City of Hull Band

2020

Things put on HOLD for COVID-19

PRESS RELEASE

Whilst the euphoria of winning best euphonium, best trombone and being placed second overall in the Championship Section at the North of England Brass Band Championships in Durham yesterday, gaining qualification for the National Finals at The Royal Albert Hall in October has hardly worn off, the band has today taken the difficult decision to temporarily cease all activity with immediate effect. 


Given the new advice from the Government regarding the coronavirus pandemic it seemed the only sensible move. Whilst Brass Banding is a "way of life" to us it probably doesn`t meet the criteria of necessary social interaction.

 

Whilst this will cause us significant financial difficulties it is the only way to protect our members and supporters. If planned concerts are cancelled they will be re scheduled in the future. Anyone unable to attend a rescheduled concert having purchased a ticket for the initial date will have tickets costs refunded.

 

We will keep you up to date as and when things change. Stay safe.


For and on behalf of, the Members, Trustees, Committee, Patrons and Friends of City of Hull Band. 

Crowdfunder Success!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported us in our Crowdfunder.  We're absolutely delighted to have achieved the amount we were aiming for.  It will help us tremendously in maintaining the band in this seemingly endless cycle of uncertainty with the pandemic.


The band are looking forward to getting together again, hopefully in the not too distant future, where we will be able to show our thanks to you all.  In the meantime, we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year. 


Thank you for your support.

The Sad Loss of a Dear Friend

It is with great sadness that The City of Hull Band has to announce the death of our long serving Bb bass player Pete Arden.  Peter finally lost his battle with Covid 19 on Saturday 4th July having been in the Intensive Care Unit at Hull Royal Infirmary for 5 weeks.  


Peter was unstinting in his support of the band, serving as Secretary for several years and was an active Trustee of the band.  Peter will be greatly missed for his ability as a player and his irrepressible sense of humour.


Our thoughts are with all of Pete`s family and his many friends throughout the banding world at this very sad time.


Peter Francis Arden


01/05/1962 - 04/07/2020
 
'Anchor for the Soul' 

The City of Hull Band were delighted to be invited to perform at 'Brass in Concert' in November 2019, their programme of entertainment paying homage to the people of Hull, in particular as a memoriam to those who lost their lives at sea.  The band commissioned a beautiful piece written by Andi Cook, which he named  'Anchor for the Soul'.  This was also a tribute to the Hessle Road Women's Committee - often colloquially known as the 'Headscarf Revolutionaries' - and their indefatigable founder, Lillian 'Big Lil' Bilocca. Between them they took up the fight for better conditions in the fishing industry on behalf of their men. Their tireless campaigning to bring in safer working practices led to an official enquiry into the tragedy and eventually improved legislation, which still saves lives at sea to this day.


The band were extremely proud to be asked by St. Andrews Dock Heritage Park Action Group (STAND) to be a part of their Annual Lost Trawlermen's Day on 26th January this year.  As part of their contribution to the service they played an 'Anchor for the Soul' to a congregation who were touched by the performance.


What a lovely start to the banding new year.

2019

Mark steps down after 18 years

Solo Trombone Mark Unsworth has stepped down and is taking a break from banding.  Joining the EYMS Band in 2001 Mark has been an ever present member ever since, being a committed player and committee member, at various times over those 18 years he has held the positions of Treasurer, Concert Secretary, Librarian and Webmaster. 


Band Chair Tony Newiss said, “Mark will leave a big hole in the band both musically and organisationally but he has decided it is time to take what is a well earned break and we wish him all the best in whatever direction his future takes him.”


Mark`s last performance with the band was at the Elloughton garden party on 8th September and after his final solo with the band Mark was presented with a bottle of his favourite distillation to be enjoyed from an engraved glass recording his contribution.   Sláinte!

Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough - June 2019

A Sunday afternoon delight was had by a very appreciative audience in Gainsborough.   The City of Hull Band certainly put on a great show and demonstrated what a talented group of musicians they are.  Starting off the afternoon with the 'Festive Overture' really showed the audience what a treat they had in store.  Beautiful solo pieces in both the first and second half from Neil Day (Principal cornet), Mark Unsworth (Solo Trombone), Wendy Orr (Solo Tenor horn), Mel Ornsby (Principal Euphonium) and a duet from Kathy Newiss (Flugel) and Hayden Ellams (BBb bass), kept the whole audience enthralled and entertained.  


