Celebrating 45 Years of Youth Brass Banding with SSBB
Saturday night at the iconic Plaza Theatre in Stockport was an evening when the world of brass banding came together as one big musical family to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of Stockport Schools’ Brass Bands (SSBB). It is now a long-established tradition for SSBB to celebrate both its formation in 1978 and its lasting legacy, which goes far beyond the boundaries of Stockport, with an anniversary reunion concert every five years, and 2023 proved yet another triumphant success. The event was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport (Councillor Graham Greenhalgh and Mrs Carol Greenhalgh) along with guests from Stockport Normandy Veterans Association who SSBB actively support.
With over 130 players taking part with an age range running from 5 years old to former members in their 60s, many months of planning all came together in a wonderful evening of brass band music. In fact, such is the impact that this brass band organisation has had on the wider community that not only were a whole range of brass bands covering a wide spectrum of the UK represented, but former members had flown in from as far as South Korea to join in the fun.
And fun it most certainly was, exemplified when the Beginner and Training Groups took to the stage, with some of the players almost being dwarfed by the instruments, drawing an audible gasp from the hugely appreciative audience. The current Junior, Intermediate and Senior Bands all performed entertaining repertoires which really showcased how the members develop their playing skills and musicality through the commitment and dedication of the respective Musical Directors. The audience enjoyed classic pieces such as ‘Final Countdown’, ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’, ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and ‘Cry Of The Celts’. The soprano cornet solo by Jorge Mullock was a particular highlight of the first half of the concert, showing exceptional tone and clarity in his performance, especially for one so young.
After the interval, the concert belonged to the Reunion Band who had assembled from various parts of the globe. Such is their quality they only needed one afternoon rehearsal to pull together a magnificent programme of tunes including the classic march ‘Ravenswood’, and the overture from ‘Mack and Mabel’ and a very moving ‘Hymn to the Fallen’. ‘One Moment in Time’, was dedicated to the memory of Bob Wyatt, a former musical director of SSBB for 17 years, who had such a major impact on developing SSBB as an organisation as well as brass banding in the UK. The baritone solo by Mike Cavanagh in ‘Carrickfergus’ was another stand out moment.
The concert was brought to a rousing conclusion with three pieces by the Massed Band which added the current members of the Intermediate and Senior Bands to the Reunion Band with around 100 players now on the stage. A truly memorable finale of an inspiring evening which demonstrates what wonderful opportunities are being given to young people in Stockport and beyond. The future of brass banding is in very good hands. At the end of the concert the Mayor of Stockport (Councillor Graham Greenhalgh) thanked the SSBB team and players for an excellent concert and commented on how strong Brass banding is within the Stockport area, but it is only maintained by the work that SSBB continue to do in encouraging the children of Stockport to become involved and supporting them in their development towards being part of the future of Brass Bands. He also thanked all the parents for their continued support in encouraging their children to continue with their playing. All involved will now look forward to the big 50th anniversary concert due in another five years’ time.
SSBB is always looking for new members to come along and give a brass instrument a try, so please contact Alice Bell on contactus@ssbb.org.uk for more details or visit the web site www.ssbb.org.uk if you would like you child to benefit from the musical opportunities available.
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