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

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Learn about the ensembles I've had involvement in:

• 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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1st Jan: Had a lovely new year at the Queens Hotel in Aberdeen. Dinner and dancing, after years of being in the band, I just enjoyed the occasion. This was only my second free NYE in nearly 30 years. This band was good but they stayed on stage and mimed to the disco records.aaaagh! The compere put a Kenny Gee record on then wandered the dance floor miming on an alto sax. I followed him around to see if he actually played and he noticed. He actually said "I'm playin' it" without missing a note.

Got changed in the car park to go on to a party, so not much has changed.

At a friend of my brother's, an improptu busking session starts and I play piano accompanying loads of songs I don't know. How do you do that? someone asks. Harmonic knowledge and red wine! The musicians are excellent including the fiddler and a singer of North East Corn Kisters, fantastic. Time to recover and drive back to England.

3rd Jan: Looking at works to be done next year. Paris Sketches, Danceries, Allerseelen, Samurai, Windharp, Suite of Old American Dances, Jazz Suite, Radio Days, Suite Francaise, Cloudcatcher Fell, Canons and Cadenzas, are all under consideration. I'm not saying which orchestras will play them yet.

I notice that Amanda is renewing the public liability insurance before the YWO rehearsal next week. I have been going to rehearsals, gigs and concerts for 40 years (I started young!) and I can't really remember too many injuries or mishaps but nowadays we have to play so safe. Can anyone remember a rehearsal or concert they attended where something dreadful happened? (not dreadfull playing). I have fallen off a stage whilst playing a keyboard, which just caused the band to break into hysterical laughter. I have conducted on some dodgy platforms too, where I have been centimetres from disaster, and very high up. Also I have played on a burning cruise ship which my good friend the staff captain saved by extinguishing the fire. Still, nothing that could have given me an excuse to sue. Maybe we have to insure against bad playing, or offending someone who is playing badly, or an audience not enjoying the music. Well; there are other ways to insure against those things!!

4th Jan: Phoenix Band has the first rehearsal of the year. We work on new music and the band sounds quite solid. Actually there were only 23 players as some people are still away and this makes it easier in that smallish room. We use the new full score for the Old American Dances and there are certainly some odd articulations and missing dynamics in this edition. I always disagree with some of the articulation relating to note lengths and style in the piece anyway as a composer with Russell Bennett's background would expect music to be interpreted in a specific way. There is no way that this piece can be properly played with a literal approach to the markings. When the character of each movement is played in a cohesive manner, it is such a good piece!

Oops! That almost turned into one of those awful rehearsal guides that seem to appear in Winds every edition. Why, oh why would anyone want to read how another musician would rehearse another group of musicians. I could imagine the well primed conductor, having mentally rehearsed his "virtual wind band" hunting for mistakes and elements that have not yet gone wrong. Adjusting his "virtual balance" and intonation.

Best to study your score, react to events, know how you want it to sound, deal with the musicians in front of you, allow them to influence your interpretation with the skill they offer each time they blow, forge your own interpretation and bring it to life. Let others do it in the way they want to. What a waste of time, better just to publish the score. If you have ever conducted a score with some pencil-happy conductor's markings in it, you will know what I mean! If anyone actually needs those rehearsal guides, they should not be standing in front of an orchestra in the first place.

7th Jan: NSWO have the first rehearsal of the year and it is now 1 year since I first took them over. A great turn out and a productive rehearsal. Much work has been done and at present the better players have made the best progress. In order to really push on, we now need some of the less experienced players to start working harder on the fundamentals. This band is well on the way to success.

8th Jan: The first rehearsal of the new format YWO. I arrive to find a nice atmosphere and Amanda is giving out information about the website and the ethos of the group. The room is nice, if a little cramped for a group of this size and this means that some sections are quite far away from me.

I am reassured by the presence of some really reliable musicians. Members of Harlequin Brass, Yorkshire Sax Choir, NSWO, and some of the best YWO players from the start.

Naturally it starts slowly. First impressions are loud, uncoordinated, needing tuning, balance, sectional phrasing and confidence. The pages of the new score of Paris Sketches are all stuck together and the sightlines are not good.

After the break, an improvement. The musicians adapt to the room, the sections try harder to phrase together and an attempt at dynamic contrast clears some space. We work on the most obvious problems and they improve quickly. Soon the atmosphere is more relaxed and much work gets done.

