On Sunday, ODBBA hosted Brett Baker (principal trombone of Black Dyke Band) in a workshop day. The day was a huge success, with over 30 people taking part. Everybody agreed how enjoyable the day had been, and how much they had learned. Thanks are due to Brett Baker who was truly inspiring, and to David Taylor who accompanied him on the piano! Photos of the day are available for download from here.
13 March 2010It is with great sadness that the Oxfordshire and District Brass Band Association announce the death of their President, Ron Sudworth, who passed away in the early hours of 11th March after a long illness bravely borne.
Ron worked tirelessly for the Association and for brass bands in the Oxford area and beyond. He was an inspiration to so many.
Following his National Service as a military musician, Ron came to Oxford and joined the Morris Motors band. He was also a member of the Harry Mortimer Men of Brass band. From the formation of the Kennington (Oxford) Band in 1973, Ron was their Musical Director and his love of banding was with him to the end.
Our sympathy goes to his widow Barbara, daughter Lynne, sons Martin and Nick and to all his family.
Funeral arrangements and obituary to follow
1 January 2010Happy New Year to all bands in the ODBBA area. We wish you all a successful and prosperous year, and we look forward to working with you all over the coming months.
23 November 2009Last night, the Oxfordshire and District Brass Band Association held its Annual General Meeting at Oxford Sea Cadets Hall. Despite a very poor turn out (no local bands sent representatives to the meeting), the AGM went ahead and the committee has been confirmed as being the same as last year, albeit with the loss of Cliff Sadler who has had to stand down due to other commitments. The Committee would like to thank Cliff for his hard work over the past year.
11 October 2009Today saw 14 bands enter the ODBBA Entertainment Contest at Burford School. Thanks are due to all bands that took part and to everybody who helped to run the day, especially Nigel Hall who organised the entire contest. Nigel was presented with the 2009 President's Award by ODBBA President Ron Sudworth as a gesture of appreciation of his hard work and enthusiasm. Full results are available here.
26 September 2009Many congratulations to Wantage Silver 'B' Band who today gave an excellent performance of Bruce Fraser's Alta Vista at the National Finals in Harrogate. The Band came a superb 4th place from an unlucky number 13 draw, beating 15 other bands from all over the country. ODBBA sends best wishes to everybody at Wantage 'B', and to their conductor Danny Dulforce.
21 September 2009ODBBA is delighted to have produced a newly redesigned and revamped newsletter. Download it here.
29 August 2009ODBBA are delighted with the strong entry received for the Entertainment Contest this year. Fifteen Bands have entered, 5 in each section. We are looking forward to a very exciting day, and hope that the bands are looking forward to the event as much as we are.
14 May 2009Last Sunday (May 10) ODBBA held its annual Brass Festival at Sandhills School. Although a slightly smaller entry was received than in recent years, a good time was had by all. Congratulations to everybody who took part, and a full list of winners can be found here. ODBBA would like to extend thanks to everyone who took part: all the competitors; the two adjudicators (Steve Pritchard-Jones and Dougall Prophet); offical ODBBA accompanist David Taylor; the team of ladies who provided refreshments; and not least Mr. Mick Philpott, site manager at Sandhills School without whom the day would not be possible.
22 March 2009Well done to all bands from the Oxfordshire area who took part in the Regional Contest at Stevenage this weekend. In particular, ODBBA would like to extend congratulations to Hungerford Town Band who came 2nd in the 3rd section, and to Wantage Silver 'B' who came 2nd in the 4th section. Both bands have earned a place at the National Finals in Harrogate later in the year, and ODBBA wishes them the best of luck.
15th March 2009The new ODBBA website has been launched. It is still a work in progress so keep checking back regularly to see what's new!
15th January 2009The newly-elected Committee met tonight for its first meeting. Main topics of discussion were the forthcoming Brass Festival on May 10th, and other proposed events such as outdoor concerts and workshops. The Committee have several exciting events planned for 2009, so watch this space!
November 2008The Association recently held its Annual General Meeting. After several years of declining support for the Association, it is very heartening to be able to report that we now have a fully-staffed Management Committee! Tony Redshaw remains as Chairman, David Roberts becomes Secretary (and continues as Webmaster), and David Martin remains as Property Master. A warm welcome is extended to Lynne Whitley (who takes on the role of Treasurer), Nigel Hall, Nikki Jones, Cliff Sadler, Ken Membury, Martin Taylor, and John Underwood. The Committee would like to extend its grateful thanks to Ian Clamp who stood down at the AGM after many years of very hard and unstinting work in various important roles.
7th October 2007.On 7th October, ODBBA held its annual Entertainments Contest. Five bands took part in two sections. The Association would like to thank everybody involved in helping to create such a successful day; the adjudicators (Mr Alan Mossford and Mr Philip Burditt), the contest stewards, Nicola Solesbury and her team of caterers, Wheatley Primary School, the British Federation of Brass Bands (for kindly allowing use of the registration cards), Aldbrickham Music for sponsoring the day's prizes and last - but certainly not least - all the bands who gave us all a great day of outstanding entertainment. We hope you all enjoyed your day as much as the ODBBA committee did, and we look forward to welcoming you all to our future events. As always, please feel free to contact members of the committee with any feedback you may have.
29th April 2007.On April 29th, ODBBA held its popular Brass Festival contest for the 60th consecutive year. Over 100 entries were received which, while down slightly on last year, still gave plenty of opportunity for the talented musicians of the Oxfordshire area to show off their impressive skills. ODBBA were especially pleased to welcome entrants from outside of the Association, with entries from as far afield as Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and London. The adjudicators - the ever popular Mr. Nigel Horne and Mr. Dougall Prophet - remarked on the improvement of many players since last year. An extremely high standard of playing was the order of the day, which meant that the adjudicators had a very difficult job. It is especially heartening that such a wide age-range of players (from 8 years old to considerably more mature!!) took part, with - as always at this event - the vast majority of entrants being under 19 years old. The Association would like to thank all of the competitors who took part for making the day such a resounding success, and we very much hope to see you all again next year. Full results will be posted in the Results Archive shortly.
The next Oxfordshire and District Brass Band Association event will be the Lord Mayor of Oxford's Parade which will involve the ODBBA Massed Band. This will take place on May 12th, 2007.
25th November 2006.On November 25th, the ODBBA Massed Band took part in the Oxford Festive Parade. With 39 members from 11 local bands (including a substantial number of players from the recently-formed Oxford University Band), the Massed Band played a couple of pieces in the Castle Square which got the crowd clapping after marching through the City as part of the parade. This is the second parade the Band has taken part in this year, and the City have already booked the band for the same event next year. The Association would like to thank all the players who took part on the day, and to ODBBA President Ron Sudworth for acting as Bandmaster. Thanks are also due in particular to Association secretary Dennis Barlow for organising everyone and liaising with the City to ensure that the day went smoothly.