Music was also played from 'The Greatest Showman'; a selection of famous sea shanties with a surprising, cheeky trombone feature;  the Valdres March, which is  the title of a Norwegian march composed by Johannes Hanssen in the years 1901-1904; and seeing the Sunday afternoon spectacular, all rounded off with an encore of the Swedish Folksong - Peter Graham's masterful arrangement of the hymn tune 'How Great Thou Art'.


What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than listening to top quality music played by the current North of  England Champions!
2019 Grand Shield contest, Blackpool

The evening of Friday 17th May saw the band all packed up in their coach, and travelling across the M62 to Blackpool in readiness for this years Grand Shield contest.  Making a pit-stop at Wakefield along the way, a quick rehearsal took place, in order to put the final touches to this year’s test piece.


On the morning of the 18th at the Winter Gardens, the band drew to perform the test piece in position 4, not entirely an ideal placing, but a little better than needing to wait until much later in the day.


Fraternity by Thierry Deleruyelle was the piece, a stunningly emotional composition which tells the story of a French mining disaster which happened 113 years ago, killing over a thousand miners.  Divided into 7 linked sections – ‘Black Land, The Towering Colliery, From Light to Dark, Extracting the Coal, Firedamp, Bringing Out the Dead Miners, The Fraternity Prayer’ – and ably led by our MD, Stig Mærsk, the band brought so much emotion into it from beginning to end, with the most fantastic, awe-inspiring soloists performing their pieces for the story.  And what a tremendous sound they all made.  All too soon (for the audience!), came the finale – The Fraternity Prayer.  Having already painted a picture of sorrow and loss, this proved to be just as powerful.  Standing to rapturous applause, and cheers from the audience, was testament to their rendition of Fraternity, and I am sure that Thierry would be just as proud of them all too.

Playing against another 19 bands in the contest, the Grand Shield always proves to be a difficult one, with some bands being disappointed with their overall result.  Performing under their new ‘old’ name of City of Hull Band didn’t give them the result they desired nor, many would say, deserved but having come 12th overall, the City of Hull Band remain firmly in the Grand Shield contest for 2020.


The City of Hull Band would like to take this opportunity to pass on their congratulations to Riverside NASUWT, who were declared the overall winners, closely followed by The Cooperation Band.  And a well done to all of the other bands who played on the day.  Whether you performed in the Grand Shield, the Senior Cup, or the Senior Trophy, and whatever the result, you all did your best.


See you next year!

Memories of Blackpool 2019


Our players come in all shapes and sizes!
Entertainment in Hessle - May 2019

The band recently performed at Hessle Town Hall, a venue which has been used for a number of years, and gained enthusiastic applause for the entertainment they provided to its full audience. Something with a difference, they performed the test piece for the upcoming Grand Shield contest, held in Blackpool – Fraternity by Thierry Deleruyelle, a beautiful, emotional piece based on a true story of the mining disaster which occurred in Douai near Lille, France in 1906. Further entertainment by the band, including a selection of stunning solo’s, made for a wonderful evening for all.


As an added touch on the evening, one anonymous supporter of the band, who has been an avid follower for many years, provided five scrolls of paper, to be given to five band members who’s names were to be drawn ‘from a hat’. This was to recognise and acknowledge the enjoyment that members of the band provide to audiences. Those deserving members, namely Debbie Agnew, Karen Bannister, Mark Unsworth, Steve Ornsby, and Trevor Kendall, were absolutely delighted to discover two, fifty pound notes rolled inside the scrolls!


To the anonymous supporter who made this generous gesture, a huge thank you, and what a lovely surprise, providing everyone with a great ending to a fantastic evening.


Our Sam....he's only gone and done it!


An early start on Sunday 28th April…Greenwich Park, London…waiting in the Red zone to start the run of a lifetime, standing next to a shoe and Spiderman, ‘our Sam’ wasn’t all too difficult to spot in a crowd of over 40,000 people about to commence the London marathon.  And what a time he had, certainly memories to treasure forever, and a medal to prove that he’d done it.


Sam says that he was always determined to complete the marathon, and that the atmosphere was electric all of the way around the 26.2 mile course.  Running, and occasionally walking, with the Sparks charity in mind and aiming to raise £2000, helped him along the way, with the additional support of his family – his wife Kerry, son Joseph, and dad Neil.

Many of his friends sat comfortably at home watching the race and checking their mobiles to track how far he had got throughout the day, and what a proud moment for everyone when they saw he’d completed the race!  In an admirable time of 6:51:29, and with a slight injury to his foot, he proudly ran over the finish line.  Out of over 40,000 runners, wearing number 45214, he came 24,010th – amazing!


