Local brass band celebrates 50 years!

Glamorgan Star news 25/09/2024

3 minutes read

A CONCERT to celebrate 50 years of the Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band is being held at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Penarth this Saturday

The band was formed in January 1974 at the request of the Barry Carnival Committee, and the process was helped by the availability of old instruments that once belonged to the Barry Silver Band, which went out of existence in 1955.

The Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band was originally led by musical director Islwyn Williams, who was a former member of Barry Silver, and six months after its launch, the band, consisting of 32 players, led the carnival procession.

From October 1983, the band rehearsed in a dedicated room at the old Gospel Hall on Barry Road, and in 2012 they moved to their current home at Barry Athletic Club.

The band is always keen to welcome past and new players alike with different levels of experience. The Vale Associated Training Band gives people of all ages the chance to take up a brass instrument and develop their skills, and when they reach the required level they are invited to join the senior band.

Rehearsals for the senior band take place on Monday evenings, and the training band rehearses at the same venue on Tuesdays.

Today, the band has members aged between eight and 89, and some of the younger members are following in the footsteps of older relatives.

Tom and Hilda Jones played a pivotal part in the band’s formation and early success, and their son Adrian went on to become its conductor for a period. Their granddaughter currently plays euphonium in the band and their great-granddaughters are in the training band.

Over the last 50 years, the band has performed at indoor and outdoor venues throughout the Vale, south Wales, south-western England and even France.

In years gone by, the band took part in competitive events and won the Southeast Wales Brass Band Association contest in May 1998 under the baton of the late Ivor Barnett, but in 2017 the decision was made to focus on making music on a non-competitive basis and to become a community band.

Since October 2019, the band has been led by musical director Dan Dennis, who is originally from Eaglescliffe, County Durham, but now considers the Vale to be his home: “I moved to Wales in 2017 to study trombone at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and I came across the band through a friend who is sadly no longer with us, Norman Windmill, and he recommended me for the job as musical director. That was my main motivation to stay in south Wales, and I absolutely love it here, particularly the conglomeration of brass bands that exists in the area.

“I graduated in 2021, and a year later I returned to the Royal Welsh to do a master’s degree in brass band conducting under the tutelage of Dr Robert Childs, and I now work professionally with several different local bands,” he said.

The Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band is enjoying a busy schedule in its 50th anniversary year. During the spring, they recorded a CD of Christmas music that is set to be released in time for the upcoming festive season, in June, they performed at St Mary’s Church in Barry alongside the Northern Ireland Concert Band, and a month later they took part in the second annual ‘It’s Brassy Down the Island’ festival in Barry Island.

The upcoming concert in Penarth will feature a diverse repertoire, including brass band favourites, 1980s pop classics, the William Tell Overture and the band’s anthem, Castell Y Barri, which was written by Dan shortly after he became musical director.

The concert will also include a special performance from Dan’s former tutor, Dr Robert Childs, who is an internationally renowned euphonium player. Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased on the door.

Further information about the Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band can be found by visiting its Facebook page.

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