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Re: Brit. Open. Birmingham

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Noel Hunt wrote:

> Ron
> The Brass Band movement in  Australia needs a good shake up: become
> relevant as
> suggested in one of Norm Harris's emails.
>
> Noel, I think I remember a suggestion from you that we adopt the" Brassed
> off" way of marching with beer tankards and cigarettes!  Really, is this
> becoming relevant?..
>

Based on this comment I suspect you have not visited Glenorchy's web
page.http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/gccb/

> Just because I challenge how things are at present does not mean that I,
> or
> people like Norm Harris, are not keen supporters of brass banding. It
> seems a
> common thread with this list that if you challenge the way things are you
> are
> shouted down.You have to be in the system to change it.
>
> How are you trying to change it ,you can't change it from the bottom up,
> decisions are made at boardroom level thats where you need to be.
>

Agreed (to a point) but as you say, the ball is in our bandroom and some things
will happen at grass roots level.Some small steps we are taking include

   *	 Developing a business plan for our youth development program so
     that it has a long term viability, and to continues to be the life blood
     of our band,
   * We are looking to s the habit of handing down old senior band uniforms
     to the junior band. The teenagers prefer shirts that you don't tuck in,
     and baseball caps, shorts thongs etc. I only wish we had a similar uniform
     the many times I have been in a heavy black coat WITH ATTRACTIVE  gold
     braid playing at march pasts at surf life saving carnivals and similar, 30
     degrees Celsius, the public in swim gear, and the band dressed like it is
     a salvo band doing Christmas Carols in England!

> Ron if you read your email again, you may see that you did not offer a
> counter
> argument to Norm Harris's comments. You just slagged off at his standing
> in
> brass banding.
>
> If you think that was slagging,you should get me started,BUT,I didn't
> question Norms standing just his objectivity and negativity.
>

Maybe he was stirring. Nah! not Norm.

> If contests in music have no place which is what I seem to gather from the
> submissions, why do the.. A,B.C.persist with their young performers titles
> and international Eisteddfod's (definition,a congress or great meeting of
> Welsh bards and musianians.), and contests for barbershop style male
> ensembles happen all over the world to name a few.
>

Who said i was against contests?!. In fact I love the comps which is why I
probably keep at them; always striving to push my standard up. But I am sick
and tired of the "Drum Major" influence on comps. A recent example of what I am
talking about is the last state championships in Tasmania. Only two bands
wanted to do the paddock walking stuff,but because there were two bands there
had to be a marching adjudicator. The problem here was that the only qualified
adjudicators were the drum majors of the two above mentioned bands.
What to do, what to do. I know! we could waste $1000 of Tasmanian Bands League
money and fly in an adjudicator from South Australia...and so they did.
I don't have a big problem with this. it was only $1000. But now it seems that
the very successful State Band that has run for two years( A composite
Tasmanian band) can't afford to have a musical director from outside the state
this year because the TBL can't afford it.
Well at least the adjudicator from South Australia told me that my thumb was
not pointing down the seam of my trousers exactly straight. It was also pointed
to Joe Cook that his heels were not quite together. So watch out at the Ern
Kelher. Joe armed with this info will be unbeatable,.

> As I have said on this list before, Australian bands have a poor
> following.
>
> If your band has a poor following you can not blame the establishment for
> this the ball is in every bands court to raise their profile in the
> community.   A ruling by a M.A.B. or suchlike doesn't influence your
> listeners in what they hear from our bands, lets face it we opperate 52
> weeks a year not for 3 days of contesting.
>

When we get the listeners they are always impressed. But brass bands have
trouble getting the audience.  Is it brass bands blue collar background that
cause the musical bigotry? Our band was recently gazumped on a job paying $1000
for the opening of the Hobart Aquatic Centre. The things that really got up my
nose about this were:

The Job went to the Conservatorium Brass Ensemble.
Half the members of the above ensemble are our members.
The Ensemble is not as accomplished as our band

Yet the snob value of the conservatoire brass ensemble meant they got  the gig.

>  We
> should think carefully where we headed or else the brass band in
> Australia will
> be like the Tassy Tiger: extinct!
>
> Alas!
>
> Like I said earlier " the balls in our court" or bandroom to get the
> metaphor correct.
>
> It's about time we had some discussion relevant to here instead of
> listening to these poms grizzle!.



> Yep. Let's get into it. Come on you silent majority. Say something.



> Cheers Ron.
>
> Noel Hunt
> Glenorhy City Concert Brass
> Tasmania
> listserver@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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