Our annual workshop took place on a bitterly cold November day, and Richard Marshall, principal cornet with Black Dyke Band, came down to Surrey to give an excellent day’s entertainment and education.
Richard called me on the phone 24 hours before the workshop was due to begin, to say that where he was in Doncaster, there was a fine covering of snow but not deep enough to cause any major disruption. However, as the day of the workshop came and I made my way to Cranleigh along roads that were a little slippery in places, I was dreading another call. That call never came, and Richard marched into the bandroom and joined the delegates in thawing out after their journey.
Suitably refreshed, everyone settled down and the workshop got under way with Richard putting every delegate through their paces with a selection of exercises. Before long everyone had worked on stamina, range and note production, before turning their attention to ensemble work with the aid of a couple of pieces Richard brought with him. Whilst working everyone very hard, Richard provided entertainment by giving a selection of anecdotes and recounting his own experiences of pieces, bands, performances and other players!
Lunch time came, and it was off to the pub at the end of the road for a buffet. Due to the temperature it was a swift walk, and the tea and coffee on offer was a real blessing. Even better was the fire which everyone crowded round as we ate our lunch.
The afternoon session commenced with a recital by Richard, who performed a wonderful programme of numbers accompanied by Linda Cole on piano. Everyone sat spellbound as we witnessed some remarkable playing. Having heard the master, it was time for our three volunteers to come forward for the Masterclass section. Louise Edwards, Ben Day and Nick Hadland came up in turn, and each performed a piece they had been rehearsing.
Richard then made some suggestions as to how their performances could be improved. It takes courage to be a ‘guinea pig’ for these master classes, and in the past some players have found it too daunting. However, on this occasion all three volunteers played extremely well. Thanks also go to Linda for working so well with them.
As everyone sipped their afternoon tea it was time for a question and answer session, where Richard was asked everything from how to cope with stage nerves to what was his favourite piece (sorry, I can’t remember what the answer was). To close, it was a final glorious rendition of the pieces rehearsed earlier in the day and the ‘scaba cornet choir’ showed how much they had learned over the day. I can assure you, as part of the audience, I was very impressed with the final performance.
Thanks to the support of the scaba team members, the day went without a hitch.
Andy Wilson
scaba Chairman & Event Organiser