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(See also Split Notes Newsletters)
1998

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FIRE BRIGADE CONCERT - Over £4,000 was raised by the Fire Services Benevolent Fund Charity Christmas Concert which took place in the Royal Hall in December to a packed audience. With the Harrogate Band were the City of York Pipe Band, St Aidans Chamber Choir and the Studio 3 Dance Workshop providing an excellent mix of musical and terpsichorean styles. Traditional carols from the choir, band and audience were interspersed with a number of other pieces from the Harrogate Band, traditional bagpipe music and a stirring selection of Irish dancing from Lord of the Dance. An arrangement for brass band and bagpipes of Highland Cathedral, by David Lancaster, was particularly appreciated by the audience. This was the second year since the revival of this concert, and we look forward to an even more successful event in 1999.

TRIUMPH IN HARTLEPOOL - The Band's most decisive contest win was gained at the Cameron's Brass Band Championships at Hartlepool. Competing officially in the Second Section for the first time, playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Land of the Long White Cloud by Philip Sparke, we trounced the competition by a clear five points. The adjudicator, Ian Craddock, was full of praise for our performance - an unusual occurrence for any band! This particular contest, now in its sixth year, has gained in popularity with bands in the North of England - and it has always been a favourite of ours, and not just because of our continuing successes each year!

EXCELLENT MUSIC - The University College of Ripon and York St John echoed the sounds of The Harrogate Band and the College Concert Band in November as they provided a joint concert of serious band music to an appreciative audience. The UCRYSJ Band performed Philip Sparke's Yorkshire Overture, Festive Piece, by Clare Grundman, and Malcolm Arnold's Padstow Lifeboat. The Harrogate Band followed with works by two local, but world famous, brass composers - Wilfred Heaton, Victory for Me, and Philip Wilby, Dacre Banks. This was followed by Robert Eaves' Rhapsody for Eb Soprano Cornet, immaculately performed by Andrew Jackson, and the premiere of Claro Toccata by David Lancaster - a complex and highly charged piece with delicate opportunities for lyrical playing by euphonium and flugel soloists. The concert concluded with a performance of Philip Sparke's Land of the Long White Cloud.

CHANGE OF PRINCIPALS - The Band was sorry to see our Principal Cornet player, Sadie Snowden, leave recently. Sadie had led the cornet section and the whole band in many successful concerts and contests. We wish her all the best and hope to see her back with us in the not too distant future. We are very pleased now to welcome back Rob Illsley to The Harrogate Band. Rob, who held the Principal's seat prior to Sadie, has returned after a period playing with Brent Brass.

DUTCH VISITORS - An excellent weekend was enjoyed by all concerned when the Gerwens Muziekkorps (GMK) Band, from Neunen in The Netherlands, visited Harrogate in October. Staying with members of the Harrogate Band they had an opportunity to sample the delights of Harrogate and York and perform two concerts. The first of these was at West Park United Reform Church, where the audience were treated first to a mini concert by their ten-strong percussion section, then to a wide selection of numbers from the whole concert band. The Harrogate Band had opened the evening with a short session before handing over to their guests. A rousing barn dance and supper rounded off the next day. On the Monday the students and staff of the University College of Ripon and York St John were delighted with the second concert from GMK, which finished just in time for them to depart for the evening ferry back to Holland.
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SCULPTURED SOUNDS - The Band had a very successful and enjoyable trip to Perry Green in Hertfordshire in June to provide music for the Henry Moore Centenary Celebrations at the Henry Moore Foundation Open Day. A commemorative service was held at the local church where both Moore and his wife are buried, followed by a concert at the Foundation, which now occupies the house and grounds of Henry Moore's former home. Surrounded by many examples of the sculptor's work - from massive architectural pieces to small and intimate studio works, drawings and fabrics - the band entertained several thousand people who had come to see the work of the Yorkshire-born sculptor. The Open Day, held in glorious sunshine, was an event thoroughly enjoyed by the public, the band and the Foundation themselves. Our thanks go to the Foundation for the invitation - which resulted from the Foundation's visit to this website. We look forward to being invited back for the 200th anniversary!

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CLEAN SWEEP - Three First Prizes and Trophies were won in the Yorkshire and Humberside Brass Band Association's Annual Contest, First Section, at Scarborough in May. Wonderful! Marvellous! you might think - but the band, although being pleased at the awards, was also very disappointed. All the other bands in the first section had withdrawn and we had agreed with the organisers to compete in the Championship section and to be judged with them. However our status was communicated to the adjudicator and we were judged as the only first section band! What is the point of preparing a piece for contest then not being able to compete?!! Nevertheless, both the adjudicator and audience liked the performance, and we are sure that, had we been allowed to compete fairly in the contest, we would have surprised one or two of the other bands in that section.

REGIONAL CHALLENGE - The Band's first contest in the Second Section was the Northern Region Championships at Darlington. We were very pleased to be awarded third place - particularly as the adjudicator admitted he could not really separate places two and three. Unfortunately this also meant that we missed representing our home town in the Harrogate National Finals in September! (Nevertheless we were there, cheering on our brethren and friends in the contest - and supported the organisation in a number of ways, including providing our bandroom to competing bands for rehearsals).

IT WAS US! - We have recently received an Arts Council award from the National Lottery which has enabled the Band to purchase a full set of new instruments and a trailer to help in their transport. These instruments, which are already proving to be a significant benefit to the musical sound of the band, were sorely needed and will give us a welcome boost to the quality of our music. The process of obtaining the grant from the Arts Council was a fairly long one, taking in all about a year, from the preparation of the submission to the final award. However, we were very pleased with the support and advice given by the staff at the Arts Council. Our thanks must also go particularly to Michael Hymas, the Band's President, whose financial assistance has facilitated the partnership funding required for the grant.