|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
29 August 2010 - Merano
Brass Festival
The Band is delighted to announce that it
has accepted an invitation to appear as part
of the 10th International Brass Festival in
Merano (Italy) in October 2011. This is
indeed a prestigious outing for the Band,
following in the footsteps of Black Dyke
(2008), Fodens (2009) and this year Cory. This means
that the Band will be basking in the
foothills of the Alps on two separate
occasions in 2011, following our
qualification for next years European
Championships which are to be held in
Montreux!
|
|
22 August 2010 - 37 Opens
and Counting!
Alan Wycherleys appearance at this years
Open will be his 37th in a row! His first was
way back in 1984 with Faireys on 'James Cook
Circumnavigator' and since then he has appeared
with Desford, Leyland and most recently
Fodens. Read the full story over at
4Barsrest.com
here.
|
|
18 August 2010 - More new
signings
Iain Culross is the Bands new
principal cornet. He hails from Scotland and has an
excellent banding pedigree having played
principal cornet previously with; Carlton Main, Sellers
International and the former YBS Band. More
recently he has been helping out the
Brighouse & Rastrick and Blackburn & Darwen
bands as stand in principal. Also joining in
time for the Open are Tanya Furness on 2nd
cornet and Jim Henson on Eb bass. We
wish them all long and successful tenures
with the Band.
Finally, the former Black Dyke horn player Afron Owen has agreed to cover the 1st horn
position for the Open. We are thankful to
have such a high quality and experienced 'dep'
for this important contest.
|
|
16 August 2010 - Alan's
Back & Blue!
The Fairey (Geneva) Band is pleased to
announce that Alan Wycherley is not only
playing again following a recent health set
back, but is back in the fold with the band
he first joined way back in 1973! His
"first" outing with the Band will be at this
years British Open on the 4th of September.
The Band is thankful and extremely fortunate
to continue to call on the services of
another soprano legend, Michelle Ibbotson,
whilst Alan eases his way back into the
hustle and bustle of top level contesting.
This exciting development adds to the recent
good news stories of the Bands successes at
the Whit Friday marches and the English
National Championships, and gives the Band a
massive lift going into the forthcoming
contesting season. Alan himself had the
following to say on his pending return:
"I am looking forward to returning to
banding at the very top level again after
having an enforced 5 month break for the
first time in 37 years. To be doing it with
one of the top bands in the country and a
band so close to my heart is a great bonus.
It's fantastic for the band that Michelle
has agreed to cover contests this year which
gives me time to knock out a few 'Floral
Dance's and the odd Minster' before getting
to grips with today's test pieces once
again. With the fire power around the stand
and the MD they currently have I don't think
Faireys have finished filling the trophy
cabinet by a long way yet this year!".
|
|
20 July 2010 - Gary hangs
up his cornet
It is with great regret that the Band had
to accept the resignation of 2nd cornet
player Gary Parker prior to our last
engagement before the summer break last
Friday. Gary has been a loyal servant of the
Band since his debut in 1989, sitting in
most of the cornet seats over the
intervening years (including sop at Acid
Brass gigs!) and enjoying many memorable
contest wins, high profile concerts and
foreign tours.
 Unfortunately family and work
commitments have recently built to the
extent where he can no longer give the 100%
commitment that has always been his
trademark. The Band presented him with a
commemorative watch at the concert as a mark
of our appreciation for all his efforts over
21 years, but we sincerely hope that some time in
the future he can return when his
commitments ease ... returning the watch will
not be a pre-requisite! The man himself had
the following to say: "It is with a heavy
heart that I am leaving but I can no longer
give the commitment required for a band such
as Fairey’s. When I think about the best
days of my life, without exception, Fairey’s
or members from Fairey’s have been involved
in some shape or form. I have so many happy
memories of my time with the band, both and
on and off the stage!!! And I feel
privileged to have been able to make so many
friends along the way. I wish the band the
best of luck for the future and hope it
won’t be long before I get chance to play
with them again."
|
|
14 July 2010 - World
Rankings Boost
According to the latest copy of the
'British Bandsman' our success at Preston
has moved us up to 10th in the World
Rankings. This is encouraging news but
then a couple of good results in Birmingham
and London could see us as high as 5th due
to the extreme closeness of bands 5 to 10
(see the chart). Cory remain well over the
banding horizon for all concerned!!!

