Emsworth Concert Band offer two Christmas concerts ahead of big year
As they prepare for their 40th anniversary next year, Emsworth Concert Band end 2025 in traditional style with two Christmas concerts.
On Saturday, December 13 they bring the Magic of Christmas to Oaklands Catholic School, Stakes Hill Road, Waterlooville at 7.30pm. The concert will feature festive musical favourites along with popular selections from stage and screen. Tickets £15 with 16s and under free. Ticket price includes a glass of wine or soft drink. Available from Bookends, 7 High Street, Emsworth and on Eventbrite.com.
Then on Saturday, December 20 they are in action with the Emsworth Concert Band Christmas Concert at Hayling Island Community Centre, Station Road, Hayling Island at 7pm, again festive musical favourites along with popular selections from stage and screen. Tickets £12 available from Eventbrite.com or Hayling Island Community Centre. The centre bar will be open for drinks.
Band secretary Ian Smith loves being part of it all: “It is a big ask and people have got busy lives. We require people to commit the time but everybody turns up and people really enjoy it. We all sit down and the baton goes up and off we go. It is wonderful to be playing in a large ensemble. I'm in the back row playing the euphonium. We've got the clarinets and the woodwind and we've got a good line with trumpets and trombones. It's a good mix. It is about 40 of us in the band. I have been in the band for about ten years and it really is just great to make music. I bought myself a euphonium about 25 years ago and I've been playing ever since. It is a challenge to read all the little dots but it's great to be playing together. You have to bring it home and you have to practise. You have to work at you're doing but it's a really nice hobby and a really nice way of spending time with other people.
“The Christmas concerts are very much a tradition. First of all we want to make sure that the audience and the band have a happy time but really it's about working up to Christmas. I know that Christmas begins in the middle of October for people working in the shops but for us it's a gradual build-up and it's lovely to have somewhere to go where you know that all your favourite Christmas melodies will be played.
“We have got a really fantastic selection this year. We've got Leroy Anderson's Christmas Festival and also a piece called Christmas Classics. We're also trying to find some new pieces. We've brought in some pieces from across the pond including Secret Agent Santa. And then we have a piece called Good Swing Wenceslas. It's Good King Wenceslas as you would expect but it's quite funky! And then we thought we would push the boat out a little bit and push the band. We've got Shostakovich’s Festive Overture. It's a lovely arrangement but it's quite difficult so we thought that would be good to do. We have also found Forrest Gump Suite and we've also got some Phil Collins. And we're also doing Fairy Tale Of New York.”
“Local singer Emily Harkness will certainly be singing with the band at Hayling and possibly at Waterlooville. We have some great combined songs.”