All in all, I have a positive impression and it bodes well for the future. Clearly the larger sections will be trimmed down and the players who struggled on Monday may know themselves that the standard is high and they might not survive. However, I will not be in too much of a hurry to do this, giving everyone every chance to prove themselves. Whilst the clarinets and flutes are large sections, skills in ensemble and section playing can make this a musically satisfying situation but only with a huge effort from the players. Realistically, they must learn to phrase as if it were three players playing together and be able to play a real pp regardless of the numbers and to be honest that can sound amazing.

We had a couple of horn players who helped out but the contribution of John and Anne Marie was extremely strong and I suspect that they will play most of the solos in the end.

The question for me is, will the fortnightly rehearsal be able to provide continuity or will the first hour always be a disaster? Watch this space!

I arrive home and the dog has produced a pile of "what doggies do" on the floor. Everyone's a critic!

9th Jan: A lot of people have contacted me through the website or the YWO site to comment on last night. It is great to hear of such enthusiasm and useful ideas. It gives me a positive feeling about the future of the players. I need to work in a positive manner, it fuels me and keeps me going. The energy comes from the musicians.

Tonight it is off to Ingleborough Hall to help with the Year 9 Residential. Some of the behaviour was appalling at school today. I wonder if it is the anticipation of next week when the next group go out there.

My sister rang yesterday to that my Dad is ill, a perforated ulcer. Still awaiting real tangible news from the hospital in Worthing. Monitoring the situation closely.

10th Jan: Cannot make it to Harlequin due to a parents evening. One of the problems with the distance and timing. The group is well disciplined and capable of rehearsing alone if it does not happen too much. They really do know what to do. They have some personel issues to sort out after being badly let down last year. I wish that all good players could develop the whole package; ability, reliability, loyalty and enthusiasm. Some players are good at taking but poor at giving. In the end, the imbalance can never result in success.

11th Jan: More positive comments have come in about the YWO rehearsal. I do feel that there is a long way to go to reach our goals though.

Sometimes the aims of amateur wind groups are not quite high enough. Some community bands get away with murder in terms of programming and quality of performance. Perhaps it is because the audience have learned not to expect too much.

It's like musical cup-a-soup; it 's not very good but if you make a cup-a-soup, you know it can't be brilliant. The fact that you tear open the packet means that you accept that low standard and you won't be surprised when it tastes of.... well, cup-a-soup! Wind band audiences know what is coming when they come along.

Good bands are really sorting this out, giving value for money and keeping high standards. As long as they don't go down the inaccessible music road, all this could improve rapidly.

I ring the Hospital in Worthing and my Dad says via a nurse that he is "Same as ever!" Grumpy!

12th Jan: I am still considering repertoire for 2007 and my trip to Germany will flag up some new pieces as Eduard Oertle has sent me his programme. It includes a concerto for four french horns; interesting!

I thought about Bill Connor's Tales auf dem Voods Viennoise. It is an interesting and appropriately environmentally pessimistic work which incudes some aleatory sections which mimic birdsong. A la Messiaen I suppose. Interpreting birdsong can't be easy, although after the 75 mile an hour gales yesterday a little bird was singing in the garden. I think he said, "What am I doing here, I was in Manchester a minute ago?"

13th Jan: Eduard, in his letter, sounded a little frustrated with some of the players who simply do not improve. He said they are honoured for not knowing the fingerings on their instrument after 40 years; really simply paying their fees for all that time.

It struck me that the traditions of band playing are very strong there. So it isn't an unusual or particularly outstanding thing to be in a town or village band.

Here, it really is more of a novelty and a rarity so perhaps our adult learners are more likley to develop an ethos of constant improvement.

I know; you all know someone who really does not improve, but in the right atmosphere he would stand out, rather than be hidden amongst others of the same ability.

John Large told me of one player who was so bad that they convinced him to play 4th percussion where he could do less damage. (No idea who)

At one concert John looked up prior to starting a Beethoven Overture to see the new percussionist poised and ready. In his hands? Maracas!!!

14th Jan: NSWO rehearsal in Nottingham. We are rehearsing for a themed concert in February; Stage and Screen music!

The jury is out for me, on themed concerts. They are quite a good marketing strategy, provided the theme is not something obscure; "Great Turnip Songs!!" or something. I do think though, that the band has to accept that the theme must be adhered to. A professional orchestra on a Film Music concert does not throw in a quick Haydn Symphony just to fill up the programme.

