Hot on the heels of performances at the European Brass Championships in Freiburg, Germany, Downshire move straight into a busy period of rehearsals, concerts and a BBC recording. Forthcoming concerts include: Festival of Champions at Lady Dixon Park (10 May 4.15pm), Joint concert with Ardee Concert Band (17 May, 8pm in Ardee), Champagne Brass at Ballydugan Mill, Downpatrick (24th May). Please see our Concerts and Events page for details.
Five years on from winning the second section of the Brass Band League contest, Downshire Brass claim top spot in the Championship Section in 2015 in a tightly fought contest with 1st Old Boys, Laganvale and Strabane Concert Brass.
Downshire, who have been very busy preparing for their trip to the 2015 European Brass Band Championships used this as an opportunity to run their own-choice test piece for Freiburg. The performance gave Downshire the top prize, conductor's trophy and the best percussion section prize. Well done to all the other bands and prize-winners at the event, including John Murdock (soloist prize) and 1st Old Boys (best trombone section).
Downshire Brass was also awarded the 2014 Championship section trophy for the Band of the Year competition. Congratulations to 3rd Carrick for winning overall Band of the Year.
Downshire Brass finished 3rd overall in the 2015 Fivemiletown Brass in Concert competition at the Valley Hotel. In a competitive top section, the Band were delighted to win the prize for the best march (for our performance of Blaze Away) and thrilled that Brendan Coyle won the prize for the best soloist in the top section.
The Band performed:
Sing Sing Sing (percussion interlude from Alan, Ashley and Andrew)
Blaze Away
Feeling Good (soloist Brendan Coyle)
The Witch of Westmerlands (solos from Gary Dodsworth and Hannah Copes)
Nightingale Dances
Congratulations to all the participants and winners in all sections. We look forward to Fivemiletown 2016.
The latest Downshire CD is in the final stages of editing and mastering and should be ready by mid April 2015. The new disc contains music featured in recent Downshire concerts and contest programmes in 2013 and 2014 and includes solo items performed by Hannah Copes, Amy Wilson, Brendan Coyle and Edward Wilson. The new CD forms part of the celebrations marking the Band's 25th Anniversary.
Here's a little taster from one of the tracks - "Lady Stewarts Air" by Peter Graham
We are currently seeking to recruit an additional full-time percussionist (with skills in kit and tuned percussion) to join the team at Downshire Brass. The Band has an exciting schedule of events over the next 12 months including local contests, concerts, further work in preparing a new CD, and most significantly, a trip to Freiburg, Germany to participate in the 2015 European Brass Band Championships.
Downshire Brass rehearses on Mondays and Thursdays from 8.00pm - 10.00pm in Malone Presbyterian Church Halls, Lisburn Road, Belfast.
Please contact Gary Dodsworth on 07939 986813 or email gary.dodsworth@downshirebrass.com for more information about this vacancy, or to arrange to attend one of our rehearsals.
Members of Downshire Brass took part in a special pre-match event at the Kingspan Stadium to mark the 100th anniversary of the Christmas truce during World War One. The anniversary was being marked at numerous sports events all over Europe on Boxing Day. The event at Kinspan included carols and speeches to mark the occasion.
As ever, the Band stayed on to support the Ulster Rugby team and entertain the crowds in the family stand. The Ulster team secured a narrow 13-10 win against Connaught.
Downshire Brass has begun its busiest Christmas period ever with a range of outdoor and indoor performances, concerts and church services between now and Christmas.
Catch us at any or all of the following places and events:
Saturday, 28th November 2.00pm-3.30pm - Newcastle, Co Down
Monday, 1st December 7-9pm - Victoria Square, Belfast
Saturday, 6th December 7.30pm - Christmas Spectacular in St Thomas'
Monday, 8th December 7-9pm - Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast
Wednesday, 10th December 2-3.30pm - Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
Thursday, December 11th 6.30-8.30pm - Kennedy Centre, Belfast
Friday, 12th December am/pm - QUB graduation performances
Friday, 12th December 7.30pm - Downpatrick Lions' Christmas Concert
Sunday, 14th December 10am - Belvoir Methodist, Belfast
Monday, 15th December 6.30-8.30pm - Kennedy Centre, Belfast
Monday, 15th December - Malone Church and Tesco Shopping Centre Lisburn Road
Monday, 15th. 7-9pm - Forestside Shopping Centre, Belfast
Thursday, 18th. 6.30-8.30pm - Kennedy Centre, Belfast
Saturday, 20th. 10am-12pm - Lurgan town centre, Lurgan
Sunday, 21st. 11.45am - Thriving Life Church, Newtownards
Sunday, 21st. 4.00pm - Christmas Tree Service at Malone
Your CD collection is simply incomplete without this! 'Festive Favourites' is a collection of your favourite Christmas tunes performed by Downshire Brass. We sold out of the CDs last year and have some new copies available at £10 per disc. Contact us via the website, or alternatively download the music on iTunes or Amazon or stream it on Spotify.
Christmas Spectacular
6th December, 7.30pm
St Thomas' Church, Lisburn Road
Tickets are now available for the Band's Christmas Spectacular concert which will take place in St Thomas' Church, Lisburn Road, Belfast on 6th December 2014. The Band will be joined by guest choir Grosvenor and in an entertaining programme of popular and seasonal music.
