On 27th April 2019 the bands of Verwood Concert Brass held their spring concert at the Verwood Hub. The music for the concert was all themed around heroes and villains which made for a wonderfully colourful and varied programme.

As per the usual format, the Verwood Training Band opened the show starting with Scooby Doo! Halfway through conductor Mike Dunnings announced the winner of Training Band player of the year, which he awarded to the well deserving Aimee Sapherson (Cornet).

The Training Band just seems to grow and grow but even so, for the last number ‘One Day Like This’ by pop group Elbow, conductor Mike Dunnings wanted to finish with a huge, deep and full sound so drafted in the lower instrument players from both the Town Band and Verwood Concert Brass Band – see if you can spot the nine basses in the photos. It certainly achieved the objective if the level of the applause was anything to go by!

During the stage reset ready for Verwood Concert Brass Band, the new starters group, The Acorns, under the enthusiastic direction of Bill Ferrier, played a great set of pieces again to the delight of the audience or should that be to the fright of the audience, where for one piece, ‘Spooky Blues’, The Acorns let out a piercing scream!

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Included in Verwood Concert Brass Band’s set was the highly atmospheric theme for ‘Batman’ and the spine-chilling music from the film ‘Psycho’ but also saw a great solo performance by Amy Cooke on tenor horn of ‘Defying Gravity’ from the hit show ‘Wicked’.

The concert also provided the ideal opportunity to present VCB’s charity fund raising cheque raised from playing carols over the festive season. Long standing band member, Nigel Tiller (Bb Bass), gave a moving account of his experience of having been diagnosed with kidney cancer but was honoured to be able to present a cheque for £1,444 to a representative from the Kidney Cancer Support Network that does such fantastic work in supporting not just the patients but families affected by this cancer.

The concert couldn’t go by with out some recognition of the perpetual hero that is James Bond 007 and Verwood Town Band didn’t disappoint by opening the second half with the theme tune from ‘Skyfall’. Another perpetual good vs evil film franchise is Starwars featuring the fantastic music of composer John Williams. The Town Band included ‘Rey’s Theme’ in their set with ‘The Imperial March’ also appearing in Verwood Concert Brass Band’s set later.

It was conductor, Emma Button’s turn to announce the winner of the Town Band player of the year award which went to Dan Burrows (Bass Trombone) before closing the set with not one hero but seven in the form of the theme tune to ‘The Magnificent Seven’.

For many in the audience they were delighted to be transported back in time by the Verwood Concert Brass Band to a popular radio thriller serial broadcast between 1946 and 1951. Their opening piece of their final set was ‘Devil’s Galop’ but this is more widely recognised as the theme tune to ‘Dick Barton – Special Agent’. And then on to an amazing piece of music, again by John Williams, that everyone can recognise from just two notes – ‘Jaws’.

In between the other fantastic pieces of music conductor Kevin Smith announced his winner of the player of the year award which went to Amy Cooke (Tenor Horn).

After the last piece ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ was played, cries of ‘More!’ came hardly before the band had taken a bow. So the band obliged by rounding off an incredible evening of music and entertainment with none other than the appropriately named theme tune to ‘The Incredibles’.

To see many more photos of the Concert please Click here