing of the register.  This was our cue to sneak to the back and make our preparations. 

After the register had been signed and photographs taken the happy couple began to make their way down the aisle.  The photographer had been given instructions to block their way and prevent them from walking too far so that we could set the surprise into motion.  After an introduction of the Wedding March, the organist segwayed into La Marseilles and the choir launched into the Beatles Song “All You Need is Love”.  

There were some confused looks as 

Russ made his way down the aisle towards the bride and groom, singing his heart out.  The brass team had already sneaked down the wings, ready to play their parts from behind the new Mr and Mrs Kilvington.  The whole performance worked like a dream and in the words of the bride “I was so surprised by this movie moment, cannot express how excited I still am over this.  The City of Hull Brass Band were amazing, working with our sneaky parents to organise a flash mob surprise.”

This was one of the more unusual requests we had for the band this year, and we were honoured to have been part of the wedding of Emily and Jonathan on Friday 5th July.  

If you would like to see the full performance then click the link below: 

Love Actually Wedding Surprise

Sunday 8th September 2024:

This weekend saw us return to Yarm for the first time since 2017, to compete in the Wainstones Cup at Dr Martin's Contest.

It's been an interesting few months not having a permanent conductor and some vacancies around the band, but we had a great couple of weeks with Jonathan Beatty leading us and some super deps helping us out.

The Wainstones Cup has 3 sections; a march, a solo and a test piece. For our March we played O.R.B, receiving multiple compliments on both the cornet solo and bass section. 

Our soloist was Dan Zobkiw, playing Tide and Torque from Peter Graham's Concerto for Baritone. Again, some fantastic comments for Dan, with compliments on technique, shaping sound and musicality, along with wow!, top stuff and impressive! 

We finished off our programme with the test piece Alderley Edge. Again, lots of praise for all of our soloists around the band and different sections too. 

We came off stage happy with our performance and ready to enjoy a few drinks together before results! Unfortunately we didn't win any prizes, but as we all know, it's not the winning, but taking part that counts! And judging by the adjudicators and audiences comments, we put on a great show and a performance to be proud of.

Our much loved annual visit to Elloughton for a summer garden party proved to be a different one this year due to the wonderful British weather of rain, rain and more rain! This meant that we had to perform under cover in St Mary’s church. Despite the gloomy weather, the audience were treated to an enjoyable programme of music which left their feet tapping and their hearts warm!

The soloists all performed beautifully. Keir Luc, principal cornet, played a sensitive rendition of First Light by Ben Hollings. He made it sound effortless with his smooth and silky playing. Wendy Orr, solo horn, played On My Own from Les Miserables with passion but also calmness, which created a soothing atmosphere. Fiona Staples, flugel horn, performed When Somebody Loved Me from the film Toy Story. Fiona donned a cowboy hat like the character Jessie from the film and played beautifully with empathy.

The audience enjoyed a varied programme which included film music from Star Wars to Lion King. A favourite was music from the film Chicken Run where some of the band got to show their skills playing kazoos! 

The scones with butter and jam went down a treat with the band and the audience and the band look forward to performing in Elloughton again in the future. 

Hull Trinity House Academy Awards Evening

On Wednesday 26th June, an ensemble from the City of Hull band were proud to take part in the awards evening of Hull Trinity House Academy.  

As a band we have developed strong links to Hull’s maritime history and it was a pleasure to be part of the evening with possibly some of the city’s future seafarers.  

The band played during and after the awards were presented, but by far the most poignant moment was the performance of the school’s hymn, Eternal Father, Stong to Save.  

It is always a pleasure to play in the magnificent Hull Minster, but add to that an evening where many of the city’s youngsters were being recognised, not just for their achievements but also their commitment and dedication, and it was a truly special evening to be a part of.  

Thank you for inviting us.

It is with sadness that City of Hull Band announce that our MD Dean Jones has decided to step down due to increasing workload and family commitments.

Dean’s decision was made prior to the band’s performance at the Grand Shield this weekend and follows a brilliant 18 months with the band.

Dean Jones stated “I have loved my time at Hull but playing with Backstage Brass, being a full time classroom teacher and being back at my local band Crofton means time with my young family is precious and limited. Something had to give. I would like to thank everyone at City of Hull Band for their hard work and great performances during my tenure”

A spokesperson for the band added “Dean has brought energy and enthusiasm to our rehearsals and performances. We would like to thank him for his hard work and dedication during that last 18 months and wish him well in everything he does”

After a long and successful playing career with the City of Hull Band, Tony Newiss has decided it’s time to go!  

Tony has been a playing member with the band for over 20 years after coming to “help out “the then EYMS Band at a London Parks job in 2000 and has been ever present since.  Having been elected Chair in late 2001 he developed a close relationship with our President and longtime sponsor (as EYMS Band) Peter Shipp. 

He has played under at least 10 different Musical Directors and at 12 National Finals.  He has overseen several band room moves culminating in the conversion of an Industrial unit into the bands current rehearsal facility The Maurice Metcalf band room. 

In more recent times he helped the band navigate the challenges of the COVID pandemic.  

Over the past 4 years since “Born on the Tide” in 2019 he has strengthened the links between the band and  Hull’s fishing community and heritage.  A recent highlight for the band was playing at the dedication of the long awaited and hard fought for Lost Trawlermen`s Memorial on St Andrews Quay.

When asked “Why now?” He replied “all good things come to an end at some point, I have enjoyed some great performances, lots of highs, a couple of lows and I have made many good friends along the way”. “Having stepped down as Chair in June 2023 the time just seems right for me to go now”

He leaves behind many lifelong friends and all would like to wish him well in whatever he chooses to do next…. I suspect it may involve a fishing rod and bivouac tent.

The City of Hull Youth Band put on another excellent performance at Middleton Hall on Thursday 21st March, 2024. They were joined by members of Barton Training Band, Barton Community Band and the City of Hull Band for a 'Brass Spectacular.' And what a spectacular evening it was!

The Youth Band and Barton Training band opened up the concert with their set. There was a real mixture of styles and genres performed, from 16th Century music, film music and current pop songs. It was great to hear both bands play together and they put on a fantastic performance.

Next, the two senior bands took to the stage to perform their set. Again, there was a good mix of pieces, from traditional marches, solos and even a piece in which the cornet section treated us to their kazoo playing! 

The cornet section were also featured in Charmaine, and players from the City of Hull Band were our featured soloists for the evening - Fiona Staples, Dan Zobkiw and Wendy Orr.

Finally, all the musicians took to the stage for a massed band finale. With around 60 performers on the stage, the audience were treated to the march Slaidburn, followed by an encore of 'Steps' famous toe tapper, Reach! 

The concert was very well received by the audience and it was a fantastic opportunity for the youngsters to perform together with two local brass bands. 