Everyone was elated with this fantastic achievement, and with already £2,747.59 raised for Sparks, this has made his day even more memorable.


The next tricky part of the day was trying to find his family, and after having a very steady walk for about ¼ mile to meet them, he was greeted by an immensely proud wife, son and dad, with huge smiles and much admiration, as the photographs clearly show.  Now that’s a story to tell young Joseph when he gets older!


The charity, Sparks, have been extremely supportive of Sam and his ventures, and there’s still time to sponsor him if you wish.  Please follow the link if you’d like to donate to Sparks: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/samringrose?fbclid=IwAR2omWo3PoIL--k6EtikmWydoir558O3JqBrvuefr6AWsY27cUXKW8BbWgo

The City of Hull band couldn’t be prouder too….well done our Sam, you did it!

Just over a year ago Sam and his wife Kerry, became the proud parents of their lovely little boy, Joseph, but not without a few complications along the way.  When Joseph was born in January 2018 at Grimsby Hospital, he was not breathing for about 15 minutes, which deprived him of oxygen getting to his brain.   He was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and after around 6 hours of treatment to stabilise him, he was urgently taken to the Jessops Wing of Sheffield Teaching Hospital, by the transport team ‘Embrace’.

At the Sheffield Hospital he received treatment called therapeutic hypothermia which cooled Joseph's body and brain temperature.  This altered the chemical processes in his brain, thus reducing the risk of permanent brain damage.  When Joseph started the cooling process he was in a special incubator connected to a huge array of different leads which were there for monitoring his condition.  He also had very small needles positioned on his head to keep a check of his brain function.


Unfortunately, when he started the treatment his brain was in a depressed state.  However, after around 36 hours of being in a ‘cooled’ state, the brainwave suddenly changed.  As quick as turning a light switch on, his brain went from being depressed to being normal!


You can imagine how shocked Sam and Kerry were when suddenly doctors and nurses rushed across the room, looking at Joseph saying that what was happening was amazing.  That evening, the top doctor went as far as saying that he had never seen anything like it before, and even called it a 'medical wonder'.

Since leaving hospital, Joseph has done so well and he continues to hit all of his major milestones.  Both Sam and Kerry could never have imagined what was going to happen when Joseph was born, and it was due to the level of care he received that they feel blessed that he is with them today.


And that is why we left our Sam behind in London.  It’s one way in which he can thank the charity ‘Sparks’, who were instrumental in the research and development of the cooling treatment which Joseph received.  And it is ‘Sparks’ who accepted Sam’s application to run for them in the London Marathon 2019.  He was delighted …at the time, but may be getting pre-run jitters by now...so hopefully the money he raises will go even further towards other pioneering technology to help children.

Sam is immensely grateful to all of the people who cared for Joseph and Kerry.  He says that what everyone did was absolutely incredible.


‘Sparks’ raises money to fund pioneering child health research across the UK, helping to find new treatments and cures for children and families who desperately need them.  If anyone would like to sponsor Sam in his marathon challenge, please go to his JustGiving page at:


https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/samringrose?fbclid=IwAR2omWo3PoIL--k6EtikmWydoir558O3JqBrvuefr6AWsY27cUXKW8BbWgo


                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                  …and help save another life.

City of Hull Band go to London!

Wednesday 24th April began early...very early!! 


In their first performance since returning to the original name of ‘City of Hull Band’, members travelled to the band room to meet the coach that was picking them up and taking them to London. Having driven to the band room, members began loading the coach at 3-45 am, setting off at 4am in the early morning darkness, dressed smartly in the new City of Hull walking out uniforms.



After a fairly quiet journey the band arrived at the venue at 08-50 am and unloaded all the equipment at the slipway to the Thames Clipper berth at Greenwich. They were then provided with very much appreciated tea, coffee and croissants, in the changing room for the day - The Cutty Sark.


Suitably refreshed the band quickly changed into stage uniform and carried all the equipment down the steeply sloping walkway onto the clipper berth pontoon to await the arrival of our first water taxi of the day. Having loaded band and equipment the taxi headed off upriver to the Greenwich Ship Tier where the star for the day the ‘Kirkella’ was moored. Shortly after 10 am the band began playing as a succession of Thames Clippers delivered invited guests to the tier in the middle of the Thames. A noticeable excitement spread through those assembled around 11 am as the Royal helicopter flew overhead landing close by in Greenwich. Exactly on cue at 11-15, HRH The Princess Royal arrived next to the band for the Royal Salute in preparation for the naming ceremony to begin.


