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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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2nd April: NSWO have started to learn another Martin Ellerby work and are preparing for the next concert well. Now a little break for Easter.

The M1 was crazy on the way back thanks to a van load of idiots who were grass track motorcycle racers. They were interacting dangerously with a yellow sports car, shaking hands through the windows at 70mph, undertaking a lorry using the hard shoulder, throwing objects at the car, and sticking their bottoms out of the window. It was very busy and I was sure that they would cause an accident but eventually they took the M18 and I stayed on the M1. Grass track motorcyclists must be nutters; it makes sax players seem quite tame!

30th March: Today is the final day of the spring term. It has been, as you may already know, very busy, sometimes frustrating, and at times very successful. I have dealt with all sorts of players, pupils, students, parents, teachers, managers and gnus of all sorts and it is not one second before time!

Two lessons, a period in the isolation room and 4 AS level recordings to go! It is also a deadline day so there are generally three students talking to me at the same time and a rock group rehearsing in the room. Am I stressed? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

29th March: Harlequin Brass worked very hard at the rehearsal on some Gabrieli. This music presents special problems for an ensemble in terms of stylistic approach and the balancing and prioritising of parts. I remember rehearsals with Philip Jones on this type of music and he really knew how to approach the playing. Recordings of the PJBE are really sublime when it comes to this type of polyphony and I am trying to get Harlequin to sound that way.

The secret is in the physical way that players have to bring out new entries, know when to back off (and how to back off) and know when to change the level of attack. All of the players must unify the attacks of the various phrases in order to bring cohesion to the overall performance, regardless of which instrument or register the phrase is written in. I have to say that when they tried it out that way, there was a vast difference in the effect and in a good venue this has to be even further accentuated. I am looking forward to their appearance at Ranmoor just to see if we can get this to work. This type of music is ideal for developing ensemble playing skills and Harlequin are pretty good at it anyway so I recommend it to less experienced groups as an exercise in physical playing and listening.

28th March: I am getting lots of good feedback from the NSWO players and followers both by email and through the site. See the guestbook for one or two examples. I am so looking forward to channeling this enthusiasm into the production of great music.

25th March: The concert in Nottingham was last night although I arrived back today having stayed over for the Sunday rehearsal.

The new venue was interesting with a lively sound and a high ceiling which made for an interesting challenge for both NSWO and the Equinox Saxophone group.

The rehearsal was used mainly to get lighting and sound sorted out as the orchestra were very well prepared for this concert. I was worried that some of the detail that had been so carefully rehearsed might be lost in the echo of the hall. I will write a proper concert report in due course but the main points are that it was a great concert and the orchestra were outstanding at times. People complimented me on the clarity, colour, musicality and assured quality of the group. The saxes were good too; showing that subtleties are within the repertoire of the sax ensemble genre. They had to be at their best to match the excellence that NSWO produced in the three major works in this concert.

Report to follow.

23rd March: Last night Phoenix tried the Grainger version of Molly on the Shore. After a sticky start they quickly developed and improved to show that in time, they will do a good job of this difficult piece. I love Grainger's arrangements. They have an inherent madness which is deeply embedded into the writing, harmonically, dynamically, and in the phrasing. To really get the effect you have to play in a slightly manic fashion which brings the music to the audience in a delightfully original way. We are so lucky to have had a composer with his unique talent writing so much for the medium.

22nd March: More positive feedback is coming in from the show this month. Articles from the local newspaper and the school newsletter are all very complimentary and there has been a lot of verbal feedback too. After all the hard work it is good to reflect on the two musicals written in the last 2 years. One interesting factor is that people have complimented me on the songs this year; last year they tended to say that they liked the music. Is it the fact that I wrote music and lyrics at the same time this year rather than writing music then adding text? Ok maybe it isn't that interesting but it is true.

The DVD of the show comes out next week. I will then have a DVD of each show. If anyine wants to put any of these shows on in their school, I have all the scores, pdf files, sibelius files, word files, scripts, song books etc. Just email me and let me know.

20th March: Yesterday was a busy day which ended with a meeting of senior managers and curriculum leaders. It always amazes me that managers can actually think that every few weeks they should introduce new tasks, policies, documents, strategies, forms, and extra work for the staff who are already fully engaged in their work. I always leave those meetings feeling inadequate and wondering if there is something in the whole ethos of teaching that I have missed.

