On Sunday 23rd October 2016, the band entered its first ever Band Contest since its formation just under 3 years ago.  Up against some tough competition, it was with great delight that the band went and won the Fourth Section! There were 7 Bands in total in our Section and we had a very early start.  We were on the road around at 6:30am (6am for some!) to drive to a very Autumnal looking Victorian venue that most of us have never been to before; Rochdale Town Hall.  The organisers were quite surprised with how keen we seemed to be, arriving at least 20 minutes before they were there to open up!

This is a great achievement for the band, not only being so newly formed, but there were many players who have never contested before.  From what started as a pipe dream, all the hard work that has gone into the band paid off on Sunday, and we hope this will stand us in great stead for the contests at the beginning of the New Year.

We would like to give special thanks to all those who gave their time to help and give us guidance in rehearsals since we started preparing for the contest in August, including Mike Jackson, Brian Taylor, Jill Aspray, Paul Andrews and Nicola Shaw.

Preparations are now under way for our Annual Christmas Concert at The Capstone Theatre on Friday 9th December, this year joined by Sudley Junior School Choir.  We will also be performing at The Elephant Pub as part of the Woolton Village Christmas Lights “Switch On” on Saturday 26th November, and in Bishop Eton Church for the Nugent Care Concert on Saturday 10th December.

Allerton Brass Chairman,
Tony Jackson

Liverpool Hope University opened its Hope Park Campus to the public last weekend to become one of Childwall in Bloom’s “open gardens”.
The annual event is now in its fifth year and was officially opened by the Deputy Lord Mayor.
Allerton Brass’ 10-piece ensemble were on hand to provide some appropriate “mood music” for the event. They clearly worked their magic once again with the grey clouds giving way to glorious sunshine as the group delivered their rendition of the ELO classic “Mr Blue Sky”!

The band was honoured to be hired by ITV’s – Britain’s Got Talent team last week, to help with their launch of a new series. The auditions for the show premiered in Liverpool’s Empire theatre on Friday 15th January. Allerton Brass was there with our guest trombonist David Walliams, to greet Simon Cowell arriving on the red carpet! Dressed in Sgt. Pepper outfits and Union Jack waistcoats, we played some old Beatles numbers to the big stars and the crowds. The televised launch of the show is not due out for a few months; we’ll keep you posted so you don’t miss our appearance on the show.

We completed our series of concerts at Heath Hall this month with ‘A Concert of Remembrance’. The performance was exceptionally well received by the audience, and the band was thoroughly honoured to take part in this special event. As usual, we have some photographs posted on our Facebook page. Our special thanks go Ian & Jan at Heath Hall, and also to Terry Murray for his photography services.

The band celebrated its 2nd Birthday recently, by indulging in a night of bowling and curry. We had a great turnout of members, friends and family; discovering new talents on the bowling lane! We’ve posted some pictures on our Facebook page. After two years, the band has made enormous progress gaining dedicated players and producing some outstanding performances. We are ever so grateful to our members and everyone who supports the band. With the prospect of entering competitions next year, we are hopeful of continued success and an even stronger domination of brass banding in the area .