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Re: To BL or not to BL

It was August 1947 and some of us village kids (peasants)  had "joined the
band for something to do" . It was'nt much fun really ...learning scales,
playing after beats on 3rd cornet etc.  Then one memorable day two
bands....Parc and Dare and Gwaencaegurwen borrowed our bandroom to rehearse
"Les Preludes" for the National Eisteddfod.  It was thrilling to hear these
men play with such skill and fervour and we listened open-mouthed in awe.
We were hooked for life !   Every week we would "have a go" at that music
and eventually played it at a concert.  I wonder what we would have thought
if those bands had been rehearsing the "avant garde" pieces of recent years.
Probably, we might  have given up and never developed a life-time love of
music,which has enriched our existences.    None of the members of our band
had ever had serious music lessons ...they were mainly manual workers
...perhaps poorly educated in those hard days....but they could play some
serious stuff .... .  and entertained thousands over the years.
Now to the present.   Am I alone in thinking that brass bands are somehow
declining in popularity in the U.K...apart from the North of England. ?
In this part of the world there are folk who have never heard of Black Dyke,
Fairey's, Foden's,.....or even heard a brass band. The local North Wales
Theatre at Llandudno did not have one band concert last year, and have just
noticed from their latest programme there are none scheduled for this year.
Every other conceivable type of musical taste is being catered for and I
notice The Halle Orchestra is booked for later this month....playing
Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Handel,Smetana,Strauss and Tchaikovsky !   Nothing
Avant Garde..and I bet they fill the theatre.!    Whilst I have this
"electric thing" switched on may I mention a few other things.    What
happens to the hundreds (maybe thousands) of young folk who learn brass in
their schools (and woodwind, strings, etc.) when there is no-one interested
in a policy to involve them further in music.    A local college with a new
2.5m media centre will have nothing to do with brass.   Next.  Gifted brass
music students....what happens to them when they leave with their degrees.
Unless they are exceptionally brilliant enough to get in an orchestra is
their only hope to become a freelance "peri" teacher ?   They can swell the
ranks of top bands....but how to earn a living ?   On a general theme How
about some "spin doctors" (like Mr. Blair's, our p.m.) for the brass band
movement to harass the BBC and Classic FM to play the occasional band on
popular programmes.   And what happened to our "Champion Brass/Best of
Brass" television programmes ?   To end this diatribe I get "steamed-up"
when I can't find out who won the Open or National in paper,s next
day.....when even the Sunday Times has extensive coverage of local soccer
teams (where the attendance was about 45 supporters and two stray dogs).
Honestly, whoever runs things in the U.K. needs that firecracker of Paolo
Esperanza (see John Croker's wonderful piece ref.Darwin Awards) to strike
them in a certain spot.   Hope no-one offended....sore chops much better but
have now broken a front tooth on bacon-butty....and am playing in church on
Sunday.    Cheers.   Dave.


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