|
|
02 July 2010 - Live 'Eden'
Performance now available on Jukebox
Just click on the speaker icon above or
go to the homepage (by clicking on the
Fairey Fox top left) and use the side bar
button. The recording is just over 15
minutes long and is provided courtesy of
Jill Aspray's mobile phone!
|
|
27 June 2010 - We're on our
way to Montreux
The Band's long wait for a major contest
win has come to end as it claimed the title
of English National Champions at the Guild
Hall in Preston yesterday. This was the
Band's first contest outing under the baton
of Russell Gray and the Scottish wizard
weaved his magic once again on the
test-piece 'Eden' that many regard as one of
the most difficult in the repertoire.
Adjudicators Kevin Wadsworth, David
Horsfield and Derek Broadbent were unanimous
in their praise, stating that it was a
‘superb performance full of musical and
technical quality’. As well as the title and
trophy, the Band received a cheque for
£4,000 (with £2,000 worth of
add-ons) and the invitation to represent
England at the 2011 European Championship in Montreux.

Congratulations to our solo trombone Les Webb,
seen here holding the trophy, who received the best instrumentalist award for the fiendishly
difficult solo work in 'Eden'.
Full results were as follows: 1. Fairey
(Geneva) (Russell Gray), 7
2. Black Dyke (Dr Nicholas Childs), 2
3. Rothwell Temperance (David Roberts), 5
4. Reg Vardy (Ray Farr), 9
5. Leyland (Philip Harper), 6
6. Fodens (Dr James Gourlay), 3
7. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths), 1
8. Skelmanthorpe (John Roberts), 4
9. Pemberton Old Wigan DW (Mark Bentham), 8
Full adjudicators comments are
here
whilst 4BR's coverage reaction and
interviews can be found
here.
|
|
29 May 2010 - Tameside Whit
Friday Champs
Last night the Band competed at the
annual Whit Friday march competitions in the
Tameside and Saddleworth areas. We played
'The President' march in 13 contests;
scoring six 1st, four 2nd and one 3rd place.
Unofficially (as yet) we have finished as
Tameside area champions, pipping Fodens by 1
place point to the £2,500 prize. The Band
got off to an early 4.30pm start and hence
managed to compete in all but one of the
Tameside contests plus three of those in
Saddleworth, racking up just shy of £7,000
in total prize money for the evening!
A large part of the credit for this success
must go to conductor Garry Cutt for working
us hard this week and directing us so
assuredly on the night. Congratulations also
to Laura (cornet) and Jonathon (soprano) for
their solo prizes at Dukinfield and also to
our bass team (bolstered by Andy Cattenach
for the evening) for their section prize at
Scouthead.
|
|
09 May 2010 - Russell Gray
is our new Musical Director
We are very pleased to announce that
Russell Gray has agreed to accept the
position of Musical Director of the Band
with immediate effect. His first concert
outing with the Band took place last night,
rounding off this seasons (and sadly the
last) Stroud Brass Band Concert series. His
first contest outing will be next month at
the English National Championships in
Preston. He will steer us through 'Eden', a piece with
which he has had previous success in winning
the 2005 National Championships with Leyland
(see
here).
Russell replaces Phillip Chalk who
unfortunately has had to relinquish his
position due to increasing business
commitments. We thank him for all the
sterling work he has put in over the past
three years, and will certainly be working
with him again in the future as and when his
commitments allow. Asked for his comments on
the situation Phillip stated: "It is with a
heavy heart that I have relinquished the
position of MD with Faireys after three
years with the Band, and more than 20 years
as a player. The decision was a difficult
one to take, as the Band have really started
to make progress, culminating with a super
performance at this year's Area. However, my
expanding business interests within the film
and TV industry, as well as looking after a
young family, have made it increasingly
difficult for me to give the level of
commitment the Band deserves. I just want to
say a big thank you to the Band for giving
me the opportunity, and to wish them well
with in their future endeavours. I hope to
retain an involvement with the Band and the
band movement at large, and would like to
work on some innovative, creatively led
projects in the future."
