News
 
 
                                                                 
 

11th May, 2010- The end of a busy and enjoyable period

 

Sunday 21st March was a notable day in the bands history which saw us make our debut in the championship section at the North of England brass band championships. After a solid performance of English Heritage by George Lloyd the band were placed a creditable  8th place and although we were a little disappointed with the placing we were delighted with our overall performance of a very difficult piece of music.  

Saturday 24th April 2010 saw the band travel for the first time to Dunfermline Scotland to take part in the Fife Brass Band Festival Entertainment contest. We chose to play Walking with Heroes, featuring cornets and trombones, we followed that with the march Ravenswood, then came the tenor horn solo “Demelza” featuring our solo horn player Paul Vickers, we then continued with Mr Lears Carnival  and we finished the programme with Shine as the Light. After a good performance the band were placed 3rd and also won the “Betty Smith memorial trophy for the best bass section.

 The following weekend the band were again on the road and took part in the Buxton Brass Band Festival in Derbyshire. Drawn number 2 the band again chose to play English Heritage by George Lloyd. After another excellent performance the Band were awarded 1st place and the winners cheque for £400.

 Satrurday 8th May saw the band entertain the crowds at Thirsk racecourse. The band were booked for a second year running to perform at the racecourse for the charity “The Army Benevolent Fund” in which the” GT Group Limited” the bands sponsor, sponsored two of the evenings races. Although it was rather cold, a good night was had by all. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the borrowed players who have helped us out during the last few weeks.

 Next up is the Easingwold march & deportment contest at the end of June followed by the Durham Miners Gala  and pre gala concert in Wheatley Hill and then the DLI Entertainment Contest in July

 

17th March, 2010- North of England Championships 2010

 

The GT Group Band Peterlee are preparing with excitement for their first appearance in the “Championship Section” at the North of England Championships

Since the arrival of Steve Malcolm as Musical Director in Nov 07 the band has continued to progress which culminated in the band being crowned North of England 1st section champions in 2009, subsequently gaining promotion to the “Championship Section” for the first time in the band's 35 year history. The band are looking forward to the challenges ahead in the top section which also includes our first appearance at the “Fife Charities Entertainment Contest” in April and our first appearance at the “ Buxton Contest” in May. We are also delighted to announce 3 new signings ahead of the area contest, Paul Liddle on 2nd baritone, Peter Welsh on soprano and Matt Moore on percussion.

The GT Group Band would also like to thank the GT Group of Companies for their continued support which has allowed us to achieve a number of the goals we have set ourselves.

 

11th February, 2010- News update

After a successful year in 2009, the GT Group Band are looking forward with excitement to 2010 and playing in the championship section for the first time.

2009 started with a 6th place in our side of the draw at the Butlin's Mineworkers' contest, we were also awarded the highest placed ex-mining band.
That was swiftly followed in March with an excellent performance at the "North of England Championships" gaining 1st place in section 1, winning the trophy for best percussion, and the icing on the cake was gaining promotion to the championship section for the first time in band's short history.
Following the area contest, the band entered the "Picnic in the park" entertainment contest in Durham, gaining 1st place and winning the prize for best march on the day.

The highlight of the year came along in September, the "National finals" in Harrogate, and after another good performance, we were disappointed with 13th place, although many listeners on the day thought we would have finished higher.
The contesting season was concluded with the Durham Association contest in Peterlee, where after another good performance the band gained runners up spot, as well as winning the trophy for best trombone and percussion sections.

September was both a good time and sad time for the band, which saw the band play in the "National finals" and also, sadly saw the death of our long-standing treasurer Doreen Millmoor. The band sends all our best wishes to John and his family.

December saw a very busy end to the year with Christmas carols in a number of the local supermarkets around County Durham, raising over £5,000 for the second year running.

2009 saw the band appoint a "fundraising person" and we were successful in gaining grants from Co-op community fund, James Knott trust, Catherine Cookson trust, Durham County Council and Peterlee Town Council. With the extra money from fundraising the band were able to purchase a new set of walking out uniforms, a new set of concert dress uniforms, and purchased new flugel horn and bass trombone instruments.