A massive thank you to those who helped make this concert happen and also to those who performed on the evening - it was a real success.

On Saturday 17th March, City of Hull Band performed at the Gala Theatre in Durham at the North of England Regional Championships. The band were pleased with their performance and were placed 3rd out of the 9 competing bands. Unfortunately this meant that they were only one place away from qualifying for the National Finals later in the year, but the band still look to the future and will be back in Durham next year fighting to perform at the Royal Albert Hall again.

The piece was titled ‘Variations on an Enigma’ by Philip Sparke. This was also the test piece at the same competition back in the year 2000 and the band coincidently also came 3rd that year under the baton of Graham O’Connor.

The piece was a fantastic test which featured every section of the band, so everyone was able to shine making it a brilliant team effort. The band were extremely proud to bring back the 3rd place trophy and also 2 more trophies to add to their collection.  Their solo baritone player, Dan Zobkiw, was awarded the trophy (for the second year in a row) for ‘Best Baritone Player’. Dan has been an amazing asset to the band since joining in January 2023. Danny Brooks who played solo trombone was also awarded a trophy for the ‘Best Trombone Player’. Danny is also an outstanding musician whose contribution was excellent.

The competition was the band’s new principal cornet player’s debut contest performance with the band. Keir Luc recently joined and has fitted in really well. The band are so pleased to have his superb talent, quality sound and youthful enthusiasm on board! Welcome to the band Keir!

The band now look forward to intense rehearsals on Bert Appermont’s 'Brussels Requiem’ to compete in the Grand Shield section at the Brass Band Spring Festival in Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens in May.

On Sunday 11th February a service took place in Hull Minster to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Gaul.  On February 8th 1974 the trawler set off from the Bullnose, St Andrew's Quay with a crew of 36.  None of them were to return.

City of Hull Band were honored to play their part in the service performing 'Anchor for the Soul', 'Seal Lullaby', 'The Day Thou Gavest' and 'Crimond' to a congregation of around 500.  It was an extremely moving service and truely fitting tribute, not just to the 36 crew lost with the Gaul, but also to the Tens of Thousands of fishermen who were lost at sea over the years.

During the days after the service the band were blessed with some wonderful feedback from the public, some of which we have included below.  The band would like to say a huge thank to you all for your kind words:

Thankyou for the beautiful music you all played on Sunday at the holy trinity service for the Gaul memorial 50 years … Anchor for the soul and For those in peril on the sea really gave me a tear in my eye coming from a fishing family I have strong memories of the loss of the ships from Hull but wow what respect you paid with the beautiful music I have never heard a band live and it resonated around the trinity I will never forget it …. Xx please thank the full band for me

Anon

So beautiful and moving, thank you.

Lorna Denness

Beautiful! Thank you to Mel & Russ ❤. Thank you to all our lovely friends who are the City of Hull Band ❤.

STAND [St Andrews Dock Fishing Heritage Trust]

On Sunday 28th January we were honoured once again to take part in the annual Lost Trawlermen's Day Service at St John the Baptist Church, Newington, Hull. 

It's always a very moving service and our programme reflects this, choosing to play Be Still and Seal Lullaby as people arrived and The Day Thou Gavest and Crimmond after.

During the service we played Anchor for the Soul, a piece we commissioned in 2019 as part of our 'Hull's Maritime History' Brass in Concert programme and is dedicated to all Hull trawlermen and their families. It featured soloists Russ Orr on cornet and Melanie Ornsby on euphonium. They were absolutely superb and played it beautifully.

Our final piece during the service was Eternal Father, Strong to Save,  for which we were joined by the congregation.

Following the service we were very grateful to receive lots of lovely comments and words of thanks, however, we always feel privileged to be invited to be part of something so special.

The band have thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas season this year, entertaining you with festive music and we would like to thank all of our supporters.

The band performed at different venues across the area including Gainsborough Trinity Arts Centre, Beverley Parkway Cinema, Elloughton Church, Howden Shire Hall and Hull Minster. We also played at some carol services and provided carols to the public in a variety of venues.

We hope you enjoyed our choice of music and in particular liked our fantastic soloists! We featured a baritone and flugelhorn duet at our concerts - Dan Zobkiw on baritone and Fiona Staples on flugelhorn who both played with

sensitively with passion in Peter Graham’s ‘Meditation.’ A beautiful melody taken from the larger test piece ‘The triumph of Time.’

Our very own Mr Grinch, Stuart Clark, donned his outfit for the bass trombone solo ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch.’ This showed his cheeky style as he played superbly to the audience. The band are all excited to see which outfit he will wear next year for the next Christmas season… will he be a snowman or

maybe Santa Claus?

Our solo euphonium Melanie Ornsby chose to play ‘A Candlelight Carol’ this year which is one of the many sublime compositions by John Rutter. Melanie played this beautifully, showing her warm sound.

We also featured our horn section in the concerts. Wendy Orr, Garry Oglesby

and Alan Summers entertained with a horn trio, ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.’ They appeared onto the stage in a mischievous mood with their Santa and elf hats on, having a little giggle! They played with a lovely style, really getting the audience in a Christmassy mood. The band then decided to join them and all put on a festive hat or headband!

And we can’t not mention ‘Santa-Claustrophobia!’ A fantastic Christmas piece

which featured all of the band, section by section! A piece we love to play every

year!

As a tradition, the band announced their prize winners during the concerts held at St Mary’s Church in Elloughton. We would like to congratulate them on their awards!

The President’s Award (for outstanding contribution) - awarded to Wendy Orr.

The Player’s Player of the Year Award - awarded to Russ Orr.

The Musical Director’s Award - awarded to Melanie Ornsby.

The band would like to thank not only our supporters but all of our players (including their families) for their continued hard work, dedication and commitment to the organisation. We look forward to more music-making in 2024.

We are fast approaching the end of 2023 and we will soon be presenting this year`s band awards at the Christmas Concert in Elloughton.

The band has 3 annual awards:

• The Presidents Award: (for outstanding contribution) voted for by band members in secret ballot.
• The Musical Directors Award: which is awarded at the discretion of the musical director to the person they consider to be most deserving.
• The Players Player of the Year:  again this is voted for by band members in secret ballot. 

The 'Players Player' Award has been re named this year and is now “The Clive Thornes Memorial Shield” (for the players player of the year) in honour of Clive Thornes who was a long time prolific supporter of the band often travelling from the USA to attend concerts and who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Details of the winners will appear on the band website after the concert.

On Sunday 19th November, City of Hull Band took part in the ‘Own Choice’ Contest organised by the LBBA. The day started with a rehearsal in the famous Desford Brass Band rehearsal room. The band were very grateful for the use of Desford’s band room. Their band room is full of such history and achievements, banners, trophies and photos. 

