It began in January 2008, when our (then) newly appointed conductor, Calum Gray, suggested we might apply for a National Lottery grant. By July, and three committee meetings later, we had made little progress in filling in the application form and decided to set a firm deadline of October. November saw the final application submitted and only then after an eleventh-hour meeting in an underground car park to get one missing signature!

The relief was short-lived, as the application was duly returned regarding a minor technicality with our independent referee; a new referee was soon found and off it went again. This time all was well, and all we had to do was await the response. Christmas came and went and the application was soon forgotten about, until one day in early February I returned home to find a 'Big Lottery Fund' envelope on the doormat. Tearing it open, I held the letter with shaking hands and read that our application had been successful! It was a liberating feeling to know that we now could do something really special.

First, we had to remind ourselves of what had been proposed. The initial idea had been along the lines of a joint concert with a local youth band but, with the need to meet the aims of Awards for All, it had evolved into promoting wind band music within the local community; including joint rehearsals, a master class and a final concert accessible to a wider than normal audience. We had chosen to work with Southampton Youth Wind Band (conductor David King) and the master class would be given by Guy Woolfenden, who would rehearse his world-renowned composition Gallimaufry. Of course a snappy project title had been necessary and 'A Sound Investment' came from the long list of suggestions submitted by one of our trombone players. However, to avoid the title having any hint of a financial seminar, we decided to call the final concert 'A Partnership in Sound'.

The next few months became increasingly busy with both bands rehearsing, booking venues, sourcing new music, liaising with Guy Woolfenden, arranging a photographer, production and distribution of publicity materials, proof reading, inviting VIP's, preparing media and press releases, approving programme designs, keeping tabs on expenditure; the list seemed endless.

Poster designed by Joanne Whitworth

Towards the end of April, the main events of the project were rapidly unfurling, with a very busy fortnight in the run up to the final concert. Up till then, both bands had been independently rehearsing Gallimaufry and there was one joint rehearsal prior to the master class. This was great fun, not least as the combined force of the two bands was in excess of 100 musicians. It was to the credit of the conductors of both bands that the combined rehearsal went off very well and any concern that we could have been approaching the piece differently was immediately set aside.

The next time the two bands would meet was at the master class with Guy. This was at the concert venue and to be sitting on the stage in a large auditorium with over 100 players started to bring a real sense of achievement. Guy arrived at the appointed hour and the combined band was seated and ready to play. Despite the size of the assemblage, Guy's words were very clear as every single player wanted to hear what he would share with us about his composition. In that two hour session we learnt a lot about Gallimaufry; why it was originally written, what the individual movements represented, the precise definition of a hemiola rhythm and all sorts of nuances about the percussion part, for example - why a fifty pence piece scraped across a suspended cymbal was better than a pound coin to represent drawing a sword out of a scabbard. The concentration from the players was unbroken for the entire evening and the musical results achieved during the master class were truly remarkable. That night everyone went home buzzing.

Guy Woolfenden takes the master class

Saturday 9th May was the date of the final concert. The pre-concert 'top and tail' of the music got off to a shaky start but, as is often the way, this made the adrenalin run even faster for the actual performance. Both bands played their respective halves with passion and panache and were very well-received by the audience. To finish, the combined performance of Gallimaufry was given under the baton of Guy Woolfenden. The result was a spectacular finale, with every player giving their all. The audience's response was overwhelming and, after presenting Guy with a keepsake of the occasion, we concluded with a reprise of the final movement - "Church and Status Quo".

Calum Gray presents Guy Woolfenden with a special keepsake of the occasion
Picture courtesy of Tony Smith Photography

To reflect, although the Awards for All project required a significant amount of organisation and effort from many parties, the post project feedback from the participants and the audience has made it more than worthwhile. The Lottery funding enabled us to achieve far more than would normally be possible but it also gave a sense of focus for our music-making and that we should be taking it to a wider audience. This was indeed a very positive experience and comes highly recommended.

A copy of this article appeared in the summer 2009 edition of Winds Magazine.

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