Everyone in the band would like to say GOODBYE to Josh Cirtina and wish him well. We will all miss you but hopefully we will see you again sometime! Maybe conducting Black Dyke! Also welcome to Carol who has graduated from the training band into the main band!

There are lots and lots of engagements for this summer now, so please take a look at the engagements page. Our first engagement is at Highnam Court, bring a picnic with you and enjoy the day. There will be a lot going on. Everyone who is playing will need an entry ticket.

The committee have decided that this year the band will be supporting Sue Ryder Care.

The band played at the Charlton Kings Festival on Sunday. It was a bit damp! Being in the tent next to the Battledown Brewery lifted everyone’s spirits but can’t be sure it improved our playing!

And listen out for Matt on Brass Britain on Radio 2! He hasn’t been on yet - 2 weeks to go

The Band played at the Little Vintage Show in Cambridge this weekend.  It was very enjoyable, if a little bit windy. The chips warmed some of us up but the ice cream was also highly recommended by most members of the band. Thank you to Mandy for inviting us! Thanks to Adrian, Andy and Lisa for coming to help us, whilst Tom, Chris and Sophie were busy revising!

The band were very pleased to be invited to play at the re-opening of Sandford Parks Lido. Matt looked as though he had stepped right out of the 1930’s with his trilby hat and brown suit! It was a bit windy but there were plenty of people in the pool! A member of the band was spotted in her swimsuit rather than her band uniform! You know who you are!!!

Well done to Matt for surviving the Mountain Mayhem Challenge! His team came 332nd out of over 600!

Matt is supporting the Stroud and Swindon cycle team in the Mountain Mayhem 24 hour race next weekend. You can read the teams blog here and you can sponsor them here! They are raising money for Dogs for the Disabled.

Band practice on Friday 20th June and Monday 23rd June is particularly for those of us who are playing at Saul Junction on the 26th June. Although anyone who fancies a blow is welcome too!

Sales of raffle tickets got off to a reasonable start in the Abbey Park in Evesham today, whether that was down to Matt’s can can or the wonderful music the band were all making - who can say! Lets hope the band can play there again next year!


This year the band are supporting Sue Ryder Care and tickets for the Christmas Raffle are ready! The top prize is £100. Tickets will be on sale whenever the band is performing.

The band were made very welcome at the Guiting Power Songs of Praise in the Barrage Field and at Hardwicke Church last Friday. Hayley and Marcus both sounded particularly beautiful in their solos! There are more photos of recent events on their way.

If anyone in the band would like a CD of recent photos of the band - please speak to Lesley and she can provide you with a copy.

Is Matt on the cutting room floor? Brass Britain

The band played well at Highnam Court on Sunday, the audience were dodging the showers, but they were in high spirits! No-one who was there will forget the can-can!

Congratulations must go to Peter Raven who has recently achieved Grade 2 on the baritone. Hopefully we’ll see some more of him in the main band over the summer!

Thank you to the small band of players who played at Saul Junction. No-one got blown away but it was a close call! Thanks also to The Charles Irving Trust for their very generous donation to the band.

The Montpellier Funday went well too, with Matt trying his hardest to recruit new members! Well done to Chris who played his first solo! Sales of raffle tickets went well, thanks to Lesley and Jill.

I wasn’t at Emmanuel Church Fete but I have heard that everyone played well. Thanks to Angie for playing Euphonium! Matt, apparently was keen to recruit the Vicar for the percussion section!

On Saturday evening the band played for the Charlton Park Residents Association and although at one point, the band were playing in the rain - the downpour never arrived! Thanks go to the very kind lady who held an umbrella over Adrian’s head!

Congratulations to Michael Tait for reaching Grade 5 on the cornet!

Firstly the band would like to welcome Anita who is playing front row cornet for us!

The band played in Stroud on the 24th August, big thanks go to Helen and Hadrian Walters for helping us out! On Saturday 30th August the band played at Leckhampton Court for their History Day. The sun was shining and it was an interesting event to attend.

Congratulations to Gabbie for getting a distinction at Grade 2 on Cornet and more congratulations to Sophie, Chris and Tom who all did really well in their exams! Tom is starting at Manchester University in September but he will be back to help out at Christmas!

Chris,Tom, Gabbie, Peter and Marcus all went to the Chepstow Summer School this year it was very enjoyable and thanks go to Chepstow Band for inviting us to join them again!

Commiserations go to Sheila who was presented with a wooden spoon by Matt! I am not sure I should announce to the world exactly why - ask anyone on the horn section and they’ll tell you what happened at Pittville Pump Room!!!

The band received some very good news last week - Hayley, our flugel player and Matt, our MD are expecting a baby!!!
Congratulations to Hayley and Matt!