Straight afterwards it is off to Wakefield for the YWO rehearsal. I needed a bit of an emotional lift and the way the orchestra worked was enough to revive me. As I have said, the room is a difficult one but this orchestra is full of experience and talent so they are overcoming the difficulties more with each rehearsal. We work on some Grainger, Holst and Ellerby with a strong ensemble ethos which will become a feature of the group as they progress. At the same time there is a disciplined but relaxed atmosphere which is a credit to the professionalism of the players. The snag is that the more I hear it, the more I can see room for improvement. This is likely to result in me being annoyingly critical and not as forthcoming with praise as I should be. So what's new?

I bought some gift cards that Amanda is selling as a fund raiser for the group. The picture on the front is one that I took of some sheep in Wensleydale. My first pro photo. I hope the sheep signed the model release forms.

18th March: High winds, ice, snow, hail, sleet, and dazzling winter sunlight make the M1 a bad place to be today. I decide to take the 4x4 just in case snow gets to be a bigger issue. It gets blown around like crazy but I make it to Nottingham in reasonable spirits. The group has worked hard in preparation for next week's concert and we play longer sections to get things flowing. Some of the playing requires attention to detail and a little more commitment to the phrasing and dynamics but overall the improvements to this ensemble are becoming very pronounced. The concert is full of variety and the orchestra are playing the works well; approaching each style with thought and care. Take note people! This is the way forward!

The M1 was even worse on the way back with the car being almost wrenched from the road by some infernal force. Could it be?.... No, surely not.

16th March: Last night the Phoenix group rehearsed in the actual church which is a very different atmosphere from the normal room. The group was missing a few players but all the normal parts were covered. The sound was tight and clean with good phrasing and intonation. Playing was musical and interesting with good colour and contrast. I had to compliment them on the progress that they continue to make. It cannot be unrelated that YWO rehearsals are raising the bar for at least a third of the group but this is not the whole story. Phoenix work in a pleasant and industrious manner week to week. We encourage good practice and constantly work on good basic ensemble skills. The players do what they can to buy into the programme and as a band, it is having a positive effect. I probably don't write enough about their efforts, mainly because it is late in the week and all hell breaks loose at the weekend. So, well done Phoenix!

Amanda continues to flourish as administrator of YWO with yet more sponsorship coming in. In the years running up to the Olympics, funding will become increasingly tight for local projects and having someone as enthusiastic and effective as Amanda on the case will be crucial for all music groups. Hands off! She's ours!

15th March: After a full day yesterday I reflect on a couple of hard working rehearsals. The LCM group are often without key players but the attitude is excellent and the atmosphere is one of enablement.

Harlequin are still preparing for the Choir Concert. New music arrived which rather cancelled out the work done last week. It was all very "bitty" and hard to really get any continuity but the group worked honestly and did what they had to do. Anthony Thomson was there for the first time in a while; he is a busy pro. I suspect that it wasn't the best rehearsal for him to enjoy as he is not doing the concert and we didn't play anything of our own. It was nice to see him again anyway. The group have been somewhat neglected by me recently due to heavy commitments all round but they will get back into their stride very quickly. The M1 was down to one lane on the way back but I didn't see anyone working on it. These guys must be invisible; that's why they close off so many lanes!

14th March: Another full day with many lessons, break duty, Leeds College of Music and Harlequin. I can't believe I actually fitted in an AQA meeting in Leeds last week as well. Motivating students to drive their efforts towards the upcoming deadlines is the most stressful thing. The next three weeks will see GCSE, AS and A2 level deadlines come and go for performing, composing and other coursework. They don't show a great deal of urgency but usually get there in the end.

13th March: It is midnight and Keiron is out with the doggies just before bed. There as a flash of flames and a red horned individual appears with a trident in his left hand:

Keiron: Nice outfit!

Devil: This is no outfit! I’m the Devil, Lucifer, Satin, Beelzebub, The Man!

Keiron: OK, what do you want?

Devil: Your soul! I want to make you an offer for it!

Keiron: Well, no I need it, you see; I’m a conductor, a musician. I couldn’t conduct without it. Sorry.