The band began the rehearsal with a surprise rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ for their bass player, Sam Kind, who was celebrating his 50th birthday that day.

The band then drove to the contest which was held at Loughborough Grammar School. We were all pleased that it wasn’t raining as we had to walk outside with our instruments from the changing room to the performance hall which was not ideal, but in true COHB style the band were positive and ready to give of their best.

The band performed ‘Of Distant Memories’ by Edward Gregson, a beautiful and lyrical piece of music. The band played fairly well however were disappointed to come 5th out of 8 bands. A special mention must go to Russ Orr, our bumper-up cornet player who stepped up and played principal cornet

for the contest due to illness of our current principal cornet player Neil Day.

Russ had a lot of important parts to play in the piece, with a solo that would stretch any cornet player. Russ performed really well and his fellow band members showed their appreciation with cheers at the end of the performance.

The band now move on to the Christmas season of concerts. If you would like

to hear the band please look on our website where we have the current list of

concerts to view.

On Sunday 1st October, City of Hull Band took part in the Bolsover Festival of Brass. This was an Entertainment contest and was held in Shirebrook, Mansfield. There were 17 bands competing in the championship section and the band achieved 4th place.

The programme, chosen by our MD Dean Jones, was titled “One Small Step”. On July 16th 1969, three men changed the way people would see the universe forever; it was a journey to gain knowledge beyond our existence. The programme was to reflect the journey of Buzz Aldrin…

Our first piece was “Into the Stars’ by Ben Hollings. This proved to be a confident and exciting start. The bass section showed power with their opening notes and the sop rode beautifully over the top of the band. There were full sounds from the band with a strong close. Our second piece was the third movement from Jonathan Bate’s “Stratos Concerto for Euphonium” which featured our soloist Melanie Ornsby. This was a very demanding solo not only for the soloist but also for the band. It was very technical and featured lots of percussion. Our percussion section did a splendid job and saw them running from one instrument to another. Mel’s performance was incredible and the audience thoroughly  enjoyed it as there was cheering and lots of applause. We then relaxed the atmosphere with “Lake of Tenderness” by Ben Hollings. Our principal cornet Neil Day gave a ‘stylish’ cornet lead, with the cornet section following his lead with smooth lines and controlled playing. There were beautiful sounds from the baritones and the whole band played with passion and tenderness. We then moved on to “Conspiracy” written by Rebecca Lundberg. This rhythmical piece was exciting to play and was played with energy. It was in fact the euphonium’s section favourite piece! We finished with the ending of a test piece - Philip Sparke’s “Music of the Spheres” (from Harmonia to the end). This was a challenge and the band showed that they could rise to it. There were warm sounds from the flugel and horn section in the slow melody. The trombones showed their power in the bass tune. The ending was strong with the band showing the audience their technical ability. The whole performance overall - a good one - one for the band to be proud of.

Adjudicator’s Comments (Mark Wilkinson):

Into the Stars - Confident to open with clean articulations and secure ensemble. ‘C’ has drive and a light feel. Not always secure in ensemble on the more technical sections. Full sounds are noted with a strong build to close.

Stratos - Not everything fits to open. Euph is extremely agile in a very demanding solo showing a secure range and technical awareness. Don’t always hear all the detail due to band balancing. The drive is well maintained to a convincing close. Well done soloist!

Lake of Tenderness - Distant and balanced to open. You take the dynamic risks with a stylish cornet lead. Music maintains its flow. Lots of controlled playing is shown to close.

Conspiracy - The laid back feels work well aided by percussion. The complex rhythms are well managed. Don’t always hear lead lines clearly however the various counter melodies work well. Impressive close.

Music of the Spheres - Don’t get equally matching bell effects or pitch. Music flows well but watch tuning in octaves. Full sounds are noted with good contributions from sop/euph. Lots of exciting playing and a strong close!

Overall - A great concept with a varied, well thought out programme. Lots of quality playing (especially control). Sometimes lacked balancing in places and the ensemble and clarity in quieter passages was not always accurate. Well done all (and soloists!) Thank you.

The Opening and Blessing of the City’s Memorial to the Lost Trawlermen of Hull 

On Sunday 24th September 2023, at St Andrew’s Quay in Hull, there was a special service to remember more than 6000 Hull trawlermen who tragically lost their lives.  The City of Hull Band were invited to take part in this. 

The event was a poignant reminder of the sadness of the tragedy and encorporated the opening of the City's memorial to the Lost Trawlermen of Hull. Before the service started the band played Be Still, Water of Tyne, The Spirit Within and I Know Thou Art Mine.

During the service the band were featured playing ‘Anchor for the Soul’ which was a duet written by Andi Cook specially for the Humber Trawler Families. The duet features the band’s principal cornet player Neil Day and the band’s solo euphonium Melanie Ornsby and was commissioned by the band in 2019. The beautiful music allowed for a time of reflection for the congregation present.

After the service the band performed Lake of Tenderness and The Wellerman. Then the congregation headed across to the Memorial where the unveiling of the Memorial took place by Rt Hon Alan Johnson. Then Rt Rev Dr Eleanor Sanderson, the Bishop of Hull, blessed the Memorial. A two minute silence was observed to pay respects. This was a very emotional and special day for the people of the City of Hull as it has taken over 20 years for the city to raise the money and complete the work for the Memorial. The families now feel they have a Memorial to honour their husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles and all of the men that tragically lost their lives.

For more information please visit www.hullfishingheritage.org.uk

The beginning of September saw us performing at the Hull Freedom Festival as part of the ‘Beautiful Bones’ Performances during the weekend. Beautiful Bones is a show that celebrates life through street theatre, brass music, life-sized coffins and motifs of death from various different cultures. It was created by Surge and Love Music, and the show in Hull was the English premiere.

We first performed outside City Hall in Queen Victoria Square on a stage that was specifically set up for the Freedom Festival. The music we performed was very welcomed by the listeners and had a lot of people, young and old, up on their feet dancing in the street. The atmosphere was brilliant for both performer and listener. The weather certainly helped as it was beautiful sunshine. We played a selection of well-known pieces, including the following:

Valerie, Soul Bossa Nova, The Wellerman and Shake it Off!

After our first performance we then had to go a little out of our comfort zones! We headed to Jubilee Central to change into special boiler suits and have our faces painted! The ladies who painted our faces were from ‘Face Painting 4 You Hull’ and did a fantastic job at making us all look the part. There were many jokes flying around the band members that some of us looked better with face paints on!