As both Matt and Hayley will be a little less involved in the band for a while - the committee have decided to advertise for a new Musical Director! Please take a look at our vacancy page!

The band would also like to welcome Ioan Davies who has just started playing bass trombone for us - he is a graduate of the training band!

The band enjoyed playing at the Whitminster Inn a few weeks ago and can thoroughly recommend the Chinese restaurant there!
Our engagement at Pittville Park went well too - the band moved inside the Pump Rooms to keep out of the wind and potential rain - it was a treat to be playing inside! Chris Folland’s solo went down well with the audience and raffle ticket sales went well too! Raffle tickets are raising money for Sue Ryder Care and Cheltenham Silver Band!

The band would like to send their best wishes to Mandy! Until she is back in action Rob will be handling bookings and prospective Musical Directors should contact Rod Shephard.

The event at Swindon and Cricklade Railway has been cancelled on Saturday! The ground is too wet for the military vehicles!

Unfortunately the Blowathon was cancelled on Saturday due to bad weather. It will go ahead when another date has been arranged! Thanks to the committee for all their hard work in organising it!

The band played in Montpellier Gardens as part of the launch of the Cultural Olympiad on Saturday 27th September and the beautiful weather brought a good audience along! This event finally closed a very successful summer season for the band and thanks must go to our MD Matt Earl who has worked hard throughout the year! Matt will be stepping down as our Musical Director in 2009 due to family commitments and the band is still actively looking for a replacement.

Everyone in the band would like to send their Best Wishes to Rod and hope he makes a quick recovery. Best Wishes to Mandy too!

The committee would also like to thank all the applicants for the position of Musical Director - there are some auditions later this month!

Congratulations to the members of the band who played at the Everyman Theatre in the opening to the opera, Carmen. I have to admit that I was in the audience and it was an enjoyable evening! Obviously the band’s performance was the highlight of the evening but I have to say that, for me, one person in particular stood out in the first act - Gill - Gabbie’s Mum! (who stood in as an extra at the last minute!) Thanks again must go to Adrian who joined us on his 40th birthday! There is a review of the show - here

The band is working hard for the Christmas Concert - so please encourage everyone you know to come along and enjoy a mix of popular brass band pieces and Christmas music. The Melodians, a group of barber shop singers will be joining the band for the first time! See the events page for details! Tickets are on sale at Sue Ryder shops in Cheltenham. Posters are going up around town - kindly printed by the Leckhampton Printing Company!

Congratulations to Marcus Fisher who was awarded a prize for music at Balcarras School!

Sophie thought she had spotted some UFO’s on the way to band last Friday and it now seems that she wasn’t alone - other people saw strange lights in the sky including Cheltenham’s MP - Martin Horwood. I believe you now!!!

The Christmas Concert at St Andrews was a huge success - the band played really exceptionally well!

The concert was an opportunity to say good bye to Beryl Soul who is hanging up her E flat Bass after 28 years in Cheltenham Silver Band. Beryl along with her late husband Derek, has been a real stalwart. Beryl conducted the band for several years and she will be greatly missed. However everyone hopes to see her at engagements and social events. Matt presented Beryl with a bouquet of flowers to thank her for the contribution she has made to the band over the years.

Rob presented Matt with a gift to thank him for his contribution as Musical Director since the summer of 2007. Hayley and Matt will still be involved with the band although they will be busy with their new baby. See Chris if you would like to place a bet on exactly when the new member of the Earl family will put in an appearance. Thanks to Hayley who has been an amazing flugel player!

Now for the big announcement:

Our new Musical Director will be
Angie Shepherd

A big thank you to Angie for accepting the position - and a big thank you to the other applicants too!

Best Wishes to Beryl Soul who is very poorly at the moment. Everyone in the band would like to wish her well.
Please note the Training Band is not entering the GBBA in February as the contest has been oversubscribed.

Welcome to Angie Shepherd who is the band’s new MD! You can read all about her on the MD page.

The band is now practicing The Talisman ready for Torquay. It is certainly a challenge! Dennis Grant has kindly agreed to conduct us for the contest and practices with Dennis are on a Wednesday evening. Angie is taking band practice as normal on a Monday evening and the Training Band are still practicing on Fridays! Band Practices will return to normal after the West of England Contest.  

There is lots of news - in chronological order!
Matt and Hayley are now the proud parents of Thomas - an absolutely adorable baby boy! The band would like to send them our best wishes and hope to see them again soon!!








He’s growing fast!!

Verity and Holly have decided to give up playing with the band - lets hope they both return to cornet playing one day! They both added a bit of glamour to the band and will be missed! Best wishes to them both!