One must choose good quality transcriptions and arrangements and rehearse the music with the same musical vigour as the most challenging repertoire for winds. I think that NSWO are experienced and mature enough to make this work. I just hope that I am!!

12.45 Off to the Adrian Boult Hall in Birmingham to conduct the next bit of the Sax Choir's recording. I arrive just in time for the recording but the engineer does not show up. At £100 per hour for the hall, this is a nightmare. Fortunately a third year tech. student volunteers to help out and we get to work.

Recording non- professional groups is a tough challenge. Doing it in live takes is extremely hard and there is always something in every take that I would rather not have on a CD.

Clearly, time spent building up good takes and editing would be worth it in the end. Less pressure on the players, a better end result, more control, less stamina needed. It would also take much less time in the long run and that would save money. Editing time is much cheaper then £100 per hour.

Still, the Choir worked very hard on the last session, and today. I think that they played better last time in terms of balance and intonation. I am not sure that today's pieces were consistently well enough in tune to be put on the actual CD. I could be wrong though, as when I'm conducting a recording I tend to concentrate fully on what the group needs to get the best performance, leaving the man in the box to filter out the errors. Unfortunately, there was no producer or musician in the box, just our heroic volunteer. A pair of good ears surrounding a cool, diplomatic head is just what is needed in a recording situation. Try not to record without a very good "producer/score-reading muso."

The M1 was a nightmare on the way home. So what's new. Home to a lovely tea and a hot bath.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

16th Jan: The 2007 original show is nearly fully cast now. The good thing is that virtually every pupil who auditioned can actually sing. That was not the case 10 years ago when we managed Little Shop of Horrors without a real male singer. The Threepenny Opera was just as bad. If Mac really had I knife, I know who I would have used it on first. Now I have Marti Clements on the staff the singing at school has come on in leaps and bounds. Well done to her for inspiring them so well. We still have kids who let us down at the last minute by not attending rehearsals or the residential. It's just like the recording engineer and the players who let people down. We really have to teach them reliability, the real life-skill of being someone who can give as well as take. A person who is reliable trustworthy and knows that the extra mile has been run for their benefit in the past and such loyalty has to work both ways.

Some pupils are missing because of the actions of their parents; the very people who demand that we ensure that other kids tow the line. How are we to provide them with the wherewithall to interact well with the world if the parents set such a poor example. It isn't all about results even if the media would have you believe that. The system is supposed to prepare the pupils to be good, well- balanced members of the future society, who can interact and cooperate their way to success and happiness. These are the kids of the greedy eighties. The me me me generation is alive and well and living in a leafy suburb near YOU!

17th Jan: A rehearsal with Harlequin. It will be quite a challenge to move this group onwards for a variety of reasons. The group tends to use more than 10 players to make up a regular full attendance, so not everyone is rehearsed at the same time. The tuba player needs to be properly replaced, and they need to get to grips with some concepts that will not be learned by simply "having a good blow!"

Although these are terrific players and experienced ensemble people, some players still have their basic roots in the world of Brass Bands. That is very good for techniques involving fingers, tongueing and musical dogma but not great for phrasing, slurring, breathing and creating living notes. The players will have to get to grips with resonance, speaking notes, clean slurs, mouth-positions, using the tongue as a musical device rather than an automatic note production facility. Sometimes these concepts need explanation, discussion, trial and error; a more thinking, cerebral approach to playing. Brass Band players are not happy unless they have been beaten around the lips with an old kipper box. They like to leave a rehearsal physically and mentally wrecked and ready for a pint.

This masochistic approach will not move Harlequin onwards. They need to practise the refined techniques until they become habit and bring that to the rehearsal. I can assure them that when they play things properly they will leave the room suitably and happily knackered!!

The M1 was quiet but windy on the way back.

18th Jan: My stint in the school isolation room and there seem to be a lot of kids wandering around outside. Now it seems that the pupils have been sent home due to wind. Could it be Jamie Oliver's new high fibre menus?

19th Jan: No school today due to wind damage to the buildings. Not the old building but the new one only finished a few years ago. Bradford Council should be proud of their lowest bidder approach to building.

21st Jan: NSWO have a very productive rehearsal and some moments sound really quite good. The group is respecting each musical style and trying hard to adapt. The signs are very good this early in the year.

