Archived News - 2007
Wilkinson's Northern Open
BMP (Europe) Ltd Goodshaw band were in high spirits Yesterday evening after pulling a mighty 2nd place, from draw number 1, out of the Strong line up of 8 bands in the 3rd section at the Wilkinson’s Northern Open Brass Band Championships at St Helens.
With only three basses, and due to unforeseen circumstances going on stage with no soprano cornet! The band still walked away with £200 and a trophy for their performance of Northern Landscapes by Peter graham. With bands hot on our heels like Eccles and Uppermill adjudicator John Mains said our performance had the control and precision that most of the other bands didn't produce on the day. In his discussion to the competing bands and audience just before the announcement of the results John Maines said " Its all very well bands playing all the fast semi quavers in the louder passages of test pieces, But when it comes to the quiet movements of performances this is where the bands in his opinion yesterday won the trophy’s and deserved to be in the prizes. Dynamics control and precision must be adhered to when playing test pieces and he went on to say, quote " if players don’t put enough air through their instruments even when playing quiet, then the tone quality and control needed to pull of a convincing and solid performance just cannot be achieved."
These are the exact things musical director Kevin Gibbs has been instilling in the band since he took over the reigns at BMP (Europe) Ltd Goodshaw band. The hard work and hours he and the band have put in are now starting to pay off, as it’s been a difficult time for the band fraught with so many last minute changes and unforeseen mishaps and yet here we are strong as ever, confidence high and a well deserved win in the bag.
Congratulations to all the soloists yesterday you did a fabulous job! A Huge thank you to Kevin Gibbs, our musical director for believing in us, and pushing us forward with his high standards and exciting rehearsals. I'd like to say a big thank you to the entire band for just being so professional the last few months in your attitude towards working for contests, and not being negative or phased with all that has been thrown at us with unforeseen circumstances, it’s a pleasure to play along side you all.
Congratulations to all the winning bands yesterday and good luck next year to you all from the BMP (Europe) Ltd Goodshaw Band in the North West Area Championships.
Report by Kyle Harrison.
Pontins Contest
(BMP Europe Ltd) Goodshaw band took part in the Pontins BrassBand Championships in Prestatyn last weekend. The band competed in the third section and came a credible 7th place out of 13 bands on the day. The band was more than happy with their performance of Northern Landscapes by Peter Graham and saved our best performance for the stage. M.D. Kevin Gibbs did a great job in getting the band prepared for the weekend and it paid off as we got a very positive response from the audience after we had finished our performance. Playing off number one is never easy, however, although the adjudicator only saw fit to place us seventh, again the band had some very pleasant comments from both professional conductors and adjudicators who were spectating on the day who said the band played a wonderful almost faultless performance of the piece which should easily make the top 6. It was not to be and the band as always are getting stronger as we compete in each contest "Rome wasn't built in a day" The band now are working forward to the Wilkinson’s contest in St Helens which takes place on November 18th.
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Report from 4Barsrest.com:-
"BMP (Europe) Goodshaw conducted by Kevin Gibbs delivered with lots of quality, but just missed out on the day. Their performance just ended up in the mid-table; fair enough return perhaps that underlined the strength of this section. However, on another day at another contest they could have featured in the top six quite easily."
Fleetwood Contest
The band competed in the North West Counties Brass Band Association contest at Fleetwood, on Sunday 7th October 2007, sadly only coming in at 7th place out of 8 bands. The road to the contest was a hard and weary one for the band who only managed to secure the services of some players at the last minute. The band played 'Purcell Variations' by Kenneth Downie, and played it very well,according to comments from other bands and the audience, but unfortunately it was not the decision of the public. Now with heads held high the band are rehearsing hard for the upcoming Pontins contest in November, and hope to put on a good show and come away with a pot or two.
Solo Euphonium Player Hurt in Car Accident
Phillip Hollows the band's Solo Euph player had a car accident this week, fortunately he has not been seriously hurt and will be available for the upcoming contests. The band committee and members of the band send Phillip their best wishes and hope that he makes a speedy recovery.
I don't care what the weather man says!
And neither did the trombones and cornets of the BMP (Europe) Goodshaw band last night as they all ventured out in terrible weather to spend a couple of hours each rehearsing for the Fleetwood contest. Bright sounds could be heard from outside the bandroom as you walked past as musical director Kevin Gibbs put the cornets through there paces on the difficult passages of "Purcell variations". Lips were tired at the end of a hard practise but worth every minute as we get stronger towards the contest at the "marine hall" Fleetwood. The trombones have some difficult passages as well in the piece, with difficult rhythms causing a challenge for all of us in the band. However spirits didn't fade at all through the night and morale is extremely high in the band as were all excited and can’t wait to take the stage next Sunday. Thank you again cornets and trombones for giving up your time and to Kevin who's really put together a very fine band, together with a very fine sound!
Report by Kyle Harrison...
Local News Atricle:-
Band with no beer, ain’t no band!
It just wouldn’t be BMP Europe Goodshaw band without landlord Paul Harrison and his local pub The Black Dog in Crawshawbooth Rossendale, to keep us going after a hard rehearsal!
Paul has been a devout follower of the band through thick and thin, and regularly supports the band at engagements and contests.
Paul has also provided the band with good food after many concerts & contests and the band would like to think of him as their greatest supporter.
We would like to thank Paul for all his support in the past & hope it continues well into the future.
Thanks Paul, 25 pints for Tuesday!
Face Lift for BMP Europe Goodshaw Bandroom
If you ever visited BMP Europe Goodshaw Band room in the past you would have undoubtedly left with a bad impression and the smell of damp would live with you for days and days!