|
|
09 April 2010 - Fairey to
share the bill with BBC Phil
On Saturday 24th April at 7.30pm the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra continues its season
of Mahler offerings with a performance of
the epic 7th symphony at the Bridgewater
Hall in Manchester. The Fairey (Geneva) Band
are delighted to have been given the
opportunity to follow this concert with a
short programme comprising the Vaughan
Williams Tuba Concerto, performed by our own
Ben Thomson, and an airing of last years
British Open test piece, the Mahler inspired
"Titans Progress" by Hermann Pallhuber.
Tickets are available via the Bridgewater
Hall box office on (0161) 907 9000, or see
www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk/performance/14273.aspx
|
|
07 April 2010 - Roary's
Brass-less Brass Band!
Last night the Band had a rather unusual
engagement, recording some background music
for an episode of the well known children's
cartoon show 'Roary the Racing Car'! The
music was composed especially for the
occasion by one of the Bands regular musical
associates, the redoubtable Phillip
Lawrence. It was a lot of fun to record for
one and all and at one point required Paul
Coupe (trombone) having to play a short solo
"... really poorly, in the manner of a
beginner". He performed admirably! We look
forward to seeing the final cut of the
cartoon.

|
|
15 March 2010 - Band
qualifies for National Finals
Faireys are heading to The Royal Albert
Hall for the National Brass Band
Championships this coming October. Yesterday
the Band competed at the North West Areas
Championships and put in a virtually
faultless performance of George Lloyds
'English Heritage' to pick up 2nd place.
4barsrest.com had the following to say:
"Philip Chalk and Fairey
pushed their rivals the closest for the
title and fully deserved their runner up
spot. The reading was one of musical
precision and security. The warmth of the
ensemble sound was of a very high quality
with the soloists having the hallmarks of
high-class quality about them too. The
cadenza between Laura Hirst and Mike Eccles
was stunning, and they just kept piling on
the points with a fabulously controlled
middle section. Nigel Fielding's
contribution on soprano brought touches of
class whilst Ben Thomson made the Eb tuba
solo sound ridiculously easy."
You can listen to the full performance by
clicking the speaker icon in the menu bar above
and selecting track 1.
Full results
of the Championship section contest were as follows:
1. Foden's (Garry Cutt), 9
2. Fairey (Geneva) (Philip
Chalk), 8
3. Leyland (Howard Evans), 4
4. Wingates (Alan Morrison), 12
5. Ashton-Under-Lyne (Martyn Evans), 3
6. Co-operative Milnrow (John Ward), 11
7. Pemberton Old Wigan DW (Mark Bentham), 2
8. Blackburn & Darwen (Nick Sheppard), 5
9. Co-operative (Crewe) (Jef Sparkes), 6
10. (Bactiguard) Wire Brass (Paul Andrews),
1
11. Roberts Bakery (Colin Cranson), 7
12. Poulton-Le-Fylde (Gareth Westwood), 10
Congratulations to Fodens on their win,
making it five in a row at this
qualification event.
|
|
08 February 2010 - Lucy
hands flugel baton to Mike
Lucy Murphy, the Bands
flugelhorn player of the last five years,
has decided to take a well earned break from
her playing commitments. She does however
retain her links with the Band through her
position as Contest Secretary. Lucy began
her playing career with the Marple Junior
Band, before moving onto the senior band
just prior to their appearance at the Grand
Shield Contest of 1990. In 2003 she moved to
Leyland before joining Fairey's back in
2005. Her musicality and mellifluous tone
are well known throughout the banding world
and we hope to hear them again one day ...
when the novelty of nightly soaps and
sauvignon blanc wears off!
The Band is
very fortunate to have a player of the
versatility of Mike Eccles to take up this
important 'corner' seat. As a former
Principal Cornetist with the Band he is all
too familiar with the added responsibility
and pressure that this brings and he will be
looking forward to stamping his authority in
the forthcoming Northwest Area contest. We
wish him a long and successful tenure in his
new position.
|
|
10 January 2010 - It's Snow
Joke!
