University of Warwick Wind Orchestra

Welcome back! Our first rehearsal of term is on Monday 9th January at 6pm in the Helen martin studio. Hope to see you there!

On Sunday 20th November Wind Orch made the trip to Northampton to compete in the National Concert Band Festival competition. After only an hour or so on a fancy bus with five seats in a row (!!) we just had time for a quick rehearsal before heading straight onto the stage to play!

And what did we win?

Wind Orch got GOLD!!!! Much celebration was had and curry nom times ensued.

Well done wind orchestra!

The Wind Orchestra website has been updated! Have a look around – especially check out the new features including the conductors feedback form and the events calendar!

Wind Orch does PUB GOLF tomorrow, Thursday 27th October! We are competing against Brass and Symphony so be there and REPRESENT! Then next Monday after rehearsal in the Helen Martin Studio we will be heading to Xananas for some much nom food so feel free to come along.

Welcome freshers! Please note the wind orchestra website is currently undergoing an update and so some items may be out of date.

To keep updated with the latest please see the wind orchestra society page.

Term 1 has gone well. At the freshers fair alone we collected 80 e-mail addresses of potential new members, many of which played in the Free concert in the recently re-opened Butterworth hall. We had some great feedback about the Free Concert in which we played 633 squadron, Dambusters and Harry Potter. It was great to see some of our old members in the audience and at the wine reception after the concert- We miss you guys! As usual Wind Orchestra enjoyed socials to the pub and Xananas in term 1.

We also had a successful Pub golf social with Brass Soc. I think everyone that went would agree it was a great night which was further improved by Karaoke at TJs. The competition was very close and unfortunately brass soc one by 1 point! Well done to the Wind Orchestra A team (Pres, dpaine, Alex, Kate, Jeremy and Beck) for doing so well.

Another social highlight of the term was going to see the show Wicked in London! The aim was to inspire our playing of the Wicked medley and I think it worked. The show was amazing and we also had some free time to spend in London.

Our 2nd concert of term was on the 16th of November and was a joint one with brass soc. We performed Sunrise at Angels Gate, Dawn flight as well as firm film favourites from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and exciting extracts from the hit musical Wicked. We were very pleased with the turn out for the concert, so well done to everyone for inviting your friends!

On the 22nd of November we competed in the National Concert Band Festival in Northampton playing Sunrise at Angels Gate and Dawn flight. This year we achieved a silver award- an improvement on last year! To celebrate we all went for a curry- well done everyone :D

Our final concert of term was Music Centre Christmas Spectacular on the 6th December. It really was spectacular! We were conducted by an elf and a Christmas tree and had choreographed dance moves- all of which got us in the Christmas spirit. We played a selection of carols, Mary’s Boy Child, Harry Potter and of course Sleigh Ride.

Despite the dreaded exams, term 3 was as successful for Wind Orchestra as ever!

Term 3 started with the takeover of the new exec, lead by president Alexander Blandford, and the introduction of possible conductors for 2010/2011. Early in term Katie lead her first social to Laser Quest in Coventry, which was well received by all who attended!

Throughout the term we worked towards one of our biggest concerts of the year, the Spencer Park Concert in Coventry. Luckily the weather was amazing, and a huge crowd turned out to watch us play. We followed the concert with the obligatory social at our favourite curry house, the Royal Bengal in Earlsdon.

To wrap up the term, and to celebrate the end of exams, we had a ‘Super Wind Day’. It began with our WSAF (Warwick Student Arts Festival) concert, followed by a picnic on Tocil Field with games and awards for our members. After the picnic we played a couple fo our favourite pieces in the WSAF Finale Concert to a large audience in the atrium of the SU. To round the day off a number of us went to Top B to let our hair down – much fun ensued!

Yikes it’s nearly the end of term 2 already! We’ve had some great events going on this term and there’s still a few more yet to look forward to!

Week 3 SOCIAL In week 3 we had a very successful joint handcuff social with brass soc. We managed to stay attached to a brass player until about the 3rd pub and then we continued to kareoke in TJs and some people carried onto Evolve! Wednesday 3rd February (week 4) OPEN EXEC MEETING Thanks to everyone who came to our open exec meeting. Remember elections are next week, so if you’re thinking of running for an exec position, remember to let Rachel know.

19th-21st February (week 6) MINI TOUR One word- Epic! We had a great weekend, drinking cocktails in The Hobbit, eating breakfast in Wetherspoons and of course performing the World premier of the Leamington Suite by composer in residence at Southampton Uni- Robert Langdon! Thanks to Southampton concert band for letting us come visit!

27th of February MUSIC CENTRE BALL “A Night at the Oscars” The MC ball was a great success thanks to Parky and the social sec team. The night started with a champagne reception and was followed by a 4 course dinner plus wine and a chocolate fountain! Oscars were presented- well done to all the nominees and Rachel for her oscar (most susceptible to alcohol)! We then had a performance from the music centre staff, doing their best ABBA impression in blonde wigs! We then saw some wild dancing, whist the Big Band played and then had a bit of a boogie to a live DJ!

Monday 1st March (week 8) CONCERT Well done in the concert on Monday everyone! We had some really good feedback from the audience. We played a joint piece with Drumestra (Crazy in love by Beyonce arr. Paul McGraph). We also played some pieces on our own- Mars, Pirates, Leamington Suite, Catskills, Star Trek and Apache Wednesday 3rd March (week 8) SOCIAL We’re making the most of our free entry to the real ale festival by having a social! Meet at 7.30-7.45 near the Piazza.

