Drighlington Brass Band

Latest News

• A Royal Celebration of St Georges Day at Leeds Minster

  On Tuesday, 23rd April, the band were invited to participate in a special service, celebrating the English Patron Saint, organised by the Leeds branch of the Royal Society of St George, in the illustrious surroundings of Leeds Minster.

  The service was attended by the Mayor of Leeds & the address was given by the Rector of Leeds. Music was provided by Drighlington band along with the choirs of Morley Academy, Victoria Primary School & Commuity and the Leeds Minster Choir.

  As well as being conducted by our own MD, Jim Davies, the band were also conducted in Jerusalem & the National Anthem by Dr Simon Lindley, the renowned Choirmaster, Conductor, Composer & Organist at Leeds Minster & Leeds Town Hall.

• 2nd place at the Yorkshire Regionals... National Finals 2013 here we come!
  Plus promotion back to the Championship Section for 2014!

  Sunday, March 3rd, at St Georges Hall in Bradford saw the band take on what, for most bands, is the most important contest in the Brass Band calendar, the Yorkshire Regional Championships and come away with a convincing 2nd place, qualification to the National Finals at Cheltenham Racecourse in September and yet another big shiny trophy for the cabinet this year!

  Playing sixth in a field of twelve from across Yorkshire, the band produced a very solid performance of Gareth Woods "Brass Triumphant" which had us hot on the tail of the band just previous to us, Hebden Bridge, at the halfway mark. Both performances obviously left a strong, positive, impression with the judges, with Hebden only just pipping us to the Number 1 prize slot, ensuring that not only will both bands be representing Yorkshire at the National Finals come September, but also both have secured promotion back into the Championship Section from January 2014!

  At the end of the contest, the two judges agreed that both Drighlington and Hebden Bridge had been well ahead of the rest of the field and would provide a serious opposition to the other qualifying bands from around the UK at Cheltenham.

  Next target in the crosshairs for the band? We are very pleased to be invited back to the Blackpool Winter Gardens in May for the Spring Festival contest, pitting ourselves once again at National level on Eric Ball's "Journey into Freedom".

  2013 is shaping up to be a very promising and successful year for Drighlington!

• Drighlington are the Butlins Mineworkers 2013 1st Section Champions!

  

  Saturday, January 19th 2013, was one of those days that will live long in Drighlington history. Enduring, somewhat appropriate, seasonal snow and ice the band battled our way east, to Butlins Holiday Camp in Skegness, to compete for our second year in the 1st Section of the Butlins Mineworkers Open Championships on the set test piece "Ad Undas (To the Waves)" by Gareth Churcher which depicts the story of the Titanic from the shipyards to its fateful encounter with the iceberg.

  Playing number 18 in a field of 26 of some of the best 1st Section bands in the country, the band faced a long, chilly, wait to perform after our final rehearsal at 7:30am on the Saturday morning. However, it was to be perhaps the best performance the band has given in recent years, resulting in the ultimate goal, bettering our well earned 2nd place there last year!

  Come results, the band recieved high praise from the Adjudicators (judges) as we collected, not just a gleeming gold trophy and Butlins Champions 2013 pendant, but also a cheque for £2000.

  Next up is the Yorkshire Area Contest in March at St Georges Hall in Bradford, where we will be looking to add a second victory to our contest run for 2013. All eyes will be on us, as we are already in the pole position of the Yorkshire 1st Section leading up to the contest based on the previous years league tables!

  The piece for St Georges Hall? "Brass Triumphant" by Gareth Wood, we certainly intend to rename it "Drighlington Brass Triumphant" come contest day!

   

  

• A blast from the past to start the New Year

  What happens when a former member of the band gets a new toy for his computer at Christmas? He starts revealing his collection of banding memories that he has kept hidden away for many years!

  Thanks to Billy & Angela Wain, we are proud to present, "Colin Hardy - The Lightning Conductor"! Enjoy..

• Happy New Year!

  From everyone at Drighlington Band, we would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and best wishes for 2013.

  The band has an exciting year ahead starting with the Butlins Mineworkers Contest on 19th January, in Skegness, where they will be aiming to improve on last years 2nd place and come home the champions of the 1st Section!

• Drighlington Band is now a registered charity!

  We are please to announce that the Drighlington Brass Band organisation has been granted official Charity Status as of the 4th July 2012. Our registered charity number is 1147947.

• 4th place and "Best Instrumentalist" at the Yorkshire Regional Championships

  The most important contest of the year, for many bands, has just taken place this last weekend at St George's Hall in Bradford. The 3rd & 4th of March saw every contesting band in the Yorkshire region do battle to become Yorkshire champions of their section and win the chance to represent Yorkshire at the National Finals later in the year.

  Unfortunately, this year was not to be the year we were given the honour of representing our region, however a solid, and still award winning, performance resulted in fourth place and puts us firmly in the number 1 slot in the league tables for next years contest, with high hopes of promotion to the Championship Section for the 2014 season.

  Special congratulations go to Nick Payne, our Principal Cornet, on winning the "Best Instrumentalist" award, pipping some very talented players from around the region.

Player Profiles

Kevin Dawson FSCTE AIfL

2nd Trombone

Kevin started playing with Hammonds Junior Band at the age of 13, under Andrew McLaughlin, as a Trom...

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