The recent blizzards have
played havoc with the Bands preparations for a busy
January schedule that includes; a gala concert at
the Butlins Brass Band Championships, a recording
for Radio 2's 'Listen to the Band', and a concert at
the Gracie Fields Theatre in Rochdale. Last
Thursdays rehearsal had to be cancelled completely
and some band members travelling from Saddleworth,
parts of Yorkshire, and further afield, are still
unable to make it over to Stockport. Hopefully the
rising temperatures will enable normal service to be
resumed as soon as possible!
|
|
07
December 2009 - New sponsorship deal
announced
The Band is pleased to
announce the signing of a new three year
sponsorship deal with
Geneva Instruments. The deal, completed
last Friday,
will see a complete new set of bespoke
Geneva instruments being produced and
provided to the band, as well as a complete
set of new walking out uniforms and livery.
As soon as is practicable the band’s name
will change to become: 'The Fairey (Geneva)
Band'.
Band Manager Ian Howarth states: "The
band has had a period of solid rebuilding
over the last three years. We have strived
to maintain the highest possible playing
standards, and so to be able to work with an
instrument supplier of Geneva’s incredibly
high standards will set new levels of
professionalism for the band. Everyone
concerned is looking forward to developing
and strengthening this extremely generous
relationship."
Musical Director Phil Chalk is also
relishing the prospect: "To be given the
opportunity to unify and hone the bands
sound with Geneva is one we are relishing. I
would also like to thank our own Ian Howarth and
Martin Gernon,
and Tim Oldroyd of Geneva for their hard
work in putting this deal together so
efficiently."
Geneva Instruments Managing Director Tim
Oldroyd is equally excited about the new
sponsorship deal: "In a short period of
time, we have gained an excellent reputation
for the supply of quality brass instruments.
To now be strongly associated with Fairey is
something we are very proud of. The Fairey
tradition and heritage speaks for itself and
we are looking forward to helping the band
develop further, whilst at the same time
honing the superb quality and tone of our
instruments with the involvement of the
supremely talented players at Fairey."
|
|
05 December 2009 - Faireys hand out the
gongs!
As is always the tradition
the annual awards for 'Best Bandsman' and
'Player of the Year' were handed out during
our Christmas concert at Stockport Town Hall
last night. 'Best Bandsman' went
(for
the second year running!) to 3rd cornet
player and librarian Jimmy Leggatt.
Unfortunately he couldn't be there on the
night to collect the award as he is enjoying
a spot of Indonesian sunshine and sight
seeing at the moment! 'Player of the Year'
went to our relatively new solo Euphonium
player, Gary Curtin, in recognition of some
great playing at the National Finals and
Brass in Concert. Both awards were
presented on the night by the MD of Geneva
Instruments, Tim Oldroyd.

| |
|
17
November 2009 - Christmas Bavarian!!!
After the roaring success of
our first Bavarian night at Albion Farm in
August
another is planned for December 19th.
Once again members of the band will provide the entertainment in the form of an oompah
band, and a hog roast will be provided
courtesy of the farm. See
here for full details.
|
|
12
November 2009 - More new signings
The band is pleased to
announce the signings of two new members in
the form of Scot Bennett on Solo Horn and
Les Webb on Solo Trombone. Scot is
returning to the band after an extended
break from top level banding due to work
commitments. Les is a former member of Fodens that has more recently been
conducting the Eccles Borough Band. We wish
them both a long and successful tenure. We
currently have vacancies for a soprano
cornet player and another experienced percussionist. If you would like to be considered for audition
then please
get in touch with Ian Howarth via the
contacts page.
|
|
11 October 2009 - Open rehearsals
As part of the preparation for Saturday's National Finals competition in the Royal Albert Hall, the band is staging two open rehearsals. The first is on Tuesday 13th October at Uppermill Civic Hall. The second is on Thursday 15th at Stockport Academy, Heathbank Road, Cheadle Heath. Both are open to the public from 7pm, where you can watch the band rehearsing the testpiece 'The Torchbearer' by Peter Graham.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|