Pictured


Guest Soloist : Helen Williams
Demelza Fundraising Concert with Cranbrook Town Band
Click on the tabs for a full report and more photos

27th Sep 25

This year, we were delighted to invite Helen Williams to be our guest on the evening of 27 September. Helen is a very successful flugelhorn player. She is renowned for her beautiful, lyrical playing and has performed with some of the top bands in the country. She has quickly established herself as one of the best flugel players of her generation.
The day of the concert was spent much like previous concerts of this nature, with our guest, Helen, hosting a brass workshop for some of the members of our own training band and Shepway Brass Academy in the morning, before moving on to rehearsals in the afternoon with the main band. Helen discussed "Correct Breathing" and had youngsters and adults alike trying various breathing exercises aimed at improving their playing abilities. There are some photos and a couple of short clips from the morning on the "Workshop" tab.
We were pleased to have the opportunity to use St. Dunstan's Church once again for the concert, a beautiful local church that accommodates the band and audience with ease. The concert opened with a great march - "Washington Grays" followed by a completely new programme, something that posed more than a few headaches in rehearsals for our Musical Director, who had limited time after the summer holidays to work on so many new pieces. However, on the night and with everyone concentrating and "subdividing" like never before, the programme proceeded with hardly a stern look from the MD, who seemed pleased with our performance (mostly !).
Ian introduced Helen, who then captivated the audience with her beautiful playing. For her first two solos, Helen played "Nightingale" on Cornet before moving to Flugel for "Concerto d’Aranjuez" (or "Orange Juice" as it is known in banding circles since the film "Brassed Off" featured a performance of it).
The first half ended with a duo of contrasting pieces by Paul Lovatt-Cooper, the first was an arrangement of the Hymn Tune "Lloyd", and the second, a fitting end to the half, was our first public performance of "Fire in the Blood", which received rapturous applause and tested the mettle of even the most experienced band members.
The training band started the second half as is usual at these concerts and was well received, their rendition of "The Clog Dance" being particularly enjoyable and difficult to get out of your head once heard. This piece was also featured in the film "Brassed Off".
The main band proceeded to keep things going with a lively second half featuring "Manhattan Skyline" and "Crazy Brass Machine" both of which were up-tempo numbers and had the audience dancing in their seats before Helen calmed things down with a light hearted rendition of "Under the Board Walk" followed by a sublime performance of Chuck Mangione's "Children of Sanchez" which she made sound effortless despite its complex rhythms.
On a sadder note, we have heard of the recent passing of two stalwarts of the band from yesteryear. Ian talked to the audience about our previous Musical Director, Nick Carter, and how members of the band had played at his funeral (more details here). He then talked about our former Concert Secretary, Peter Evans, who was himself a flugel and cornet player who had played with the band from the 1970s-00s. As a tribute to Peter, we included our next piece in the programme and invited our retired percussionist, Peter Stoner, on stage. Peter had come down from Norfolk for the concert to drum for the "Born Free" theme, a piece which we used to play throughout the 1990s-2000s and one of Peter Evans' favourites.
The concert ended with two rousing pop/rock tunes with the ELO masterpiece - "Mr Blue Sky" preceding the fabulous "Ruby Tuesday" by the Rolling Stones. Helen joined us for the last piece, which finished off a superb concert, the proceeds of which will go to Demelza, a thoroughly worthwhile cause.

Thanks to our other guests or "deps" for the day, including: Colin Reid - Bass Trombone, Ben Bishop: Kit Percussion and Natasha Lanceley: Tuned Percussion.

The Concert

Full Programme

First Half Second Half
Washington Grays The Greatest Showman : Training Band
Malaguena James Bond Theme : Training Band
California Dreamin' Clog Dance : Training Band
The Nightingale: Cornet Solo Manhattan Skyline
Concerto d’Aranjuez: Flugel Solo The Crazy Brass Machine
Somewhere (from West Side Story) Under the Boardwalk : Flugel Solo
Lloyd Children of Sanchez : Flugel Solo
Fire in the Blood Born Free - (Featuring Peter Stoner)
Mr Blue Sky
Ruby Tuesday

More about Helen

Helen's musical journey began in 1975 when she discovered the cornet. Since then, she has established herself as one of the outstanding musicians in the world of brass music. Helen's many successes and accolades include becoming the first (and to date only) female solo cornetist to win the oldest competition, the British Open, in 1996 with the Marple Band from Greater Manchester, her hometown. On
this day, she also received the award for best female soloist, a feat she repeated 20 years later with the Cory Band, now on flugelhorn.

Youtube is "awash" with videos and clips of Helen's musical performances and she even has her own channel. If you have not heard her playing or want to hear more after our concert, please look at the wonderful performances online.

https://www.youtube.com/@helenwilliamsflugel

Workshop

Pictures

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