This event is part of our fundraising initiative to support the Band's participation in the 2015 European Brass Band Championships in Freiburg, Germany. The Band will be representing Northern Ireland in the Challenge section.
Tickets for the concert are available via the website, Matchetts Music and on the door (£10 & £7). Book early to avoid disappointment!
This week we bid farewell to Adam Brown who is off to Coventry (of his own accord...) to start a new job and to be with his fiancée, Sarah. Adam has been a terrific member of the Band over the last 3 years playing both Eb & Bb bass at various times in concerts, contests and recordings. We wish him well in his new venture and hope to see him back at Band at some point soon :)
Downshire Brass is delighted to welcome its furthest travelled new member, Alannah Jeune.
Alannah is a musician from Christchurch, New Zealand who studied recorder and trumpet at the University of Canterbury. She has travelled to Belfast to start a Masters in her other interest - Religious History, at Queen's University Belfast. She comes from Addington Brass Band in Christchurch which she joined three years ago and was immediately hooked!
So far, Alannah is enjoying Belfast and starting to understand the local accent, although still has difficulty with Belfast slang, and the speed of speech! She is also enjoying talking to other students about New Zealand which is apparently a place where people communicate via Haka and live in small hobbit-like dwellings. She is most relieved that the New Zealand opinion of Belfast weather being cold, wet, windy and devoid of sunshine seems to be an exaggeration!
Members of Downshire Brass played to a packed hall today at Newtownbreda High School as part of an on-going partnership between the Band and the School.
Year 8 pupils, who have just joined the School, had the chance to hear a dectet from the Band performing pieces and demonstrating the fundamentals of brass instruments, acoustics and brass playing! A large group of first years followed-up with a chance to try out instruments ranging from cornet to Eb bass and percussion.
Michael Alcorn said, "we are delighted to be working with pupils and staff in the School to extend the excellent work achieved last year by tutors from Downshire. We anticipate that there will be stiff competition for the brass places that are available this year on the programme!"
Downshire is delighted to announce Ryan Parks as their new soprano player. Chairman Gary Dodsworth said, "Ryan has been a valued member of the cornet section at Downshire since he joined in 2009 and his move to soprano is important for us as we prepare for a busy year ahead".
Speaking of his move, Ryan said, "it's an exciting challenge for me to play sop and I'm really enjoying the opportunity to tackle one of the key seats in the band".
Downshire Youth Band was back in full swing with Robert Mercer at the helm this week. A busy bandroom is always a great sight. We are still accepting young players and beginners into our Youth Development Programme. Please contact the band via the website or contact our Youth Development Officer, David Bird (07793 766200) if you are interested in joining us.
This weekend saw the Band start it's second season supporting the Ulster Rugby team at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast and spending an extended period locked away in a recording studio working on our latest CD project. Eight tracks were recorded on Saturday and a further four are scheduled for Sunday before a quick dash to the Lisburn Road for our final Music in the Parks event for 2014!
We are currently seeking to recruit a soprano cornet player to join Downshire Brass with immediate effect. The Band has an exciting schedule of events over the next 12 months including local contests, concerts, a CD recording and most significantly, a trip to Freiburg, Germany to participate in the 2015 European Brass Band Championships.
Downshire Brass rehearses on Mondays and Thursdays from 8.00pm - 10.00pm.
Please contact Gary Dodsworth (mob: 07939 986813) gary.dodsworth@downshirebrass.com for more information about this vacancy, or to arrange to attend one of our rehearsals.
or get in touch via our website www.downshirebrass.com
Congratulations to Downshire's Dave Bird who has just received a doctorate in composition from Queen's University. Dave's PhD, a portfolio and thesis, explores experimental compositional practices and was completed at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's.
Dave has been a key player in the Downshire cornet line-up for the last few years as well as a tutor at the Newtownbreda Brass Academy and with JAM.
Congratulations, Dr Dave, from everyone in Downshire Brass!
In order to provide as much encouragement as possible to our very youngest players and in a break with typical trends in the funding for bands, Downshire recently took a decision to acquire some new instruments for our Junior Band to replace the “well used” ones which had previously been provided.
We are delighted to announce the purchase of 6 cornets, 5 tenor horns, 1 baritone, 2 euphoniums and 2 tubas. Such a large purchase is possibly unheard of within the local brass banding community in recent times and demonstrates the Band's commitment to its youth development programme. Needless to say, the kids are absolutely thrilled!
We would like to thank Newtownbreda High School for their kind donation towards the cost of the instruments.
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Downshire Brass is delighted to announce that it has been invited to represent Northern Ireland at the European Brass Band Championships in Freiburg, Germany in May 2015. The Band will shortly begin an ambitious programme of fundraising to support the trip to Southern Germany to participate in the Challenge section of the competition.
Gary Dodsworth, the Band's Chairperson said,
"this is a great event for us to work towards over the next ten months. The chance to participate in these hugely prestigious Championships and to experience the playing of the best Europeans bands will be something very special. And a trip away with Downshire is always a fun and enjoyable experience."
Downshire is already planning a trip outside Northern Ireland in 2014 with a return visit to the Land O'Burns contest in Troon in August. Plans are also well under way for new CDs for the youth band and senior band in the coming months.
Regarding the trip to Germany, Musical Director Michael Alcorn said,
"I'm thrilled to be preparing the band for such a major event. It promises to be a great opportunity for Downshire and I know everyone will rally around the task of preparing a major programme for Freiburg."
