Dear readers,
It’s almost a year since I stepped into the shoes of Swindon Pegasus MD, and I have survived!! Having come from a musical world so different to that of the Brass Band, I thought I was going to struggle beyond all belief. Fortunately, at Pegasus I am surrounded by very supportive people, able players and a great bunch of people with pride in the reputation of the band and ambition for the future. They have helped me along nicely, and have always been on hand to offer advice and guidance whenever I have asked…and sometimes when I haven’t too.
I am taking this opportunity to officially say hello to the readers and supporters of the band and its website, now that I have been in position for almost a year. I do lead a very erratic and busy lifestyle, but it would be remiss of me not to say hello and talk about my experiences with, and ideas for the band. So here it is.
Last September, I suddenly and unexpectedly found myself conducting a band I had never met before, at a rehearsal I wasn’t prepared for, reading brass band scores for the first time and all in preparation for a march with the Royal Air Force Association through a town to which I had never been…..and I was going to have to lead the whole parade through the streets from the front. Oh boy!! Most people are fortunate enough to have some sort of ‘sense of direction’, but not me. I am known at work as the ‘homing cabbage’….affectionately of course. Anyway, on the day I was lucky enough to have the assistance of a Swindon Policeman on his motorbike. Good job really, or we would all probably still be marching around the backstreets of the Old Town.
There have been a number of other performances when I have had the opportunity to conduct the band. A memorable performance in Malmesbury Abbey with the Thamesdown Ladies Choir gave me the chance to conduct the band in Concert format for the first time. The ladies sang splendidly of course, as they always do and the band played a blinder. We had been asked to support the concert and were given a 20 minute spot in each half. We closed our final spot with a very rousing rendition of ‘The Barber of Seville’. The audience were blown away (almost literally) and I hear that the choir’s MD was very impressed with our efforts, albeit that we stole some of their thunder.
We played a Christmas concert at the Christchurch. I gained instant recognition from the crowd!! Well, to be truthful I will explain. My girlfriend was there as I arrived with the band and as we were setting up. She heard members of the audience whispering to each other that I wasn’t the conductor they were expecting. Why wasn’t Mr. Winterflood there???? Two ladies sitting very close to my girlfriend looked at me, then looked confused and then looked at each other with a surprised look. One said to the other…."Who is he? Is he a new conductor? Where is the old one? This one looks a bit, erm, …you know….” (I’m not, by the way).
The concert went well and the audience soon realised that things were a bit different to before. The music was different and they had to join in more than they had done in the past. At first, getting them going was testing but we got them going in the end. Here’s a thought…. PEGASUS WILL NOW BE GIVING MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING CONCERTS THAN BEFORE, AND THE AUDIENCE ARE VERY MUCH REQUIRED TO JOIN IN WHEN ASKED TO SO DO. (please). There, I said it.
The Christchurch crowd did start to join in and let its hair down, and the concert did become a success. My belief is that concerts and performances do evolve and they do need to be brought forward into the modern age. I don’t want to eradicate the personality of the band, and I don’t want to alienate the audience. We can all grow together I think. I would say that gone are the times of:
1. Band sits motionless and plays the same old music
2. The audience sits motionless and listens to the above
3. Everyone goes home and forgets the experience by the next morning
I hope to give diverse and varied concerts where we include some newer music as well as the more familiar stuff into the equation. Audience participation is very important I believe, giving you something else to remember us by. I want to include some younger acts and some local acts. All these things together should help to give us and you a bright future, with bigger and better concerts. (This hasn’t been a ‘ticking off’ but it might be next time.)
In March this year at the Areas we contested in Torquay. We could have done better, but with nerves slightly taking control of us, the performance was not as it could have been. We played well of course, but in the contests you have to be in tip-top form in order to do very well. I have quickly learnt that the contesting part of a brass band’s life is a very hard one. Pegasus has gone through a lot of changes of late, including the arrival of a new MD (had you noticed?) and many changes in the players and the instrumentation. We survived the test, and are still a 1st Section band. The Areas are upon us again soon and I hope for another good performance, slightly less nerves and for us to maintain our status. To help with our future successes, not only in the contests but also as a performing band, we need a bit of a recruiting drive. Quality players are sought, and we need the following instrumentalists:
Cornet players
Principle trombone
Trombonists
Horn x 1
Percussion x 1
Interested players should apply to me on 07875 380623, or on the website’s contact page - and in order to ensure we continue moving forwards, membership to the band is subject to a trial period or an audition. If you're still learning your trade, why not come along to the School of Brass to begin with?
The band will be again performing at the RAFA parade on September 16th, please come along and support us and the RAFA, it would be marvellous for us to see you there.
We are playing at the Wyvern!! It is soon to be re-opened and we are there on October 7th. It’ll be the first time that I will conduct at the Wyvern. I have played there many times in the past, in the Army Air Corps Band and also with the Kentwood choir and Sheila Harrod and also I once sat in the pit under Sheila’s baton. So I am familiar with the place and I hope for your support on what is guaranteed to be a very entertaining evening. You will be ‘invited’ to join in, as ever. Other acts there will be Thamesdown Ladies Choir, Swindon Young Musiciansm and the Swindon School of Brass.
I will close now. Thank you for visiting the site and for reading this far down the page. Your support and greetings are gratefully received and we always welcome your letters/comments. If you have something you would like to send in or ask us, please do so. We will always endeavour to answer your letters. I look forward to meeting you at the Wyvern and I will be pleased to speak to you in person, preferably at the bar at your expense.
Regards
Steve Armstrong-Watkins
Musical Director
Swindon Pegasus Brass