After an absence of 33 years Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band returned to Stroud on Saturday 17^th November to present a concert for the Stroud Brass Band Festival, led by their guest conductor Derek Broadbent.

A near capacity audience enjoyed their signature march FCB followed by the ever popular Berloiz overture The Corsair.

The first of four soloists was Kirsty Abbotts, who gave a beautifully crafted rendition of Percy Code’s Zelda – not heard in Stroud for some time but the ecstatic applause revealed how much this was appreciated. An encore was demanded which gave Kirsty the opportunity to showcase an item from her CD, namely Alan Fernie’s arrangement of Meditation from Thais by Massenet.

A couple of new items from Robert Collinson, the bands associate arranger followed, both with Geordie influence, one featuring Janet Lewis on flugel horn. The first half concluded with two contrasting items Pirates of the Caribbean and Where Eagles Sing.

The Agincourt Song by Elgar Howarth opened the second half followed by an up beat version of one of the Swing era classics Sing, Sing, Sing arranged by Ray Woodfield. Derek Broadbent then brought the audience down to earth by explaining the story surrounding their next piece Elegy by Leigh Baker. This was composed as a tribute to the late Eddie Noble, of Brighouse and Rastrick fame. The quiet simplicity of this music was not lost on the Stroud audience.

Two more solo items followed, the euphonium offering was Be My Love played by David Belshaw

followed by Bass Soloist Ben Dixon who introduced us to a new piece for Stroud.

This was Lesley Condon’s composition entitled Celestial Morn. This proved to be good showcase for this talented young musician. The Irish Blessing was enjoyed prior to the robust finale to the concert. It is some time since we enjoyed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture and its familiar themes provided an excellent conclusion to the bands well balanced programme.

Derek Broadbent’s knowledge and good humour added an extra dimension to the evening, helped by the fact that he has enjoyed a long term association with the Stroud Festival.

His chosen encore was the late Bill Brunt’s favourite march – Radetsky, which reflected his empathy with this audience. Bill was our popular compere for many years.

It is hoped that it will not be to long before this fine band is invited back to Stroud.

Trevor G. Picken

President – SBBF.