We then joined the parade with the Beautiful Bones group, along with children and teachers from Longhill Primary School, Hull Music Service and others keen trombonists from both in and out of the area. The parade probably consisted of up to 100 musicians filling the walk from Jubilee Central to Queen Victoria Square with music. The parade led into the street act which saw all the trombonists perform with the Beautiful Bones group. Then we, City of Hull Band, joined in for the finale. It was loud and bonkers - but absolutely brilliant! In fact it was Madness - a special arrangement of the pop group Madness’ One Step Beyond! The whole act finished with everyone - musicians and the audience - having a big street disco! Fun, friendly and fabulous! 

We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend of music making with Beautiful Bones! Please visit our facebook page to see lots of photos and videos from the weekend! 

Sunday 16th July saw our annual visit to the Elloughton Garden Party. The weather forecast had been very unpredictable and we weren't completely sure whether it would go ahead in the usual way or not, but luck was on our side and it turned out to be beautiful, if a little breezy! As always with outdoor gigs we had pegs at the ready to stop our music flying away! 

We set up in our usual spot on the lawn and started our 'traditional' first half with the march Knight Templar, followed by Lightwalk, Blenheim Flourishes, Shinedown, Be Still and Haul Away. Also featuring in the first half were Principal Cornet Neil Day with Chipanecas, a Mexican dance and Solo Baritone Dan Zobkiw with the Paul Lovatt-Cooper piece With His First Breath. Both soloists performed beautifully. 

During the interval we treated ourselves to ice cream, cake and scones, tombolas and raffles, and enjoyed having the opportunity to chat to members of the audience too. Just before the second half started, we were very surprised to find out an anonymous supporter of the band had set up a special raffle just for band members. 10 names were drawn and those 10 musicians received a lovely and unexpected prize. Thank you so much ❤️

The second half was lighter, with music from films being the focus. Let's Face the Music and Dance, Batman:The Movie, Tara's Theme, California Dreamin' and Macarthur Park were the full band pieces, with more fantastic solos from Solo Horn Wendy Orr (He ain't Heavy) and Flugel Horn Fiona Staples (Children of Sanchez). 

Our final piece of the day was Joy, Peace and Happiness which features each section of the band individually while MD Dean Jones introduces us! Definitely a great finisher and chance for the audience to join in too!

As always in Elloughton, we had a fantastic reception from our audience which makes it even more enjoyable for us! Thank you!

Wow. What an incredible day and where do I begin……

The most sincere and heartfelt thanks to the team of walkers; Russ, Peter, Kirsty, Debbie & Sam. You were I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E

I shall never be able to thank you enough. You volunteered to support this challenge and committed wholeheartedly to it. I was proud to share the entire journey with you and will forever be grateful.

Russ deserves special mention for his planning & organising and for his work on routing our training walks.

The day would not have been possible without Tony Newiss and David Marsh; whose support was epic. As drivers and support; they also had a 24 hour expedition, to safely drive us, meet us for re-fuelling, and provide back up support. The day would not have been possible without this support - and again; enormous thanks for your amazing generosity.

Another big shout out must go to Tesco’s at St Stephen’s (Hull); who generously donated water and snacks to keep us hydrated and sustained throughout the walk.

So we did it and what an experience.

We were constantly driven forward by our commitment to the 2 charities and the knowledge of what the financial support to both of these would mean. For me, on the eve of Father’s Day, I had Cameron’s hand in my back to give me the extra support.

On behalf of both charities, and the team of walkers, the greatest thanks of all is reserved to each and every one of the sponsors. Every single donation makes a difference and we recognise and appreciate every individual contribution. Please know that these funds are greatly needed and will be put to good use to make a positive impact within the band and within The CDCT.

THANK YOU seem such inadequate words for this morning and for the pride and gratitude I feel. I can only hope that everyone recognises the sincerity and depth of my gratitude.

Thank you. 🙏♥

From Neil Day

This concert was our first one of the summer season and a hot day it was too! We were glad that the cinema was air-conditioned, although it did mean we had to peg our music to the music stands for the fear of our music being blown off stage!

We opened with a Salvation Army piece called ’Shinedown’ (a great opener to play) followed by a traditional brass band march ‘Knight Templar’. This was our first full concert led by our new MD Dean Jones. We had performed with Dean in a joint concert with Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band in January, but this was his full concert debut with the band. Our programme promised to entertain and audience members were heard to say, “it was a delight".

We featured four very fine soloists in our concert, taking the audience round the world from happy times in Mexico,  back to our country, then on to Hungary and back to Mexico again. Neil Day (Principal Cornet) was our first soloist, performing Chiapenecas, a Mexican dance. Neil as always performed with superb style and class, captivating the audience with his excellent playing from memory. Our second soloist was Daniel Zobkiw (Solo Baritone) who played ‘With His First Breath’ by Paul Lovatt-Cooper. Dan’s playing was warm and lyrical, moving the audience with his beautiful performance. Our third soloist, Melanie Ornsby (Solo Euphonium) took us to Hungary for a fast-paced ‘Czardas’ showing her technical skill. Our final soloist was our very fine flugelhorn player, Fiona Staples. Fiona played “The children of Sanchez’ which treated the audience to a jazzy solo full of passion and style.

During the concert the band showed their ability to move the audience with calmness when performing ‘In Perfect Peace’ and ‘Be Still’ - two beautiful pieces of music which can touch the hearts of any audience. The band also enjoyed some very exciting pieces in the programme. The second half kicked off with a piece called ‘Joy, Peace and Happiness’ where each section of the band entered playing one after the other, not even needing the conductor! They also included Balkan Dance and ‘Sing, sing, sing’ which featured the highly talented percussion section. At one point, Dean and Evan were to be seen sharing the drum kit! And Debbie definitely won the prize for being the happiest band member on stage!

The band would like to thank those who turned up at the concert to support on such a hot day! Thank you also to those who gave a standing ovation and we hope you liked our encore ‘Hawaii 5-0.’ We wanted to send you home with a smile!

Sunday morning, one week to go to The Grand Shield in Blackpool. Rehearsals were going very well and still a week to add that extra polish for the contest that is widely regarded as one of the hardest to win in the brass band calendar.

20 bands from all over the UK who have qualified through the Senior Trophy then Senior Cup to get to the Grand Shield where the top two bands qualify for The British Open.

The phone rings and it is our 2nd horn player Alan from Lincoln “I`ve got a problem, I've just tested positive for Covid”. Alan’s wife has underlying health issues which means he has to be cautious and having started suffering flu like symptoms took a lateral flow test (twice to make sure). The rest of the band were informed and over the next 4 hours another four members of the organisation all from different households and different corners of different counties rang to say they too had tested positive. Frantic activity via email, telephone and text ensued along with research on current NHS guidance.

The rehearsal planned for that night was cancelled as there could well have been more positive tests in the pipeline. A virtual committee meeting was convened and the decision was taken to cancel all rehearsals up to Wednesday to create a “firebreak”.