Torquay - a big thank you to Dennis Grant for taking us through the test piece - it was hard work but everyone enjoyed it and the band had a fabulous weekend in sunny Torquay. Shame about the result - 17th!

The band’s tour to Germany has unfortunately been postponed due to the current economic climate.

The AGM

At this years AGM Mandy Keedwell stood down as Chairperson of the Band. No one could remember how long she had been Chairperson - which shows it’s been a long time! The band would like to thank Mandy for all her hard work. She has played an important part in developing the band!

Matthew Earl is taking over as Chairperson - so welcome back to Matt!

Thanks go to Rod Shepherd who is also leaving the committee and welcome to Gill Wheatley who is joining!

Two awards were presented at the AGM

Most improved player went to Carol Sadie
Most improved trainee went to Adrian Tait

So well done to both of them

It’s a little bit late to say it - but  CONGRATULATIONS to the Gloucestershire Youth Brass Band - who won their section at the National Youth Championships in Manchester in April!
Marcus Fisher, the band’s soprano player was competing in his first contest with the GYBB so particularly well done to him too!

The first event of the year took place on Sunday when the band played at  the Highnam Court Spring Fair. As usual it was an excellent event that hopefully raised a lot of money for Gloucester Cathedral and the Pied Piper Appeal.
Thanks to Lisa Miles and Adrian Bodenham who played with us!

The Training Band performed in The Chapel at Francis Close Hall on Friday 29th May. Their programme included Zoo Ball, Past Times With Henry, and The Big Top and Alex Tait played his first solo - The Elephant. Well done to all of them - they sounded lovely!

The Young Trainee of the Year Trophy was presented to Adrian Tait. The award is dedicated to Beryl and Derrick Soul. Angie presented the trophy and also spoke fondly of her Aunt and Uncle. Sadly Beryl passed away in May having been a member of the band for over 30 years. As well as playing Eb Bass, she helped train young players and she conducted the band. Beryl only retired from the band last November when her illness became too much for her. She will be remembered with love by everyone in the Band.

Since Highnam Court the band have played at the opening of Sandford Parks Lido , in Imperial Gardens as part of an event to commemorate the composer Holst who lived in Cheltenham and in Pittville Park. Particular thanks to Adrian Bodenham, Lisa Miles, Martin Musto , Kevin Palfrey and Robert Morgan who have all helped us out!
Also thanks to our Chairman Matthew Earl for playing Euphonium for us!

Thanks to Sally and Margaret for arranging the Skittles Night!

The Training Band played well at Kemerton Fete and Emmanuel Church Fete. Well done to everyone who played!

The Main Band played at Charlton Park and Ross On Wye Bandstand recently. Thanks go to all the guest players who helped us out, particularly Hugh James, Sally Pillinger, Gary Dingle, Robert Morgan, Phil Storer, Dave Harding, Nicky James and Adrian Bodenham!!

Welcome to our new cornet player Martin Coates.

Big thanks also to our Chairman - Matt Earl for the new band photo on the home page. For more of his work visit his website!

THANK YOU to everyone who helped with decorating the band room - it looks really smart and much bigger somehow!

Particular thanks have to go to the whole Fisher family - particularly David but also Lesley, Amanda and Marcus! Also to Matt, Sally, Amy, Derek, Rob and the Tait family!!

Well done to everyone who played at Wychavon and a big thank you to Angie for all of her hard work! The band played really well and finished in 6th place

At the beginning of November 32 band members, mostly from the training band went to see Cory Band play in the Forest of Dean. Everyone enjoyed the concert and thanks must go to Andy Shepherd for arranging the tickets. See clip below for just how brilliant Cory are!

The band are getting ready for the Christmas Concert on Friday 27th November so please come along and get into the festive spirit!


The band is supporting Help for Heroes - a charity that supports service men and women who have been wounded. Raffle tickets are now on sale with proceeds being shared between the Band and H4H.

Fundraising went really well this Christmas - thanks to all the players and supporters who turned out in the cold weather and  special thanks to those made donations!! Thank you!!

The training band had their first Christmas engagement playing outside Sainsbury’s at Gloucester Quays - thank you to the parents who brought them along!

The band is busy practicing for the West of England Regionals in March. Rob Folland is conducting the band this year supported by our Musical Director, Angie Shepherd who is playing euphonium for us.

Nigel Seaman is taking practices on February 12th, 19th and 26th.

Rob is also conducting the training band at the GBBA Entertainment Contest on February 7th at Five Acres School, Coleford.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
KEEP PRACTICING!

The band would also like to send their best wishes to Sophie,Toby and Alfie!

The band has been fortunate enough to receive a donation from the Charles Irving Trust. The trust has supported the band for many years now.