by Alan Jenkins

Surprise and business-as-usual were on the menu for visitors to Blackpool last Sunday (1st). En route from the car park to the Winter Gardens in the early morning drizzle, there was time to reflect on the surprising news that Adolf Hitler had ordered the Luftwaffe not to bomb Blackpool as he intended to spend some of his holidays there. Most of the reflection centred upon what would be spared by the wrecking ball, bearing in mind the words of the Führer, revealed in his favourite architect’s Memoirs: ‘Hitler liked to say that the purpose of his building was to transmit his time and its spirit to posterity. Ultimately, all that remained to remind men of the great epochs of history was their monumental architecture…’

by Kenneth Crookston

After the recent Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass, it was suggested by this writer that the overall (but not exclusively) meagre standard of performance in the tribute to Gilbert Vinter that took place over that entire weekend may have been a consequence of underestimation of the music’s content and lack of available preparation time, a hypothesis made all the more likely by the complex nature of much of the other music programmed in Manchester. 

The European Brass Band Association (EBBA) has announced an impressive line-up of competing bands for this year’s European Brass Band Championships, which will take place in the Kursall, Ostend, from 30 April to 3 May.

by David B. Diggs, Lehigh University

Waterloo Chamber, Windsor Castle, was the recent venue of a spectacular evening of music and celebration, conceived by Sir Michael Rose, 28th Colonel of the Coldstream Guards, as an opportunity to reflect on the history of the Regiment and its contribution to the music of the nation. A reception in St. George’s Hall for the officers and guests of the Regiment began the evening, followed by the concert in the Waterloo Chamber. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, Senior Colonel Foot Guards, were in attendance for the concert, and to anyone’s recollection, this is the first Regimental concert performed with the Royal Family as guests.

The Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA) has announced a groundbreaking new initiative, which will see the introduction of an additional element to next weekend’s Scottish Championships.