One of the complications was that 3 of those testing positive lived in the same household as another band member who had tested negative. Because of circumstances with infectious vulnerability in the membership of the band the NHS guidance was that anyone testing positive should stay away for 10 days from the onset of symptoms. All evidence pointed to the rehearsal the previous Wednesday as the source of the infection. In all positive cases onset of symptoms was 6 or 7 days before the contest leaving us without a Solo horn, either of our euphonium players and 2nd horn.

Plans were made to resume rehearsals on Wednesday night if there were no more positive tests from our remaining players and frantic phone calls were made to see if we could enlist players in the required positions to help us out for the contest. Given that we couldn't use anyone already in the British Open or any of those already playing on the day (20 bands in 3 different sections 60 in total) it would not be easy.

Wednesday came and the problems were discussed at length before a short rehearsal. If we didn't take part we would be automatically relegated from The Grand Shield to The Senior Cup. The decision was made to go with “damage limitation” in mind and invite the players we had managed to locate to the rehearsal on the Thursday night. By then we had managed to find players to cover Solo Euphonium, 2nd Euphonium and 2nd horn, but we were unable to find a solo horn.  This meant requesting the services of the solo horn from the band playing immediately before us on the day under the medical emergency rules.

Saturday 13th May 2023 we set off from the band room at 6 am to travel to The Winter Gardens at Blackpool on one full rehearsal in 7 days with the aim of not getting relegated. We were drawn to play number 4 and the band put in a hard-working performance of “The World Rejoicing”.

Come the results we were also rejoicing to be placed 13th out of 20 and safe in the Grand Shield for next year.

Many thanks to our Covid Cohort! Solo Euphonium -Toni Durrant, 2nd Euphonium - Jack Rudin and 2nd horn – Dale Hopkins. Rob Fleming Solo Horn of the GUS band was the player who had to stay on stage and play the 18 minute test piece a second time with us. You were all awesome many many thanks, we couldn`t have done it without you!!

P.S. all our players who tested positive are improving rapidly and will be back in the band room soon.

On Sunday 12th March 2023, City of Hull Band were ready to compete in the North of England Areas to play ‘Red Priest’ by Philip Wilby. The hard work had been done - the home practise, the sectionals, the full band rehearsals, the sweat and the tears! The preparation by the band’s new Musical Director, Dean Jones, had been thorough. Dean had put hours into studying the score, listened to many recordings, completed as much research as he could about the piece and even discussed the composition with the composer’s daughter!

So on the Sunday morning the journey began from the band room, but it wasn’t the usual calm start to the day. Firstly, the band’s top supporter, Helen, had had an accident with her dog on the morning walk which required some medical attention. Luckily the band had some first aiders on the coach who gave their support to Helen until she could get herself to a hospital (which she did in Durham). No need to worry as she is now fine! Secondly, there was no usual coffee stop on route, leading to many members of the band not getting their usual morning caffeine fix! A few twitchy members on the coach!

However, the band arrived in plenty of time to have a gentle warm up at the rehearsal room in Durham whilst waiting for the draw. They warmed up with a hymn or two, which is always a nice way to start the contest day. The band drew to play number 3, so they then made their way over to the Gala Theatre.

Going on stage, the band seemed relatively calm - even though they seemed to have to carry on more than 50 mutes between them! The performance was one to be proud of. The start was controlled and within bars the band showed their big sound to the audience. Technical passages went in with control. There were a few unsettled moments in the ‘energetic’ section but the band soon got back on track and in the slower section the soloists all shone, performing with class. The band continued with a groovy fugue and a splendid ‘grandioso’ to finish. The audience really enjoyed the performance, giving a loud and enthusiastic applause. 

Most of the band enjoyed a few drinks afterwards (to quench their thirst from the playing, of course). The atmosphere amongst the band members was positive, although the wait for results was an anxious one. The band secured a 4th place with adjudicators’ remarks that were extremely positive about the playing. They also remarked that the band was well led by the musical director. Obviously a disappointment not to be in the top two, but the band remains proud of the positive comments that were made, not only by the adjudicators but by members of the audience. 

Two trophies were won though… the band received Best Euphonium and Best Baritone. Congratulations to Melanie Ornsby our solo euphonium, who has now won this trophy three times and to Dan Zobkiw, our solo baritone, who won the trophy on his debut contest performance with the band. The band were in fine spirits on the return journey home, with lots of harmonised singing from the back of the coach!

The band now look forward to rehearsing for their next contest at the Spring Festival in Blackpool in May where they aim high to win the Grand Shield! Onwards and upwards together!

We are proud and delighted to announce a joint fundraising venture and a new kind of challenge !! 

Members of City of Hull Band are leaving their instruments at home and taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks - to raise funds jointly for the Band and for The CDCT. 

These charities rely wholly on fundraising in order to operate and so it is hoped that this challenge will make a meaningful difference to them both.

Neil has a long history with City of Hull Band and appreciates some equally long, and very dear friendships that have helped to support and sustain Neil through the most devastating of times, as he lost his beloved Son, Cameron, (age 21) to COVID in August 2021.

Friendships in the Band have, and continue to support Neil immensely as he tries to navigate life without Cameron. 

By uniting in this challenge together, Neil, along with members of the Band are proud to represent both charities and in Cameron’s name, aspire to make a meaningful contribution to both.

For more information about the CDCT click on the link below:

On Sunday 5th February we were honoured to take part in the annual STAND Lost Trawlermen's Day Service at St John the Baptist Church, Hull once again. 

As people arrived for the service we played Be Still, Water of Tyne and The Spirit Within and by the time we'd finished, the church was absolutely packed, with additional chairs being found and brought out.

In the second half of the service we played our specially commissioned piece, Anchor for the Soul, dedicated to the memory of the 6000 Hull Trawlermen lost at sea between 1835 and 1980. As always, Principal Cornet Neil Day and Solo Euphonium Melanie Ornsby played it beautifully. 

After the 2 minutes silence and blessing of the wreaths we then played Eternal Father as the congregation sang, with many moved to tears. 

When the service ended, we played Dance to thi Daddy for people to leave to. 

As always it was a privilege to be part of something so important to so many people in our home city, which made the thanks and many compliments we received afterwards so special. Although, we did get told off by a few people for making them cry too! 

A video of Anchor for the Soul is on our YouTube channel 

[see link at the bottom of this article]

If you want to find out more about STAND and Hull's fishing heritage, follow the link to their website 

[see link at the bottom of this article]

We're now working hard on our test piece for the area contest in March. 

What a start to 2023! 

On Saturday 21st January we joined Brighouse and Rastrick Band on stage at Hull City Hall for the first time in 3 years! And with an audience of over 600, it wasn't your average first gig for new MD Dean Jones! 