Devil: Don’t be silly. You can manage without it; lots of them do. You can just beat time!

Keiron: Well no actually it’s essential to get to the heart of the music.

Devil: Rubbish! It just gets in the way. Gets you too involved. Ruins your objectivity. Sell it to me!

Keiron: No way! You play an instrument; you should know what I need it for.

Devil: I do actually play the violin. Want to hear?

Keiron: Go for it!

He pulls out his violin and begins to play an incredible technical fast piece with manic energy and enthusiasm.

Devil: Well? What do you think of that?

Keiron: Great!

Devil: Just great?

Keiron: Well, if you want more detail; it could have been a good idea to tune the fiddle better, to keep tabs on intonation, maybe vary the bowing to give more variety, perhaps even out some of the semiquavers and look at a bit more dynamic interest, maybe get a more subtle tone?

Devil: What? I was great! Watch this….

He turns upside down, levitating just above the ground, plays the same piece in the same manner, finishing with a massive fire ball rocketing into the air.

Devil: Yeah? What about that then?!!

Keiron: Well, it is very impressive but..

Devil: But? But what…….. how can you pick fault with that?

Keiron: Tuning, attack, rhythm, dynamics; what I said before, maybe get the music right before you do the choreography?

Devil: You really are a pain in the arse, I don’t think I want your soul anymore. I’m off to find someone who’ll appreciate my skills.

Whoosh! He disappears in a Puff of smoke.

Keiron: Me too!

11th March: An early start and an easy trip to Nottingham for the NSWO rehearsal. It is well attended and the players are all there and ready to get started.

The orchestra worked very hard and were fully attentive throughout a meaningful and productive morning. I questioned in the week why I should be so motivated to make my groups achieve their potential and do justice to themselves and the music. The orchestra agreed that it was an interesting question and we found the answer.

Nicola Pennill playing a lovely phrase on her alto sax was asked to change the style and meaning of this part of the piece. She tried it again and the whole group accompanied her beautifully. For a moment we were all inspired by the magic of music. It felt good and that is why we try to get the best out of every session. We do it because when it works, nothing in the world feels quite like it. Perhaps human beings only really do things because in some way, it feels good. Putting another log on the fire, making a cup of tea, running a bath, I am sure you can think of your own!! It is as good a reason as any for the effort we put in and in the process we can make an audience feel good too. Ask yourself what your motivation for playing in your group really is! The company, your ego, the teamwork, your reputation? If the conductor and the group as well as the management share the same goals, success will follow. If the conductor's vision is not shared by the group, fur will fly!

9th March: A busy day followed by a rehearsal with Phoenix. I have missed the last three rehearsals although I did conduct the concert in Leeds, between the residential and the performances of the show.
Brian Frost; a player I met at the Canford Conducting course about 15 years ago is a Phoenix member and he has taken the rehearsals in my absence. Brian is a good musician and a very nice man and I would be very embarrassed if the band had been anything other than respectful and responsive to his conducting. As it happened he did a wonderful job which was reflected in their performance in Chapel Allerton. The players clearly appreciated his contribution and they continue to improve.

Last night they worked well even when the music did not really give some sections much to do.

8th March: It was a very long day but the two rehearsals did go well. Harlequin were already playing when I arrived; late due to the AQA meeting over running in Leeds. They are appearing in Guisborough soon to accompany a choir so much work needed to be done to phrase and balance the accompaniments. They soon turned a sparse and badly marked transcription into a sound musical reading. They have so much experience now that they instinctively know what I am trying to achieve with them. It has taken a long time and many periods of strife to get to this level but the group has built its reputation for quality, varied and musical ensemble playing over years of hard work and some humility. There are some who could do with taking a few leafs out of Harlequin's book!

7th March: A very busy day with a full working schedule, LCM Wind Ensemble, An AQA feedback meeting in Leeds, Harlequin Brass in South Yorkshire, a total of 15 solid hours but it will be nice to see Harlequin again after the residential and school show made me miss the last two rehearsals.

NSC are still miffed about comments on the site. The groups who appear here are fundamentally good, or I simply would not write about them so the publicity is not bad. Time to worry, if I can't be bothered to write about an ensemble. The group has advanced greatly aver the last two years in many ways, but no group can improve without the cold realisation of what still needs to be achieved. If you are reading this as a non musician, or a fan of any of the groups that appear on the site. Remember that my criticism is at a very high level and fundamentally the ensembles are all excellent in their own way. Improving them is a tough but essential task and any concert or recording they do will be worth hearing as a consequence of the care that goes into the shaping of the groups.

