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• A year of Progress
• Review: Nottingham Symphonic Winds, Lakeside Arts Centre

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• Harlequin Brass Ensemble
• Leeds College of Music Wind Ensemble
• National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain
• Nottingham Symphonic Wind Orchestra
• Phoenix Concert Band
• Yorkshire Wind Orchestra

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Or was that the title of a Star Wars Film?

I hope that all of you are looking forward to playing together. I remember the first rehearsal in 1995 when the band first heard one another. Most of the players had played in decent bands but this was another level and the sense of excitement was tangible.

It quickly became clear that simply choosing the area's best players did not make a good musical ensemble. It has been a frustration for a lot of us, that we could not quite get the whole package to work. Saying that, the orchestra has played some spectacular performances on a very tight rehearsal schedule.

My aims are to get an ethos going where we concentrate on being thinking players who constantly strive for superlative balance, phrasing, articulation and intonation. Constantly looking at where they are in the priorities of balance and adjusting the levels of volume, attack and tone to fit the score. The more we achieve, the harder it gets as we clear space and hear the clarity of the ensemble mix, thus allowing further improvements and subtlties to be addressed.

It takes time to make these things happen but I have proved with many groups that the strategy works by empowering the players in a positive atmosphere where we can make mistakes and learn from them.

The result? Good music. What else would we want?

The list of players does look huge at present but these things have a way of sorting themselves out and I will spen the first few months working with you all to get the best mix.

The first piece that the YWO played with me was Suite Francaise Movement 1. I may even try it out as our first moment together.

See you soon.

Keiron Anderson