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

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Charity Concert

Nottingham Symphonic Wind Orchestra
Albert Hall, Nottingham
Sunday 10th October 2010
6:00pm

Americana

Phoenix Concert Band
Yeadon Methodist Church, Leeds
Saturday 16th October 2010
7:30pm

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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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This is a report about the Phoenix Social which I was unable to attend due to musical commitments already in the diary. I would have enjoyed the event and I was sorry to miss it. It is important that the band develops a social side and enjoys the company outside the rehearsal room. My attendance would have been purely for my own enjoyment rather than an obligation to be seen to join in. However, if I attended all of the extra things that all of the groups do, I'd be out even more than I already am. These are events where the musical director can keep out of the way and let the musicians meet and have fun.

Foenix Phiddlers
Your guestbook seems to have a bit of a Phoenix bias at the moment. Hopefully that's evidence of the buzz around the band at the moment. Just to let you know that our first ceilidh social on Saturday was a huge success. The hall was absolutely heaving with members of the band and their friends and family, leaving barely any room to dance. Everybody mingled and joined in and the atmosphere was wonderful. A few of us swopped our wind instruments for the dreaded fiddles and mandolin and formed a scratch ceilidh band for the evening, demonstrating what a versatile lot we musicians can be. Lots of laughter, great food, great company and a wonderful way to kick off the new year. Judging by the comments at the end I suspect this will be the first of many such events. I've got a theory that if people enjoy each other's company then that increases the commitment of everybody to each other and can add another dimension to the quality of the band's performance. Saturday night showed how far we have come in terms of building a great team spirit at Phoenix and bodes well for the new year. It also disproves the theory that being a musician and having two left feet are not necessarily mutually exclusive!
Hilary Pattison