In July 2018 UK Fisheries Ltd (based in Hull) took receipt of their factory trawler The Kirkella. The 86 metre long vessel is one of only 3 trawlers working in northern waters fishing for white fish and supports a crew of 65, the majority of whom are from Hull and Grimsby. It is the first trawler to land white fish in Hull for over a decade.

The first catch of over 700 tonnes of cod and haddock were landed in Hull in October 2018 and it will return to King George Dock Hull every 4 to 6 weeks carrying millions of portions of fish, supplying over 300 fish and chip shops.


Then came the big moment, after a short speech the Princess Royal swung the bottle of Champagne into the ship and ....... off it bounced. The bottle was duly returned to HRH and this time right-handedly she propelled the bottle against the trawler.


The band struck up with ‘Heart of Oak’ as the heavens opened and the were suitably baptised as ‘City of Hull Band’. On the conclusion of ‘Heart of Oak’ the band swiftly packed down and made ready to head back to Greenwich and the second part of the days performance, whilst Princess Anne toured the trawler.

Returning to the Greenwich clipper berth, the band made their way up the steeply sloping walkway with all their equipment and set up on a specially erected stage in the plaza next to the Cutty Sark where Princess Anne later joined them to speak with some members of the band.


The band then performed two 1 hour slots as the sun came out and a crowd numbering in their thousands were entertained whilst also being provided with free fish and chips.

At 3 pm the playing was done and after changing into walking outs, the coach was loaded and at 3-45 pm, exactly 12 hours after the coach was loaded at the band room, we said goodbye to ‘The Cutty Sark’ and headed north.

There was just time to squeeze in a break in the journey half way home to wet the babies head and toast the joint christenings of ‘The Kirkella’ and ‘City of Hull Band’.



P.S. Whilst the band were in London the video ‘Born on the Tide’ was released. The band provided the soundtrack and it can be viewed via the YouTube icon at the foot of the website pages.

North of England Champions 2019

The final time the band performed together as EYMS, they certainly did it in style! On Sunday 17th March, performing not only from a number one draw, but also, due to unforseen circumstances, with two players short, they did themselves proud and became the North of England Champions 2019. 


The band and Musical Director are absolutely thrilled with the outcome and the way they played, and were delighted that their playing finesse was rewarded even further in the form of 3 individual prizes and a section prize, rewarding the talents of Neil Day (Best Principal Cornet), Melanie Ornsby (Best Euphonium), Mark Unsworth (Best Trombone) and David Fox, Hayden Ellams and Stephen Gibson (Best Bass Section).


The City of Hull band will now be going to London in October to compete in the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, at the Royal Albert Hall. Watch this space!


EYMS Band go out in a blaze of Glory

All change but business as usual. 

Same band, new old name!!


From 1st April 2019 the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band is reverting to the original name under which the band was formed in 1989 and will be known as the City of Hull Band.


Having begun life under this name in 1989, the band was renamed The East Yorkshire Motor Services Band in 1992, when it secured a sponsorship agreement with the EYMS Group, who had supported the band during its formative period.


For 26 years the band was able develop as an organisation and provide concerts at very favourable rates to raise funds for local organisations thanks to the financial assistance it received from the company. Dove House Hospice and the local branch of the NSPCC were just two of the many local charities to benefit during this time.

This sponsorship agreement with EYMS Group came to an end in April 2018, just prior to the sale of EYMS to Go North East, which is part of the Go Ahead group plc. Former owner of EYMS, Peter Shipp, remains the band president and is still a regular concert attendee and staunch supporter of the band. 


In their last performance as EYMS Band, the band won the North of England Brass Band Championships in Durham on Sunday 17th March. They will now go on to compete in The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at The Royal Albert Hall in October where they will compete as the 'City of Hull Band'.


The first official engagement under the new name will be the christening of the Hull trawler, Kirkella. The band will perform during the ceremony, which will take place on the Greenwich Ship Tier on the River Thames. The band will then entertain guests at the reception on The Cutty Sark.


The first local opportunity to see the band under their new (old) name will be at Hessle Town Hall on Saturday 11th May and then on 6th July at Hull City Hall when they will be joined on stage by The Black Dyke Band for a Summer Proms Concert.


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