Friday 5th March (week 8) CONCERT We played two 45 minute slots at the real ale festival and were rewarded with free entry on all 3 days wooop! We played a variety of all the things that we have been practicing this term. A spontaneous more beer chorus led by Ian and Parky was especially well received by the audience. The entertainment organizer was very impressed with our performances and has asked us to play again next year!

Monday 8th March (week 9) AGM Congratulations to all the new exec and well done to everyone that ran! There was some tough competition for exec positions this year! Your new exec are: President- Alexander Blandford Treasurer- David Paine Secretary- Grace Dargan Marketing Manager – Luke Ellerton Concert Manager – Rachel Sheldon Librarians – Rachel Player, Louise Taylor Social Sec – Katie Atchley

Also congratulations to our new conductors- Jo, Ed and Parky. Next week we will continue with the conductor auditions. We also voted on some amendments to the Wind Orchestra constitution:

The society notes: The quorum for a meeting of Executive Committee shall be 2/3s of its membership. The society believes: 5.33….people is ridiculous! Quorum for exec meetings should be 6 out of the 8 exec members for simplicity. The society resolves: The quorum for a meeting of the Executive committee shall be at least 2/3s

The society notes: Nothing- there is no mention of (mini)-tour The society believes: The society should have the power to elect an orchestra member as (mini)-tour leader in a year in which a (mini)-tour takes place The society resolves: In a year in which a (mini)-tour takes place; the society can elect a representative from the orchestras to be tour leader. Voting should be simple majority

We also made a 3rd ammendment. As soon as I get a copy, I will post it!

Wednesday 17th March (week 10) CONCERT Concert in the piazza to celebrate Varsity Week – Come on Warwick!

On Monday the 22nd of June Wind Orchestra performed in the BigSPLAT marquee as part of the Warwick student’s arts festival (SPLAT). Despite the unusual acoustics in the BigSPLAT we performed a selection of pieces including 633 squadron, Wrong note rag, Jubilee overture, Bugler’s holiday, Irish tune from county Derry, Lobe den Herrn, Children’s March, Lion King, Aventura, Reflections of Earth and The Mission. We also performed 2 of our favourites, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Lion King, as part of the SPLAT finale concert. Unfortunately this was the last ever concert for some of our members. We’d like to thank them for the commitment they’ve shown to Wind Orchestra during their time with us and wish them the best of luck for the future.

Apologies for the lack of updates during this term. Wind Orchestra has been busy and I guess, everyone is busy with academic work the rest of the time. Wind Orchestra started off the year with the annual free Music Centre concert which was held in TES (Temporary Events Structure) this year due to the closure of the Butterworth Hall. Wind Orchestra started off with a bang as we played the intro to the Theme of “2001: A Space Odyssey”, the theme from “Chicken Run” (with kazoos of course!) and a selection from “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Both players and audience enjoyed it, especially Pirates! This was quickly followed by a rather unusual performance at the Godiva Awards for Coventry in the Belgrade theatre. For this, we teamed up with Drumestra and other drumming students of Dave Barrett and, performed with some famous and talented break dancers. These were the “Kombat Breakers” who were in the final of the first series of ITV’s “Britain’s Got Talent”. For this, we performed “Apache” by The Shadows, and Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”. This was an amazing experience and was greatly enjoyed by players! November the 10th saw us perform in our usual joint conert with Brass Band. This year it was in aid of the charity Ugive2Uganda, which aims to bring young people together in through the medium of music with the aim of creating Uganda’s first sitting-down, reading music brass band. This was a cause that both Brass Band and Wind Orchestra believed in. We played a collection of pieces including “Cartoon” by Paul Hart, “Marche au supplice” from Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz and “Cry of the Celts”. Youtube clips are present (search “University of Warwick Wind” should do it) and will hopefully also be uploaded onto the website soon! November also saw us compete in the Midlands regionals of NCBF. Hoping to repeat the same success as last year where achieved gold, we gave a performance of the 1st two movements of the English Folk Song Suite by Vaughan Williams and “Cartoon” by Paul Hart. Unfortunately, we didn’t repeat the success and achieved a Bronze which still isn’t too bad for an un-auditioned ensemble! Finally, Wednesday 3rd December saw us perform our Christmas concert at University House. This was an enjoyable experience and had lots of audience participation with the audience being able to request carols. This consequently led to the orchestra playing 12 verses of “Once in Royal David’s City” (!) and a guest child conductor! Merry Christmas and have a great new year. Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for Wind Orchestra in 2009!

Welcome Warwick Freshers 2008! Congratulations on getting into Warwick, you’ve obviously worked hard enough to get in and deserve it. Also welcome returning students/members! You’ve obviously worked hard enough to proceed into the next year ;). Just a quick note to tell you that the first rehearsal of Wind Orchestra for the new academic year is Friday 3rd October 2008, 6-8:30pm, Ensemble Room, Music Centre, Main Campus. Our first concert is Tuesday 7th October 2008, Temporary Union Building on Tocil Field as part of the free concert held by the Music Centre so tell all your friends! See you on Friday 3rd October 2008!