6th March: Last night was a YWO rehearsal and progress is clearly being made here. The group work very professionally and get an awful lot done in a short time. We were short of horns due to a couple of late cancellations and I hope that the management will deal with that fairly firmly as this is a team and in a team the whole is more important than the one. The individual benefits greatly from the quality of the team so it should work both ways.

We did quality, detailed work and the group began to sound more cohesive towards the break.

I received an email from Cat who organised Grimsby so well and played her concerto with real panache. I spelled her name wrongly in my article about the concert and I needed to apologise for that. The concert in Grimsby was good although I did criticise the group for a fractious and overly long rehearsal. She was a little unhappy with the review and I can understand that reaction. This site does cause a stir from time to time and that is good. Groups do not improve by bringing in conductors who simply fuel their egos and reinforce bad practice. A group as individually talented as NSC need; as Nigel has often said, someone to shake things up and get them concentrating. The potential is huge and that is a big responsibility for the conductors who must not let them underachieve.

5th March: I receive a letter from Eduard in Germany who has sent me scores and CDs for the May concert. He says that his band are enjoying the Ernest Tomlinson English Folk Dances and I am glad because I chose it and I like it too. He has been invited to conduct a very good orchestra in his area and I am very happy to see that his talents are being recognised at last. He is a great conductor and a very good musician. He is also organising wind music events and publications. I am sure that his influence will continue to grow. He has conducted the YWO here in England and they have a great admiration for him.

4th March: The final night of the show was again a sell-out and the reaction from the audience and the management of the school was excellent. It seems a shame to see the music thrust into the cupboard alongside last year's show. Will the music ever be heard or performed again?

Saturday was a day to watch the football (exhausting) drive to Grimsby (exhausting) rehearse the NSC (exhausting) conduct the concert (exhausting) and drive home again; you guessed it (exhausting).

Then on Sunday off to Nottingham for NSWO. A sax workshop has robbed me of the full rehearsal and to be honest the band needed reminding of all the things I did last week and the week before. This is due in part to missing players AAAAAAAAARGH and for the ones who attend all the rehearsals it becomes Groundhog Day. Nevertheless this is becoming a very good orchestra. When news gets out of the quality playing experience which NSWO really is, there will always be someone waiting in the wings to come and play regularly. Between you (whoever you may be) and me (who ever I may be) they get as good a musical experience on a Sunday morning as anyone in the country could give them at a workshop regardless of who they get in for the day.

2nd March: Thursday's show was a sell out and another well received performance. The kids are tired and working all day as well as doing the show. I hope that they can manage another one tonight. I have family coming to tonight's show so it has to be a good one.

I really need to shake off this cold. A deputy head told me that he covers himself in mustard and then has a hot bath to get rid of a cold. Yuck!

I told him I'd try it but I never did. When he asked about it I told him that I couldn't find any mustard and so I used mayonnaise instead and it made it worse. He was horrified. I assured him that it was Hellman's not the cheap stuff. "Why did it make it worse?" he asked. Well, it took an hour and a half to get out of the bath.

1st March: Yesterday, the orchestra and cast worked well to entertain both the Royal party and the staff and pupils who attended the short excerpts in the Hall. They had to come up with extra songs to keep the audience occupied whilst the visit was concluded and they showed flexibility and alertness to win the day.

The show at night was a world premiere and went very well. The audience certainly enjoyed it although the hall was not full. I can't believe that a school anywhere else in the country would put on a 400th anniversary show to empty seats. Friday is a sell-out and hopefully tonight will be full but with a student body of over 1200 and a staff of over 100 one would be forgiven for expecting a full house on all three nights.

The pupils involved would love to see their teachers and friends in the audience but now there are only two performances left.

The music and script work very well and are not customised to this school. This would work as a good show for any organisation. The script is on MS Word and the music is all arranged on Sibelius so it is tweakable for different voices or instruments. I really should work harder to promote this and "Live at the Empire" oh and of course "Radio Days" the Wind Orchestra work.