PALATIANS THE NEWSLETTER OF CRYSTAL PALACE BAND
Issue: 18 (Spring 2007)

Summer is coming and our fixtures list is looking good. I hope that many of you will be able to come and listen to the bands. The venues are scattered near and far and are varied so if the weather is fine we hope to see good audiences at all our concerts this summer.

Contest Results. As you may know we tend to spend the first three months of the year preparing for contests. Neither band generally has fixtures for this time of year and it is an opportunity to study a piece of music in detail. Because the pieces are contest pieces they challenge our abilities as individual players and make us work hard as a team. Though Crystal Palace doesn’t enter as many contests as some brass bands it has always been a key part of the band’s activities. This year both bands competed in the National Regional contest at Stevenage in March. For the B band it was their first foray into the world of contesting. They entered 4th section and by all accounts played well only to come last. But, it is their first time out and we all know how hard it is for a band to make its mark in 4th section. The Main Band suffered the same fate in the 1st section, again playing well but obviously not well enough to impress the adjudicator. However, we did better in the SCABA contest in Hove (22nd April) and were placed 3rd in the 1st section. The piece we played at both contests was the Sinfonietta “The Wayfarer” by Eric Ball and it held challenges and pitfalls for every player.

So after having worked so hard on the contest piece for the last 3 months we now look forward to the summer concerts. As usual we will be endeavouring to entertain by playing a wide range of music, something for everyone. From Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan and Elgar through to modern and popular composers. Serious music through to light-hearted pieces and we will be having fun all the way. Come and listen and enjoy. Judging by the audience numbers many of you do make it along to our concerts, let me know what you think about the music we play and what it is like to sit and listen to us. I am easy to contact by email or snail-mail. I’d like to print some comments in a future newsletter.

Forthcoming Events Main Band May Sunday 13th Broadstairs Bandstand 2.30 to 4.00 pm July Sunday 1st St Mary Norton Flower Festival, 3.00 - 5.00 pm Saturday 7th Old Coulsdon Village Fair, Grange Park, Coulsdon, 2.30 - 4 pm Sunday 15th Greenwich Park Bandstand August Sunday 5th Canbury Gardens Bandstand, Kingston Sunday 19th Leas Cliff Bandstand, Folkstone, 12 - 2.00 pm September Sunday 9th Clapham Common Bandstand, 3.00 to 5.00 pm November Sunday 11th Remembrance Parade, Belmont, 10 am December Saturday 1st Gala Concert, St Bartholomew's Church, Sydenham, 7 pm Start Wed 12th Parkinsons Disease Society Annual Carols, Westminster Cathedral. Sunday 16th Carols/Christmas Music, Bromley Conservative Club, 7.45pm B Band June Saturday 16th Holy Trinity Church Fete, Clapham, 3 - 4 pm Saturday 23rd Sanderstead Annual Show

If you wish to contact the editor, please do so in one of the following ways: e-mail Carol Maher at woal@btinternet.com OR phone 020 8699 7850 OR write 42,Winsford Road, Catford, London, SE^ 4LX If you have a general band enquiry (e.g. you would like to join the band, or would like to book the band) please contact the Secretary, Rachel Bleach, on 020 8776 2520, OR mail@crystalpalaceband.co.uk OR visit our website www.crystalpalaceband.co.uk-. The views expressed in this newsletter are the personal views of the Editor and are not necessarily those of the Crystal Palace Band. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in any way, including on websites, without the express permission of the Editor. © June 2005