We started the concert as a massed band under Dean's direction, opening with Shine Down which included a fantastic xylophone solo from our new percussionist Evan Barnes, followed by All Night Long which featured our Solo Euphonium Melanie Ornsby and our singing voices! Fire in the Blood blew the roof off as the final massed band piece for the first half, before Brighouse left the stage. 

For our set we started with a brass band favourite, Blenheim Flourishes, after which our Principal Cornet Neil Day took centre stage to perform the stunningly beautiful solo First Light. We then changed the tone completely by playing Balkan Dance, featuring soloists around the band and more of our singing! Be Still was the penultimate piece in our programme, before we finished the first half with a very different arrangement of Over the Rainbow with 3 Flugel Horns, so Repiano Cornet Kirsty Fox and 2nd Cornet Bridget Scott joined Fiona Staples on Flugel Horn at the front of the stage. 

After the interval Brighouse took to the stage with their title winning Brass in Concert performance Viva Piazzolla before we joined them again for the final 3 pieces. Let’s Face the Music and Riverdance had the audience smiling and tapping their feet before Elsa’s Procession to the Minster had people moved to tears. 

With a standing ovation and calls for 'more!' there's only one encore the audience want to hear when you're on stage with Brighouse and Rastrick and that's Floral Dance! With the audience clapping along, it was a fun end to a fantastic concert, in a venue we love. Can't wait to do it all again next year! 

Here are just a few of the comments we received on Facebook about the concert:

Brilliant! 

Amazing evening! 

A blast! 

Excellent programme! 

Fantastic! 

Perfect night! 

Superb playing! 

If you couldn't make it to the concert or just want to relive some of it, videos are available to view on our YouTube channel  

[see link below]

This was our final concert of 2022 and without doubt Hull Minster has the best acoustics of all our Christmas venues so we sounded even more amazing! 

An enthusiastic audience clapped and sang along with us and were full of praise, telling us how much they were enjoying the concert and how happy they were to have us back after missing us for the last 3 years. 

For those of you following us on Facebook, you'll know we've been doing a daily advent calendar post and on Saturday we chose to celebrate the 80th birthday of one of our biggest supporters, Jack French, as part of that. 

He attended the concert with his daughter and grandson and we surprised him by playing Happy Birthday and getting everyone to sing along! Typical Jack, he took the baton from Stig and finished conducting us before receiving his card and gift from the band! 

[If you want to read Jack's story, click on the link at the bottom of this report]

As you may well know, it was also our final concert being lead by Musical Director Stig Mærsk who is returning to Denmark to take up the role of Musical Director with Slesvigske Musikkorps. We wish him and his family the best of luck in their move. 

Finally, we'd like to thank you! Our supporters, our audiences, our venues! We've had a fantastic Christmas concert season and can't wait to see you all in the new year on January 21st at Hull City Hall when we take to the stage with British Open and Brass in Concert Champions, Brighouse and Rastrick Band and of course, our new Musical Director Dean Jones! 

From everyone at City of Hull Band, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year! 

Concert number 4 saw us returning to a very familiar venue with lots of familiar faces, along with some new ones too. 

As always, our annual awards presentation took place in the second half of the concert.

Here are this year's winners 👏

Players Player of the Year Award 

Bridget Scott! 

Musical Director's Award

The horn section!

Fiona Staples

Wendy Orr

Garry Oglesby

Alan Summers

President's Award for Outstanding Contribution

Tony Newiss! 

This year we also presented our conductor Stig Maersk with some gifts to remember us by, as he's leaving us to return to Denmark to be Musical Director for Slesvigske Musikkorps. His last concert with us will be on Saturday 17th December at Hull Minster.

As always the audience were great and this is what some of them had to say:

'Wonderful, so lovely to see you again' 

'Thank you so much, it was brilliant!' 

'You were great, I've already got my tickets for January!' 

Our 3rd Christmas concert was held at Willerby Methodist Church, a brand new venue to us. It also happened to be the same night as England's quarter final game of the World Cup! 

Fortunately we performed better than England did and the audience loved us! Here are some of the comments we received:

'Loved every minute. Great fun. My 88 year old friend has a much better voice than me and was singing along in the appropriate places. :)' 

'The soloists were amazing.' 

'This was certainly better than the football which I watched on my phone!' 

After 3 years away, we were very warmly welcomed back to Trinity Arts Centre in Gainsborough by both the audience and staff for our second Christmas concert of 2022. 

Just like last weekend, the audience were wowed by our talented soloists and thoroughly enjoyed themselves singing, listening and laughing while getting into the Christmas spirit. 

We had lots of lovely comments from the audience about how pleased they were to have us back, how much they've missed us and of course that they were enjoying themselves! We also had feedback on our Facebook group;

'Had a great evening, very entertaining' 

'You guys were great today' 

'Thank you for a terrific concert last night.  Brilliant evening.  Looking forward to Hull City Hall in January.  Well worth journeys from Doncaster!' 

If you'd like to give us any feedback, we have the guest book on the website and you can join us on Facebook or twitter too! 

Our next concert is at Willerby Methodist Church on Saturday 10th December 7.30pm.

To kick off the festive season, we returned to the Parkway Cinema in Beverley which we debuted at in May for The Peter Arden Memorial Concert. Once again, the staff were all great and very supportive in this lovely venue. 

We don't want to give anything away to spoil the surprise for those of you coming to our other concerts, but there were solos, singing, laughter, applause and of course, jingling bells! Everything you would expect from a Brass band at Christmas! 

Here's what some of the audience thought;

'Enjoyed concert in Beverley on Sunday so give yourselves a big compliment on your web site and every one in Gainsborough give yourselves an early Christmas treat' 

'Saw your wonderful band yesterday... Can't wait to see the band again soon' 

'Fab Christmas festival at the Parkway this afternoon' 

You can find more comments in the guest book, just go back to the main menu. 

Next up, Trinity Arts Centre Gainsborough, Sunday 4th December 7.30pm. 

The City of Hull Band is delighted to announce the return of Neil Day to his former seat as Principal Cornet.

Neil has taken an extended break from playing, initially prompted by the pandemic in 2020 which was extended following the tragic loss of his beloved son, Cameron.  Neil’s life was devastatingly and irreversibly changed when Cameron did not recover from COVID-19, aged just 21 years and at that point Neil doubted he would ever return to playing. 

However, taking his lead from Cameron’s strength and resilience, he was drawn back to his cornet and to the familiarity and camaraderie of the band, knowing that it would make Cameron immensely proud.  Neil is looking forward to the challenges ahead and is grateful to the band for their support.  Neil is very proud to have been instrumental (no pun intended) in setting up a charity to honour Cameron’s memory and create a meaningful legacy in Cameron`s name:

www.cdct.org.uk  

Chairman of the band Tony Newiss added: “We are extremely happy that Neil has come home and we look forward to making many more happy memories together as we all try and move towards a more normal post covid banding future”.