It is with immense thanks from all the band members to Phil Hollows our principal Euphonium player who has given up many hours of his personal time, and Mark Robinson our principal horn player to give the band room a new lease of life!
Obviously a lot of thought and planning has gone into preparing the bandroom and we now have almost luxurious surroundings in which to rehearse.
The laminate flooring around a large carpeted area not only looks fantastic but improves the rehearsal conditions, with it being a well known fact that carpeting in many bandrooms round the country improves the overall sound of the band on stage and makes blowing in rehearsals a lot harder.
The renovations are as yet not complete; Phil has promised the ladies of the band that toilets will soon be installed, which will save many a trek across the road to the pub!
We would all like to say a massive THANK YOU to Phil and Mark for all their hard work!
EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM!!...
So they say and it was an early start for the euphoniums, baritones and horn section of the B.M.P (Europe) Goodshaw band, which got underway with sectionals preparing for the forthcoming Fleetwood contest.
Right from the first note at 9am this morning you could tell positive minds were in action and ready for a tough rehearsal with our talented Musical Director Kevin Gibbs. As the morning moved on sounds got tighter, neater and balanced and you could see the fantastic picture develop through the music which Kenneth Downie wanted us to produce when playing this beautifully penned piece of music.
The euph's never seemed to let the challenge of some of the tricky arpeggio and semi quaver passages phase them as Kevin led them through bar by bar eventually reaching a very satisfying sound which leaves just polishing to be added for which is I’m sure going to be a very fine performance of the piece.
The horn section blended together and produced some very fine playing in the critical passage in the first half of the piece which shows off a lovely duet by two horns, the ensemble supporting underneath did a fine job in again making this morning a memorable one.
Next it was the basses turn at just gone 10.30am Kevin moulded our sounds making sure he gets across to us that its not about individuals but a team effort with discipline that wins prizes, and there’s no I in team! Big sounds not loud and shared breathing are basics that most bands don’t adhere to when in performance on stage, and when put in play in our sectional made all the difference between sounding untidy to a tidy balanced blended bass sound.
"A great morning’s work and a pleasure to work with" were the words from our Musical Director Kevin Gibbs as the Baton was put away at just gone 12pm. It was a pleasure for us all as well listening to the advice that came from Kevin, and were all really grateful and love working with him to. A good productive satisfactory result today and a very enjoyable morning was had by all well done everyone and big thank you to Kevin and all of you for giving up your Saturday morning for which I’m sure will prove to have been very worth while!!
Next week it’s the cornets and trombones sectionals have a good one guys and girls.
Report by Kyle Harrison..........................
Concert at Royal Court Theatre, Bacup
Last weekend the band performed at the Royal Court Theatre in Bacup to celebrate it's 140th anniversary. Every one who attended the concert remarked on how much they had enjoyed the performance and especially guest soloist World Champion Whistler Mr. David Morris.
Roy Curran who's wife Gail plays flugel was also in the audience and said "The band and all the soloists were absolutely superb."
The band was also very lucky as the CD entitled Celebrations In Partnerships to commemorate 140 years of Goodshaw band arrived just in time for the concert.
The Band's First CD Recording a Great Success
The band has recently recorded a new cd, their first album they have done for many years, its was recoreded on 14/15th July 2007 at St John's Church, Crawshawbooth, Rossendale, to hear some clips from the cd please go to the multimedia page.
New MD at BMP Europe Goodshaw Band
After an uncertain couple of months, the BMP Europe Goodshaw Band is delighted to announce that Kevin Gibbs is the new musical director at the band.
Band manager Mark Robinsons says, Kevin has been conducting the band since June this year and has conducted the band for their recent CD recording for the bands 140 year anniversary. It is good to welcome Kevin back to the band and since Kevin took over we have seen an immense increase in the standard of playing and also an increase in players coming to band, all of which has had a positive impact on the band.
BMP Europe Goodshaw Band Welcome New Players
In the last few months the BMP Europe Goodshaw band have seen a few changes and have welcomed into the band some new players and welcomed back some old faces who have signed for the band.
We would like to announce we have a new Principal Cornet player, Helen Toole. Helen previously played flugel horn for the band but has readily accepted the challenge of principal cornet.
Also on the front row we welcome Danielle Wilcock, who has joined us from the Rossendale Scout Band, and Jenny Goy, who has joined us from Nelson Brass, together with Helen make a very fine front row cornet section.
Another new face is John Goy who has taken over the solo baritone position, and again he joins us from Nelson Brass. John and his wife Jenny used to play for Boarshurst Brass and together bring with them a wealth of experience to the band.
Jill Robinson has moved to second baritone. Jill has played for BMP Europe Goodshaw band for many years together with her husband Mark who have been the driving force to keep the band functioning through some difficult times.
We welcome back some old faces to the band who played a few years ago.
Gail Curran has taken the flugel seat after having a few years break, and will strengthen the already good horn section. In the past Gail has played for many good bands, and it’s good to see her back in Goodhsaw.
We would also like to welcome back Joanne Harrison on solo trombone and her husband Kyle Harrison on principal Eb bass to the band after they also had a break from banding. Both Jo and Kyle played for the band a few years ago and are both glad to be back where they feel at home.
Dave Warren has rejoined the band on second Euphonium, again Dave brings a wealth of experience to the band after being the MD of Townley High School band and again has played for the band in the past.
David Lord has also made a welcome return to the band on second cornet.
Mark Robinson band manager said, ‘The new players will be a great boost for BMP Europe Goodshaw Band, and we hope to make an impression for the forthcoming contest season.