The rehearsal is followed by Windblowers' annual dinner at the beautiful Risley Manor Hotel so we go to the pool first for a nice swim then on to the dinner. It turns out to be a lovely evening, organised to perfection by Margaret. I stay over in the Brahms and Liszt Suite (hmm) and drive back in the morning to school. The M1 is absolutely at a standstill by J30 due to new roadworks which have not yet started. The traffic is diabolical and I am an hour late. Good start to the week!!

22nd Jan: The second YWO rehearsal and everyone (almost everyone) is in position ready to play by the start time. Very refreshing and slightly spooky.

It starts badly. An awful reading of Holst's Moorside Suite. I decide to let them play, warm up, tune up and just get used to playing. The temptation is to fix every error as it occurs but these are, in the main, good players and they want to do well. I let them play right through and try out other works for the same purpose.

Sure enough, it starts to improve massively. I then return to the Moorside to work on, phrasing, dynamics, section playing, balance etc. The end result is a huge improvement. That is the thing with this standard of group, big highs and huge lows.

The room does not help power and projection so when the group goes out to play in a nice venue the contrast will be stunning.

Amongst the very good players there are a few with much less experience and possibly one or two who may not be able to remain. However, there isn't a problem at the moment and we might as well keep things as they are for a while to give players a chance to grow into the task.

23rd Jan: I wake up to find I have gone blind; no my clock radio is off, no everything is off. Power cut! Pitch black outside, -4 degrees and no electricity. Can't find a torch or a match, or socks or anything. No shower, toaster, kettle. Just stay in bed! No, I was late yesterday. Can't be late two days running. We valiantly find matches, a torch, some candles, bread, clothes, keys, and dawn breaks. Just before I leave, on comes the power. I look in the mirror, ugh!! Should have stayed in bed!

24th Jan: A full rehearsal with Harlequin. David Cockburn helped out on tuba and when he really gets his stamina and strength back up (he has been playing trombone) he will become a very good tuba player. Musically he fitted in very well.

The group worked hard and progress was made even though everyone seemed tired and weary after a long day.

The M1 was covered in salt and grit amongs the freezing rain. Visibility was poor and my eyes were tired when I got home. I hear about extreme weather conditions in the south. Two cm. of snow, get the huskies out!

25th Jan: Phoenix have a hard-working and productive rehearsal. The contrast between the higher ability players and those who struggle is marked. The divide grows bigger every week. This rehearsal was full of techniques to help the less able players. Clear explanations, techniques to improve rhythmic work and counting, repetition, section work and the improvement was very noticable. The full range of players were able to appreciate the progress made but it is tiring for everyone. There is certainly enough challenge in the music to engage everyone and the music is the key to any group's success.

26th Jan: Friday at last. We get our 5-a-side football back as the exams have finished in the sports hall. Frantic match with uneven sides so I change sides whe we are 5-0 up. It ends 20-18 with everyone knackered. A quiet evening at home. Yes, it does happen!

28th Jan: NSWO have their final reheasal for the concert next week. A matter of ensuring that the whole programme is played. These are difficult rehearsals to pace and some reheasal is always needed. The orchestra has a tight schedule this year with a lot of performances and although the programmes are light, I find that these pieces present huge challenges to the group and are worthy of their full attention.

I point out to them that these rehearsals have to be for the big issues and that the players have a duty to ensure that they can play all the parts by this time in the proceedings.

Individuals are responsible for their own practice schedules and no one can survive in a top ensemble without a disciplined practice regime.

There are nine new pieces in this programme. This will not be possible in all concerts; well , not if the standard of preparation is to remain very high.

It will be a challenging concert for the group and an enjoyable evening for the audience. That's what it's all about.

31st Jan: A rehearsal at Leeds College of Music with the new combined wind group. There are still issues with getting in,getting set up and started but the students were enthusiastic and willing to learn. If we can get them all to attend, there will be a good result here.

We always think that sixth formers are apathetic and difficult to motivate at times but it is no different in the undergraduate system. Students often fail to take the opportunities that are there for them.

After Leeds, it is off to Harlequin and a full rehearsal. We work hard on ensemble skills and details. Again they tire towrds the end, as do I.

The M1 was quiet on the way home and I get there for 10.35pm. Not bad!

Now that January is over, I will try to post new diary information above the old stuff so that regular readers (if there are any) do not have to scroll. I hope I get this right.