THE PHOENIX WINDBAND - ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 It has been another interesting year for the band, but in preparing the annual report I looked back on last year's report and found that many of the points I want to make are the same as those made last time. Background The Phoenix windband was formed by SCOLA wind and brass band evening class members in 1999, with the aim of creating opportunities for the class to play in public and, thus, also contributing to community life in Sutton by playing (normally free of charge) at community and charity events where otherwise there would be no live music. We have, thanks to Roger, a website at www.rogermorton.bravepages.com. In our first two years we played at the Dome and for the Queen Mother, and raised about £5 000 from lottery grants. The last two years have been a little less exciting. The Last Year What have we done in the last year ? The first thing we did, two days after last year's AGM, was hold an excellent garden party, hosted (for the second year in a row) by Howard. Many thanks to Howard and Sue. We entered the Sutton music festival, for the second successive year, and for the second year came second in the adult ensemble category. There was a feeling in some quarters that we were robbed this time. I thought that if we had had the same judge as the previous year (who gave us quite a thoughtful and helpful critique of our playing and seemed to have some form of marking scheme, unlike this last judge who gave neither group any insight into standards and points to improve on) we might have won. We again had an excellent away-week-end at Wychcroft, and thanks are again due to Howard and Neil for the organization, and to Lorraine and Paul for the musical input. We have made a number of public performances, particular highlights being those at the Diamond riding centre last Autumn, the performance for the turning on of the Christmas lights in Sutton, in November, and that for the Sutton Festival in May. One of our best performances in the past year was at Basil's party. But for the second year in a row our summer programme did not really happen, with possible appearances called off either because we could not muster enough band members or because the organisers got a better offer. Thanks to Neil's efforts, we made a further lottery grant application this year, but were not successful. It seems that with declining sales of lottery tickets this source of funding is much tighter. We need some income, now and then, to (for example) buy music. In the past we have sometimes had a voluntary whip round at the evening class and may have to resort to this again next term. The balance of the band has changed somewhat over the last year, with the increasing size of the brass section (when I joined the evening class in 1996 1 was the only brass player). We still need more bass, despite the excellent efforts of our two bass clarinetists, and could do with a tuba or other bass brass instrument. And it pains me that, after getting lottery funding to buy a drum kit, the kit sits unused in the cupboard outside the room we use on Fridays - surely we can find a drummer ! There is no doubt the standard of the band has risen. We have undoubtedly got great benefit from Lorraine's investment in her own training and education. We need to continue to improve, as I always fear that we will lose our best performers (many of whom also play for other bands) if we are unable to match their rising expectations. Fortunately we have lost few of the better performers, indeed few people at all, and we continue to grow. I put this down to our friendly atmosphere and the opportunity for both musical and social interaction - be this the saxophone quartet, the projected trumpet quartet (if ever...), the curry evenings, the Wychcroft week-end, the annual garden party and even the camaraderie amongst those who regularly visit the Robin Hood after band on Fridays. I also think the balance of wanting to work hard at improving while also enjoying making music is about right. Next Year Turning to aims for next year, we all enjoyed playing in the Sutton music festival, and if we do this again - who knows - one year we might win ! I hope we can continue to recruit new members, in particular more bass and a drummer. While it would be nice to continue to develop the social side of the band's activities, that is something that grows naturally rather than something anyone can plan. But I know many members go to concerts or shows from time to time, or musical weekends. Why not think of asking colleagues in the band to see if there is interest in getting up a group ? Some band members have done this. We want to continue to perform in public, for charity events, from time to time. Last year we thought we should aim for about two performances per term and a few more in the summer term. But this has not happened, and lack of availability of enough band members has sometimes been the problem when engagements have been offered. We need to consider how to develop a more certain programme further in advance, possibly by someone taking on the task of being an "engagements manager" with the task of looking out for opportunities to play and getting them in the programme early on. There would be a reluctance to go in for heavy marketing of the band, as some other bands do, as we are (at the end of the day) an amateur ensemble that meets as an evening class and does not claim to be of the highest performance standard. But I feel sure we could, with benefit, adopt a more organized approach to sorting out opportunities to play. In Conclusion Finally, may I express all our thanks to Lorraine for her leadership and for all the effort she puts into making Friday evenings such a pleasant and rewarding time for us all. We must also thank Paul for his help, and my fellow committee members Howard and Neil, particularly for organizing the Wychcroft weekend. And everyone who comes on Fridays, and makes it such an enjoyable and worthwhile evening. RICHARD CLIFTON Chair, Phoenix Windband, July 2003