United Co-op Milnrow Band American Independence Day Celebration Concert in aid of Charity

The concert in aid of “The Little London Project”, a fund supporting the Salvation Army`s work in Inner City Leeds raised around £500.

As a way of welcoming the visitors and making them feel at home United Co-op Milnrow Band commenced proceedings with the well known American march “Sousa on Parade” and were joined in the last refrain by the full bass section of the American Band.

To prolonged applause the entire James Madison University Band , under the direction of Professor Kevin Stees then took to the stage and amazed with its first item. “Fanfare and
Flourishes” by James Curnow an American composer with close ties to the band.

If one was expecting this young American outfit to comply with the stereotypical image of a “big” and “brash” American Marching Band with some unusual instrumentation as depicted in many films, then disappointment was to follow, as from the outset this young University band played and sounded like a traditional British Brass band and as such would give many of our senior bands some stiff competition.

Then followed a varied programme of music which included “Trittico” (a piece well used in the UK contest arena) and several items specially commissioned for the James Madison Band, “Home Town Miniature” (depicting life in a small American township), “Letter from Home” by Phillip Sparke and “When Eagles Sing” by Paul Cooper.

Items from the current repertoire of United Co-op Milnrow Band under Musical Director John Ward included “Mephistophiles”(Contest March), ”A Time for Peace” (Flugel solo Joanne Ward), “Eleanor Rigby”, ”Grant Us Thy Peace” “Mask of Zorro” “Manhattan” and the first performance of “Turris Fortissima” a descriptive piece referring to the Fortress of Plymouth a rather apt inclusion for this event as the “founding fathers” so history has it departed from this port on their “American Adventure”.

Throughout the evening the bands had utilised the stage separately for their performances but both contingents were “shoe horned” onto the small area for the concluding rousing final item entitled “Reunion and Finale” ,vividly musically portraying the conclusion of the later American Civil War of the 1860”s, an event which apparently has left many reminders in the area of the Shanandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains places known to many members of The James Madison University Band from Harrisonburg, Virginia USA.

The evening came to a close with a prayer and thanks all round by a member of the Leeds Central Salvation Army and both bands joined in playing the late local Salvationist Wilfred Heaton`s arrangement of the hymn tune “Martyn”.

The concert was organised by Craig Buchan (Band Master of The Leeds Central Band) and John Ward (Musical Director of United Co-operative Milnrow Band) .