Tonight was a very special night for the band as we celebrated our 80th birthday with a concert at St Sebastian's Church, Wokingham. The programme was a musical journey through each decade that the band has been around & consisted of:

• Fanfare - A Birthday Herald
• March: Battle Abbey
• Overture - The Arcadians
• Only For You (Soprano soloist: Wayne Filer)
• Trumpet Blues & Cantabile
• Amazing Grace
• American Patrol

2 movements from "Day of the Dragon":

• Lullaby - Suo Gan (Trombone soloist: Paul MacNeill)
• Welsh Clog Dance

• The Red Shield
• Elizabethan Serenade
• Me & My Shadow (Horn soloists: Jen Butchers & Paul Lock)
• Light as Air
• Floral Dance
• Music of the Night
• Dances with Wolves
• Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (Euph soloist: James Kelloway)
• Walking with Heroes

• A Little Prayer
• Happy Birthday

One feature of this concert was the presentation of several awards to long-serving band members:

• Principal Baritone Graham McKillop received an award for 10 years service.
• Bass Trombone Nigel Smith received an award for 25 years service
• 3rd Cornet William Martyn received an award for 40 years service.
• Bb Bass Ken Smith received an award for 50 years service.
• 2nd Baritone Cameron Lake received an award for 64 years service as the longest serving member of the band.

Another feature was the presentation of the annual band awards for Bandsman of the Year (voted for by the members) & the Musician of the Year (chosen by the MD). This year the Bandsman of the Year was awarded to Chairman (& percussionist) Lisa Hubble for the second year running & Eb Bass player David Yates received the Musician of the Year award. Once the concert was over it was time for the band & audience to retire to the pub for birthday cake & a buffet!

Chairman Lisa Hubble said - this was a very successful concert for the band, performed on our home ground, reaffirming our links with the parish of St Sebastian’s Wokingham. The band was originally formed in 1931 to provide music for outreach services for the church, and it was very satisfying for both the parish and the band to rekindle those links by playing in the church. The band would not exist if it weren’t for the parish! It was a privilege to be able to honour the service given by our band members past and present, some of whom have been loyal to the band for a great many years - all together the current members have amassed 399 years’ service. A great night was had by all, thank you to everyone who took part, and everyone who came to listen - here’s to the next 80 years!

Musical Director Lee Woodward said - It was a fantastic evening, the band played a challenging programme very well. I was inundated with messages of appreciation from members of the audience afterwards. Special mention must go to all of our award winners, it shows the health and popularity of the band when you consider just how many years of service have been accumulated. It was a privilege to take part in such a special evening for Saints and all of our many friends.

The band are now working hard on a test piece which will be played at the Southern Counties Amateur Band Association's annual Autumn Contest at Folkestone in a few days time.