Hull Music Service – Lead Partner for Hull Music Hub and City of Hull Band have formed a new partnership to develop brass playing in the City.

 As the City’s only Championship Section Band, in recent years City of Hull Band have been rehearsing twice a week in Barton-upon-Humber. 

This new partnership will see the band's Wednesday evening rehearsals take place at the Albemarle Music Centre. In addition The City of Hull Band have been commissioned by the Music Hub to run a Youth Band. It is hoped that over time, this Youth Band will nurture the next generation of brass players for youth ensembles in the Albemarle, for City of Hull Band and for the wider brass band movement in the area.

 James Dickinson, Head of Hull Music Service said “Music Hub work is based on partnerships and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to work with City of Hull Band to champion and promote brass playing through this new youth band.” “We are very much looking forward to welcoming the Band to the Albemarle and enabling Hull’s only Brass Band a home in the city for one of their weekly rehearsals.”

Tony Newiss, Chairperson of City of Hull Band said “Hull has always been our “home” and the band was formed to raise the profile of brass playing in the area and provide a platform of performance to which local young brass musicians could aspire, this new partnership takes us a step nearer to achieving our objectives.”   

The Youth Band is open to all brass players in full-time education and is free – as are all ensembles and activities at The Albemarle Music Centre.

For more information or to sign up to the Youth Band visit  www.hullmusichub.com

Someone was definitely looking out for us with this one! An outdoor concert at the end of September could have gone either way, but as luck would have it we were blessed with dry and pleasant weather.

Being the first time we'd performed here we were unsure what kind of an audience we might get. Interactions through our social media pages looked promising, but with no ticket sales to guide us it was going to be a complete surprise!

As a venue it was fantastic - plenty of space, sheltered from the wind and lots of people passing by having a look at what was going on. The only thing that had potential to be a problem was the gaps between the wooden planks; if your music slipped through there'd be no getting it back!

With an impressive audience ready and waiting at 2pm, we kicked off with Fanfare and Flourishes followed by our first soloist of the afternoon, Solo Horn player Wendy Orr who wowed us all with Piper o' Dundee. Next in our programme was well known folk song Dance to thi' Daddy which went down well and then another solo, a beautiful rendition of A Gaelic Blessing from Fiona Staples our newly signed Flugel Horn player. Welcome to the band! Paddy's Wake, Water of Tyne and Manhattan Skyline were the pieces chosen to finish the first half and it was great to have a bigger audience applauding us than we'd had at 2pm.

During the interval we had delicious gelato and hot drinks from Bert's and chatted to members of the audience. It's always nice to hear from you so don't be shy in coming to talk to us or asking questions, we love it!

We opened the second half with Blenheim Flourishes before our third soloist of the day Graham Drury on Soprano Cornet who gave a spine tingling performance of La Califfa. Balkan Dance was next and it definitely pleased the younger members of our audience, we loved seeing them dancing alongside us on the stage!

Louise Thompson was our final soloist with another beautiful performance of With his first breath, before we moved on to the last 3 pieces of the concert; Singing in the Rain, Delilah and Don't stop me now, which all had the audience singing along. After lots of applause we played our encore of Sweet Caroline which again had people joining in with us and even the sun came out!

All in all, it was a brilliant afternoon thoroughly enjoyed by the band and everyone we spoke to in the audience. We've also had lots of positive feedback on social media and got some new fans! 

We're now preparing for the Leicester contest in November and getting our Christmas programme sorted ready for the Christmas concerts. 

See you soon!

What a difference 6 weeks makes! After the cold, wet and windy jubilee performance on June 5th, we were faced with the complete opposite at the annual Elloughton garden party! 

In anticipation of the exceptionally hot weather, it was agreed we would perform under the shade of the willow trees rather than our usual spot on the lawn and without jackets. 

On the day itself we were faced with 30-degree heat and very little breeze so the decision was made to do away with our ties too! 

Playing under the trees, whilst protecting us from the full force of the sun, brought a different problem to overcome; exposed tree roots! For probably the first time ever, the drum kit was behind the trombones as that's where the flattest grass was! The rest of the percussion set up was strategically arranged around the tree roots and great care had to be taken by the section not to trip over them when moving between  nstruments! There were a couple of near misses, but hopefully no one noticed!

The performance opened with Fanfare and Flourishes, followed by the first solo of the afternoon With his first Breath by Louise Thompson on Baritone which was beautifully done, then moved on to Dance to thi Daddy and Swedish Folksong before getting people singing and dancing in their seats to Sir Duke and Singing in the Rain.

As with the Garrowby concert, umbrellas made an
appearance once again, but this time they were there as protection from the sun rather than the rain! 

In love for me was the penultimate piece and to finish the first set it was John Miles' Music which finished to lots of appreciative applause.

The band rehydrated and tried to cool down with plenty of ice creams, lollies, tea, coffee and scones, but all too soon it was time to return to the seats for the second and final set. 

Opening with more flourishes, this time Blenheim Flourishes again followed by a solo, it was La Califfa from Graham on Soprano Cornet another gem from Ennio Morricone which was fantastic. The march Sussex by the Sea was a special request from the event organiser and a total contrast to Balkan Dance which featured singing and some impressive solos from around the band. The third solo of the day was excellent and came from Flugel Horn soloist Bridget Scott, who had the audience singing and dancing along with her to My Guy. Next up was Delilah, before the final solo of the day Night in Havana by Melanie Ornsby on Euphonium which was brilliant, bringing the sounds of Havana to the weather of Havana which the band were already enjoying! The performance concluded with two more audience favourites Don't stop me now and Sweet Caroline to singing, dancing and very enthusiastic applause. 

A fabulous time was had by all and it was a great way to finish before the band summer break, even if they were all ready to melt! Nothing a drink in the pub couldn't fix though!

Have a great summer and we'll see you at Stage@TheDock 2pm Sunday 25th September for a free performance; weather permitting of course!

On Sunday 5th June the band made their way to the grounds of Garrowby Hall near York. We were to provide the entertainment for almost 600 guests who would be joining the Earl and Countess of Halifax and their son Lord Irwin for a picnic to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee. 

As you would expect for an outdoor performance in summer the weather was unseasonably cold and wet, so we were very grateful to have a marquee ready and waiting for us to give us some protection from the elements! The guests weren’t so lucky and began building their gazebos in the rain while we got ourselves set up, firmly securing our music to the stands with highly technical devices, commonly known as clothes pegs! 

We started our first set at 11.45am and woke everyone up with Jubilee March, before moving on to a selection of favourites including Disney Fantasy, I Got Rhythm, Cry Me a River, Save the Last Dance for me and Uptown Funk. This set also featured Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Memory as a solo, played beautifully by Graham on Soprano cornet.   

