6th April 2024

 "A Spin Through the Classics" Concert

Rayleigh Brass are probably best known for their lighter themed concerts, but on Saturday we dipped our toes into the daunting world of the classics. An audience pleasing performance featured well known and lesser known pieces from the band’s classical repertoire. 

We were also delighted to bring the latest word in brass band technology to the Mill Arts and Events Centre, Rayleigh in the form of Chris Bearman’s ‘iBand’.

If you missed the concert, don’t panic! You can see an amended performance at Highlands Methodist Church, Leigh-on-Sea on 11th May.

Set List

Shostakovitch - Festive Overture / Shostakovitch - Romance from Gadfly / Herold - Clog Dance. La Fille mal Gardee / Bizet - Deep Inside the Sacred Temple / Bizet - Carmen Fantasy / Morricone - The Mission / Saint-Saens - French Military March

interval

Shostakovitch - A Spin Through Moscow / Vaughan Williams - English Folk Songs - March - Folk Songs from Somerset / Vaughan Williams - Prelude '49th Parallel' / Shostakovitch - The Second Waltz from "Jazz Suite No.2" / Masagni - Cavalleria Rusticana –Easter Hymn / Traditional - Simple Gifts / Time to Say Goodbye - Con Te Partiro / iBand

encore(s)

Radetsky March

Please see our engagements page for details of future concerts.

Join Rayleigh Brass!

We have vacancies for front and back row cornets, tenor horn, Bb or Eb bass.

• Did you learn a brass instrument at school, but have never experienced the joy of playing in a brass band?

• Maybe you played years ago, and are interested in a return to brass banding in a relaxed and fun environment.

• Perhaps you currently play in a contesting band, and are becoming tired of the pressure and test pieces.

We are a friendly and inclusive band who aim to play a varied programme to a high standard whilst maintaining a fun and family friendly atmosphere. See our previous concerts page for examples of our repertoire, and contact us if you would like to attend a rehearsal.

“I really liked the eclectic mix of pieces”. 

“What a great night at the Mill Hall tonight. We really enjoyed it. “

“Thoroughly enjoyed it. And especially being back in the Mill Hall again too”

“Was a fabulous concert tonight. All the solo players were brilliant. Bring on the next concert”

The band has been established in South Essex for over one hundred years and at the moment has almost full membership. We play a varied programme to a high standard and have a reputation for a progressive and changing repertoire of music. We play mainly concerts but also perform at fetes and other functions. 

The band is able to deliver high quality and entertaining concert programmes at the same time as maintaining a very friendly and inclusive atmosphere. We do not enter contests like many bands, but seek instead to broaden the appeal of the band beyond the traditional brass band image, playing a wide and challenging repertoire, at the same time trying to relate to our audience.

Rayleigh Brass acknowledges its role in the community, and has raised funds in the past for BBC Children in Need and local charities, and is always willing to consider appearing at charity fund-raising events. In the weeks preceding Christmas the band fields several groups each day at locations throughout southern Essex, playing carols for shoppers and at social functions in order to raise funds to donate to local charities.

Further from home, the band has played on several occasions in Ypres, Belgium, culminating in a moving experience for the band and audience when they performed at the remembrance service at the famous Menin Gate - the monument to the many thousands who lost their lives in the First World War at Flanders Fields.

We rehearse  on  a Thursday evening at Battlesbridge Free Church. Please contact Kevin Hall on 01245 323441 or info@rayleighbrass.com if you are interested in joining the band or would like further information.

Watch our lockdown recordings on YouTube