140th Celebrations for Cory
Cory Band celebrated its 140th Anniversary last weekend in Barry, where the current band were joined by former members for a fabulous grand concert in the Memo Arts Centre. Band President Morgan Jones stated, “When the Ton Temperance Band was formed back in 1884, those founding members could hardly have imagined what the band, which adopted the name Cory in 1895, would go on to achieve in the musical world, not only in Wales and the United Kingdom, but on the continent and beyond.”
Cory began the proceedings with festive flair, ‘Soaring the Heights’, followed by ‘A Christmas Overture’, before Principal Cornet Tom Hutchinson dazzled with ‘Mexican Hat Dance’. The set concluded with Kevin Larsson’s ‘They shall come from the East’, before the ‘Vintage’ Band took to the stage under the musical guidance of Nigel Seaman. The Vintage band, which comprised local ex-members, some who had travelled from all parts of the UK and one who even made the trip from Japan, showed that there was ‘life in the old dog yet’. A particular highlight was the beautiful lyrical playing of Richard Davies in the flugel solo ‘Cinema Paradiso’.
Following a short interval the bands combined forces with a selection of music that paid tribute to each of the long serving Musical Directors int he band’s illustrious history. Beginning with ‘Enter the Galaxies’, former MD Dr Robert Childs was then invited from the audience to lead the band through ‘The Singer’. Philip Harper then took back the reins to conclude the evening with ‘Myfanwy’, ‘March Paraphrase: Men of Harlech’ and his own arrangement of ‘The World’s Greatest Story Teller.’
During the evening Life Member Awards were made to Neil Blockley (joined 1995), Austin Davies (Joined 1996) and Andrew Williams (Joined 1998), for having served the band for over 25 years. Cory’s latest recording ‘140’ celebrating the band’s milestone is available to purchase from the band’s website. The 2024 Welsh and Brass in Concert Champion is now looking forward to a busy 2025, where the band and Philip Harper will no doubt also be looking to add some more major silverware to the trophy cabinet.