The rain had virtually disappeared by this point, so after a tug of war competition between the picnickers we began our second set with Let’s Face the Music and Dance, followed by Delilah, Ilkley Moor, Sir Duke, Happy and Music. We had another 2 impressive solos in this set; Under the Boardwalk from Bridget on Flugel Horn and The Way we Were from Melanie on Euphonium.  

We had a longer break this time as the guests were treated to a spectacular aerobatics display which we all enjoyed whilst eating ice creams and lollies that were kindly provided for us! 

Perfectly timed, the rain made a return as Lord Irwin gathered everyone around to give a speech and thank everyone for coming before we headed into Jerusalem, Pomp and Circumstance and Sweet Caroline complete with a singing, flag waving audience. Lord Halifax then proposed a toast to the Queen and we played the National Anthem. To finish the afternoon we felt Singin’ in the Rain was the appropriate way to end the day! 

As our first booked performance since January 2020 it was soooooo good to be out playing again! Despite the weather, we all had a great time and most importantly the audience and organisers loved it! 

As a final note, we were very touched to be approached by an audience member and given a donation as he had been moved to tears by our rendition of Sweet Caroline, his 17 year old son had died in 2021 and apparently it was his favourite song. Thank you Darren Emery.

Saturday 7th  May 2022 saw the band make its annual missionary journey over the Pennines to “the Dark Side” and into Blackpool to The Winter Gardens for the 100th Spring Festival.  This is the qualifying competition for the British Open Brass Band Championships. 

This contest, which is an annual event, should have been held in 2020 but the restrictions around the pandemic saw it delayed for two years.

There are 3 levels of competition held on the same day, The Senior Trophy, The Senior Cup and The Grand Shield which is the top level of the competition with the top two bands in that section promoted to the British Open. It is always closely competitive and is a chance to measure yourself against bands from all over the country.  City of Hull Band were competing in The Grand Shield against 19 other bands. 

In total 62 bands made their way to Blackpool for this event. Competitors in the Shield were to play the set work from the 2019 British Open “Dynasty” another gem from the pen of Peter Graham who has a knack of writing technically demanding works that put maximum pressure on bands and individuals whilst still creating music that exudes emotion and has great tunes.

Since we resumed from lockdown the band has seen a significant change in personnel with some 4 changes in solo seats and this piece was to be a stern test. Drawn to play 14 the band took to the stage around 2-45 pm and from the opening note everything “clicked”. In spite of the changes, the band felt secure, settled and confident throughout the performance and we left the stage pleased with the performance we had given. It was then time to replace some of the liquid lost during the sweat and toil of both preparation and performance. 

Around 6-45 pm during the results announcement we found out we had not figured in the prizes but on collecting our adjudicators remarks and result we were delighted with our 7th  place. This is the highest position the band has ever achieved in this competition and 10 of the bands that came below us are currently ranked higher in the world rankings.

The comments from the adjudicators were all positive and complimentary to all soloists so well done to Paul on Eb Bass, Graham on sop, Louise on baritone, Dave on trombone, Bridget on flugel, Wendy on horn, Mel on euphonium and Stefan on cornet who started it all so brilliantly. ​

For once after a contest the coach journey home was Happy one (even if some found it all a little taxing and had to have a snooze, Carl). The only thing missing was a bus sing song but I rather think that wherever he is, our chief songster would have been (and probably still is) smiling.

All in all, a great day out! Now we return to some normality and to concerts in order to raise the funds for our next foray in to the world of brass band contests.  

This weekend saw the band's return to our first official concert performance since January 2020. And what better occasion than to remember our good friend and ex band member, Peter Arden. 

Pete was placed on a ventilator (in ICU at HRI) on the evening of Tuesday 26th May 2020.  Sadly he never regained consciousness and died on 4th July. 1st May 2022 would have been Pete's 60th birthday so we felt this was a perfect day to put on a concert in honour of the great man himself.

Pete had many good friends in the banding world and we were lucky enough to be joined on stage by some of these people. Claire Taylor kindly offered to be our principal cornet for the day and gave a beautiful solo performance of 'I Hear You Calling Me' which was the piece that she played at the 'Clap for the NHS' on Thursday 28th May. 

Richard Grantham, our compere for the day, did a sterling job announcing the pieces and entertaining us with several stories about Pete.  Richard also arranged a piece of music for the band to perform which included some of the risqué songs that Pete used to sing at the back of the band bus – mainly x rated and not for the faint of heart.

It was a fabulous to be performing to the public again, catching up with some former members of the band and celebrating the life of our good friend Pete.

After 2 years in the seat Alan has decided it`s time for a change and has left the band with immediate effect, moving to The Hammonds Band in the Soprano Cornet Chair.

Alan said “Since December 2019 I have been a member of the City of Hull Band and despite Covid 19 have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the band! I thank the band and all their members (particularly my partner in crime, Kirsty Fox) for making my time with the band so happy and enjoyable despite the frustrations of the pandemic. 

As a pro musician of over 40 years, I have played and conducted hundreds of Christmas concerts but since retirement I am now able to play without the worry of needing to be paid and can pick and choose what I want to play! It is wonderful to have my hobby back!”

We wish Alan all the very best with Hammonds and I am sure we will see him in the not-too-distant future. The band has already appointed a successor to Alan and the announcement will be made in due course.

The programmes had been selected, the pieces rehearsed and the band was looking forward to playing indoor concerts for the first time since January 2020 (and collecting some much-needed revenue). 

At the end of November Coronavirus laid Stig low, however, happily, Stig made a full recovery and was allowed out of the house to resume activities. 

Then along came Omicron! 

Gradually one by one as news of the new variant spread and concern grew the concerts were cancelled.

So here we are again, a second Christmas with no Concerts. We did manage to spread a little festive cheer playing Christmas Carols outside the Half Moon at Elloughton on Monday 13th Dec. Our next planned event (Omicron permitting) is the Annual Lost Trawlerman`s Day service at St John the Baptist Church Hull on 30th January.

In the mean-time stay safe and we hope to be back to some sort of normality next year when we can once again entertain you.

Monday 13th December 2021 was the annual 'Carols at the Crosroads' in Elloughton.  The band accompanied an impressive gathering of the Elloughton community in some fantastic festive renditions of all our Christmas favourites.

Thank you to Elloughton Church and the people of Elloughton for inviting us once again.

I think we are starting to feel a bit Christmasy at last!

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 saw the band hold the first rehearsal in 15 months (since leaving the stage in Durham on 15th March 2020). Because of social distancing restrictions we cannot use the band room. We have been fortunate to be offered the use of North Ferriby School Hall. The percussionists can still not join us due to space restrictions but we hope to see them when we get back to the band room. Thank you for all the messages of support and we hope to see you all soon.