New Players - New Instruments

It has been a busy few weeks for the youth and training band.  Steve Brewer is playing trombone alongside his son Zac and Nick Harrop, father of cornet player Minnie, has settled in well on baritone.  Katie Passmore, cornet, who has had experience with St Keverne band has also joined.

In July, the band played a concert to the residents of Denyer court, a retirement home in Falmouth and the residents presented the band with a cheque for £800 which had been raised over the last twelve months.  This was a total surprise as the band were only expecting about £300.  Thank you Denyer Court.  We have already puchased two cornets and some new music with the money.  A drum kit has also been purchased and the band is in the process of acquiring a baritone.

On the playing side, it has probably been their busiest summer.  In July the band played for the Hlman Climax choir fete, the annual lifeboard service on Custom House Quay and, for the first time ever, we opened the annual CBBA event at Princess Pavilions.

We wish the Youth Band all the best for the Torquay contest in November.

New Blood for Youth Band

Although the wintry conditions caused the postponement of the first Sunday rehearsal, a number of new recruits are attending each week.  Arthur and Gareth Churcher attended St Mary's and Marlborough schools and from those visits, 12 pupils are regularly attending on Sundays.  We are now hopeful that this will be the start of a new era for the Youth Band and in about 18 months they will be able to perform regular concerts and compete in more competitions.

The Youth Band's big debut will be playing on the 11th July at the 30th Anniversary Extravaganza.

Fund raising activity will need to be thought of for the future as most of the new intake play trumpets and the old instruments currently in use are past their sell by date.  If anyone has, or knows of, an second hand instruments in good condition, please let Arthur or Glyn know.

Youth Band to change their Rehearsal Day

After over a decade of Saturday morning rehearsals, the Youth Band are to experiement with a change of day in the New Year.

Starting on Sunday 10th January 2010, the Youth Band will practice immediately after the senior band for an hour.  As Saturdays seem to be taken up with other activities such as football, rugby, etc, we are hoping that a change of day and time will be more convenient.

As Glyn is now moving into the world of "retirement", he is hoping to do some private tuition and will also be on hand to step  in when Arthur is away.  If you know of any youngster wanting to learn, please contact Arthur or Glyn.

Pendennis Youth Band - History

Pendennis Youth Band was formed just over thirteen years ago by Glyn Thomas with the idea of filling the seats in the senior band when they became vacant.  Within a short period of time, Glyn had persuaded Arthur Allen, who had joined the Pendennis family, to help out on Saturday mornings.

From those early days of a group of just six or seven players, the band has progressed and entered several contests and although not always winning the top prize, have won the best player award on several occasions.  Four of our former players are now looking to make a career in music with Nathan Richards studying at the Royal Academy of Music, Andrew Grimshaw at Westminster University and Morrison Cole and his sister, Biba, at Wells Cathedral School of Music.

At present, there are several players in the senior band who started with the Youth Band and it is the intention of current MD, Steve Thomas, to blood youngsters into the main band at every opportunity.  With schools now showing more awareness of the brass band movement, we hope to capitalise on this and hopefully secure the long term future of both Pendennis Brass and Pendennis Youth Band.

In January 2010, several youngsters joined the band for the first time and made their debut at the band's 30th anniversary celebrations in July.  It is hoped that in 2011 the Youth Band will progress further by entering more contests and having more events to look forward to.

For further information, please contact Arthur Allen on 01326 315585.