2010 has started with a massed bands' concert at the Sage in Gateshead, with Hepworth Band and Harrogate Band, and guest soloist Stephen Mead, which was attended by approximately 1,000 people.
Next up is a milestone in the band's history, with our first appearance in the Championship section at the "North of England Championships", which will be closely followed by our first appearance at the Fife charities entertainment contest in Scotland in April, and the following week our first appearance at the Buxton own choice test piece contest.

 

 

15th September, 2009- Death of Doreen Millmoor

With great sadness, we announce the death of our treasurer, Doreen Millmoor. Doreen became involved with the band, when it was formed in 1974, as her son Ian was a player. At the time a ladies' committee was formed, of which Doreen was a member. She took on the role of treasurer in the early 1980s. Doreen died last week in hospital after a short illness. Her funeral takes place at St. Mary's Church, Blackhills terrace, Horden Colliery at 12 noon, Thursday the 17th September.

 

19th July, 2009- DLI Picnic In The Park Entertainment Contest

Today saw the band competing in the DLI Picnic In The Park Entertainment Contest in Durham. The band played a 20 minute programme of entertainment music, notably opening with Walking with Heroes by Paul-Lovatt Cooper, and ending with Shine as the Light by Peter Graham. Adjudicator David Lancaster described the band's performance as "outstanding" and awarded 87 points, 3 points clear of second place Westoe Band. The band also won the 'Best March' award for their interpretation of "Bombasto", whilst Westoe won the 'Soloist Award' where David Horn played "Local Hero".

Results

1. GT Group Peterlee - 87
2. Westoe Band - 84
3. Billingham Silver - 80
4. Marske Band - 78
5. Durham Constabulary - 77

 

  21st March, 2009- North Of England Brass Band Championships 

Today saw the band participate in the 1st Section of the North of England Brass Band Championships in the Dolphin Centre, Darlington. After drawing to play number 3 of 8 bands, the band delivered an excellent performance of Graham Cole's Pentacle, which gained favour with the adjudicator, David Read. The band were awarded first place, the title of “North of England First Section Champions”, the trophy for the best percussion section and an invite to the national finals in Harrogate in September. Many thanks to our percussion section on the day Ben Howells, Paul Campbell and Mark Bolderson. To cap a fantastic day the band later learned that after this result we sat at the top of the 1st section table and would almost certainly be promoted in 2010 to the Championship section for the first time in the bands history, where we will rub shoulders with the areas top bands such as Reg Vardy , Fishburn and EYMS.  With many new projects in the pipeline this should be a busy and very exciting year for the band.

Thanks must go to everyone for their commitment and effort.

 

 

17th January, 2009-  BUTLIN'S MINEWORKERS CONTEST

This weekend saw the band competing at the mineworkers championships at the Butlins resort in Skegness. The band played a good performance on the stand and were awarded 6th place, our highest result at Butlins to date. The band also picked up the award for the highest placed Mineworker's band. 

 

4th October , 2008- TROMBONE SECTION SUPER SUNDAY

 Congratulations goes to our 2nd trombone player 13year old Hayley O Connelley who won the British Trombone Society Young Trombonist of the year competition. Hayley had to withdraw from the Durham Brass Band Association solo contest take to part in Peterborough but the journey was well worth it as she scooped the title with a fantastic performance of set work “ Hellas by Bruce Fraser ( who was one of the adjudicators) and own choice Panus Angelicus by Cesar Franck.

 Congratulations also goes to our principle trombone player Graham Harrison who again completed the “Great North Run” in record time. Graham completed the half marathon in 2hrs 12 minute, shaving 14 minutes off his previous best set in 2007. Keep it up Graham because at your age you don’t when your running career will come to an end

 To complete the trombone section congratulations goes to our Bass Trombone player Gav Vardy who spent all day Sunday in the pub and couldn’t remember the conversation he had with the change of rehearsal dates for this week which he had to confirm on Monday.

 We would also like to congratulate 12 year old Kate Malcolm the daughter of our M.D. Steve, who won the Durham Brass Band Association solo title. Kate plays with the Felling Band.

 Well done and congratulations to you all.