Everything to play for as Welsh Open draws closer...
THE Welsh Open Brass Band Entertainment Championship takes place on Sunday February 20, at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre, and three of the 14 competing bands are Lewis Merthyr, Tongwynlais Temperance and SW Comms Band.
Founded about 1855, Lewis Merthyr is the oldest band in the Rhonda Valleys.
Originally called Cymmer Military and Cymmer (Porth) Colliery the band had a good reputation and played before King George V and Queen Mary, Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, admired their playing and complimented them as “A damn fine band!”
With the merger of the Cymmer and Lewis Merthyr Collieries in 1949 the band became Lewis Merthyr Band. Over the years Lewis Merthyr became Champion Band of Wales, Welsh League Champions, Miner’s Welfare Entertainments (CISWO) Champions and more.
The Band has represented Wales in Championship Section on eight occasions and at the European Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has also won the Second and Third Section UK National titles.
Lewis Merthyr has presented concerts all over the UK and in recent times has featured in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and a series of Women’s Six Nations Rugby Internationals, the Welsh Proms and the Internationale Taptoe Belgiein Ostend, Belgium.
The Band was also featured in the BBC programme The Taff: The River
That Made Wales, and also in a television feature with international baritone soloist Sir Bryn Terfel.
Over the years the band has premiered and given first broadcasts of major works including Peter Graham’s Dimensions, Goff Richards’ Oceans and has recently recorded a new CD of a number of works by Welsh composer Mervyn Burtch.
The band has premiered Helen Woods’ Man Engine Anthem, and Dr Christopher Wood’s Aberfan was given its premiere at the Brass & Voices of Wales Prom in St David’s Hall, conducted by Dr Owain Arwel Hughes CBE.
During the pandemic the band did an online recording of We’ll Meet Again and commissioned a work from Andrew Powell based on his soundtrack from the 1985 movie Ladyhawke, which premiered at a concert with Welsh National Opera in January 2022. The Band also commissioned a work from Chris Marshall, based on the Tonypandy riots, that they hope to perform at the World Music Festival in the Netherlands in July 2022.
Visit the website at www.lewis merthyrband.com for more information.
The Tongwynlais Temperance Band is a championship band based in Tongwynlais village which is on the outskirts of the city of Cardiff.
The band was founded in 1888 basically to keep the workers from the demon drink! However, how effective that was is rather dubious as their first rehearsals were held in the Lewis Arms, a local pub which is still open today situated at the foot of the iconic Castell Coch – the proud emblem of the band. The band has represented Wales at the European Brass Band Championships and has competed regularly at the National Finals and also the British Open.
Like many bands ‘Ton’ has had to work hard to sustain itself and to rethink its role in the modern world. Complementing the main band is the Tongwynlais Music Academy and the Well Tempered Brass Ensemble which performs at smaller events and engagements.
The band is an integral part of the community of north Cardiff and the villages of Tongwynlais, Whitchurch and Llandaff North. Students from the universities and the Royal College of Music and Drama are given a warm welcome by the band.
Working closely with the conservatoire faculty, a key part of its mission is to provide valuable performing opportunities for the next generation of brass students as they progress through their studies. Many former students have become tutors within the academy and maintain close links with the band.
The musical director of Tongwynlais Temperance is Carl Saunders, who is an accomplished cornet soloist as well as an experienced conductor. Carl was brought up in the Salvation Army’s musical tradition and is the bandmaster of the Canton Band and the Household Troops Band that draws together Salvationist musicians from across the UK. Carl has played with leading brass bands across the UK and the US.
The SW Comms Band was born out of the historic Lympstone Band, who was fulfilling band engagements in 1889. Lympstone, where SW Comms Band is based, is between Exeter and Exmouth and former musical director Charlie Fleming was integral in the SW Comms Band reaching the First Section and subsequent conductors, including Chris Spreadbury and Sam Hairsine progressing to the Championship Section.
In 2021, the band appointed Stephen Sykes as musical director to lead the band following the enforced break due to the pandemic.
The band supports the Lympstone Academy Band offering young players a platform to develop under the baton of Roger Riggs.
Graduates of the Academy Band are now members of the SW Comms Band, helping to ensure the next generation of players. (SW Comms is a Business Communications Provider).