Tendring Brass (conducted by David Rowland)
‘New Horizons’ Remembrance Day Concert
Sunday 12th November 2023 at the West Cliff Theatre, Clacton-On-Sea

Guests:
* Chase Lane Primary School Choir, Dovercourt (led by Antony Sanders)
* Compere: Antony Sanders
* The Music Man Project, Southend-On-Sea (led by David Stanley BEM)
* Local standard-bearers
* The Last Post played by Oliver Toms
* Band President and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Nigel Spencer MBE

Tendring Brass once again competed in the 2nd Section at this year’s London & Southern Counties regional contest, held at the Arts and Leisure Centre in Stevenage.

The band drew to play first (the draw every bandsman wants to avoid!) and took to the stage to perform the piece ‘A Pilgrim’s Progress’. As we waited on stage to play, they announced that Rodney Newton, the composer, was in the audience, in fact two rows from the band! Despite receiving some great feedback the band came 11th in the final standings out of the 17 bands that performed on the day. 

Despite the result the band left the stage feeling proud of their performance and are already looking forward to the challenge of competing again next year.

The Kinder Transport was an organised effort to rescue thousands of Jewish children from Nazi controlled territory in the months leading up to the Second World War. 

The Kinder travelled across Europe seeking refuge in various countries. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakian and Poland. These children arrived into Harwich which was the main point of entry for most of the nearly 10,000 children of the Kindertransport between 1938 and 1939. 

The sculpture ‘Safe Haven’  was unveiled at Thursday’s ceremony in Harwich, Essex, and depicts five children descending from a ship’s gangplank.

Tendring Brass played a variety of music during the arrival of many guests prior to the statue unvailing. These Guests included more than 30 refugees who originally arrived in Britain on the Kindertransport in 1938 and 1939, the German Ambassador to the UK, Miguel Berger, and Lord Eric Pickles, United Kingdom Special Envoy for post-Holocaust Issues.

The Kinder Transport Memorial and Learning Trust’ commissioned a new composition entitled Gateway to Freedom alongside the sculpture Safe Haven to commemorate Harwich’s part in the Kinder Transport. Gateway to Freedom is a programmatic composition in 5 linked movements for brass band composed by Craig Sanders.

The composition takes the listener on a musical journey from the Kristallnacht, to the parting at the train station, the trains journey across Europe before the arrival into Harwich and the gateway to freedom and a life ahead. 

This composition had its premiere performance by Tendring Brass at the Electric Palace Cinema Harwich after the statue unveiling as part of the memorial event.

We were incredibly proud to have been part of this historic event.

If you would like more information on the Kindertransport please see the link below to the official Harwich Kindertransport Memorial web-site at https://kindertransport-memorial.org/.

Gallery

We are holding a Brass Band Workshop on the 1st and 2nd October 2022, open to any local players who would like an enjoyable weekend of making music and fun.

For more information and to confirm your place –

Email – Rebecca Smith – Tendring Brass Social Media Coordinator – bexelizabeth.smith@gmail.com
Facebook Message – https://www.facebook.com/tendringbrassband/
Or contact us via the website.

After 22 years at the helm our MD is stepping down from his position with our Main band. 

In 2005 we took part in our first ever contest in the L&SC 4th section, since then we have grown in both aspirations and ability. 

Our organisation now encompasses a community band and Academy with the main band Second section national finalists in 2019 and 2021.

We are a friendly, hardworking band with a healthy contest and concert schedule with an ethos of community, growing our own talent and youth development.

We are looking to appoint a Musical Director that will enable the main band to continue our musical journey.

We rehearse on Monday Nights 7:15pm-9:45pm and our band room is based in the village of Wix, Essex, within easy reach of the A120.

All enquiries please contact tendringbrasssecretary@outlook.com or message on our Facebook page.