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Durham University Concert Band is a non-auditioned ensemble open to all woodwind, brass and percussion players. We aim to create a relaxed, friendly and informal atmosphere where everyone feels welcome, while at the same time playing music to an excellent standard. In the last academic year we held concerts in Elvet Methodist Church, Castle Great Hall and Durham Town Hall, as well as competing at the National Concert Band Festival (NCBF) in Manchester, where we received a Gold Award. For the academic year 2022/23 we plan to do this again and more, leading up to a tour in the summer with Durham University Brass Band.

The band covers a range of repertoire, from wind band classics and film music, to orchestral arrangements and jazz. For example, we have recently tackled music including Philip Sparke’s Hymn of the Highlands, James Bond, Dave Brubeck: A Portrait in Time, and Vaughan Williams’ English Folk Song Suite.

Rehearsal Times 2022/23: Monday evenings 19:00 – 21:30, The James Knott Hall, Trevelyan College

If you have any questions, please contact our President, Abi Kaye, at [email protected]!

Our Exec

Abi Kaye

President John Snow; Year 3 Physics; Trumpet
As president, I organise the general running of the band, liaise with Music Durham and staff to plan events, and aid the rest of the exec in their roles. My favourite memory has to be our most recent all college bar crawl, visiting all 13 open undergraduate bars!!

Becky Caley

Treasurer John Snow; Year 3 Biosciences; Clarinet
As Concert Band’s treasurer, I manage the society’s finances and facilitate spending on important items like snacks, stash and music. As far as memories go, I loved playing in the castle last year, especially given it was for charity too!

Henry Day

Conductor John Snow; Year 3 Biology & Physics; Saxophone
As a conductor, I choose the repertoire of the band and also run rehearsals! My favourite DUCB memory was playing at the Durham Regatta with the battle between the music and the wind!

Stephen Wilson

Conductor Hild Bede; Year 3 Engineering; Trumpet
I am delighted to be one of your conductors this year! Along with conducting rehearsals and presenting performances, duties include choosing repertoire with my co-conductor, Henry. My favourite memory has to be when Henry was given the nickname Henners…

Charlotte Bryan-Lambert

Secretary John Snow; Year 2 Primary Education; Alto Sax
My job as the secretary is to manage the general administration of the society by sending out the weekly emails, handling room bookings and minuting exec meetings. My favourite DUCB memory is playing in Castle Great Hall last year!

Oliver Rice

Concert Manager Trevelyan; Year 7 Maths (PhD); Clarinet
As the Concert Manager, I plan all of the logistics of the band’s concerts. My favourite Concert Band memory is fish and chips and a game of Uno on Palace Green at sunset; a particularly wholesome social.

Amy Birch

Librarian South College; Year 3 Biosciences; Clarinet
It’s my job to make sure that everyone has the correct music for each rehearsal and concert. My favourite memory is NCBF week as it was great to speak to and get to know members of the band that I hadn’t spoken to before!

Tom Wall

Publicity Officer Van Mildert; Mathematics; Flute
As publicity officer, I design all the band’s publicity, including posters and concert programmes! My favourite Concert Band memory was karaoke with the band on NCBF competition week last year: I sang a passionate duet of I’ve Had The Time Of My Life.

Emily Jessop

Social Secretary Hild Bede; 3rd Year Biosciences; Alto Sax
As social sec, I organise all the band’s socials, and take on the important role of choosing the band’s rehearsal snacks. My favourite memory is the games night in NCBF week last year – it had a great turnout and the card games kept us entertained for hours!

DUCB’S HISTORY

When Peter came to Durham in 1976 he was keen to join the university orchestra as an oboist. Unfortunately there were twelve oboists auditioning that year, including some studying music, so he was without a group to play in for the first time in quite a few years. At the start of his second year, Peter got in touch with one of his neighbours in Hatfield College, a clarinettist called Steve who practiced regularly, and the two of them started a band. They began finding others by various means, including a drummer (Tom) from Castle and a trombonist (Nick) from Collingwood and were able to start practising as a group. Peter got some music from his old school and they scrounged a little money from somewhere and bought a few marches and bits. Very democratically, Peter became conductor and Steve 1st clarinet!

There were no auditions for new members; anyone could join. They practised in the rooms opposite the Library on Palace Green.

Steve and Peter discussed a name for their band. The format of the group was really a military band, but Durham University Military Band (DUMB) didn’t seem to be quite right, so they settled for Concert Band instead. In June 1978 they performed on Palace Green one afternoon for the first time.

In 1978/9 they were able to have a stand for the Freshers’ Fair and gained quite a few members. In Peter’s final summer they used Castle’s Hall for their first proper concert and had fun on Palace Green again. To try to ensure that the band continued, they attached themselves to the Music Society and appointed an assistant conductor to take over from Peter for the following year; his name was Eric.

Since the founding group left, Durham University Concert Band has continued to grow and flourish and we are proud of all we have achieved and continue to achieve to this day.