Ashby Concert Band (ACB)

"Making music at the heart of the East Midlands"

ACB Forthcoming Events - 2008

26th - 31st May 2008 - The Black Forest, Germany. (Confirmed)

6th July 2008 - Chatsworth House, playing in the Rose Garden (Confirmed)

1st November 2008 - An Evening of Classic Themes, including some famous Viennese Waltzes, The Palace, Ibstock (Confirmed)

30th November 2008 - Chatsworth House, Christmas Music in the Stable Yard (Confirmed)

20th December 2008 - ACB Annual Christmas Concert - Holy Trinity Church, Ashby (Confirmed)

Ashby Concert Band (ACB) is an amateur group of skilled musicians based in the East Midlands, led by their enthusiastic Director of Music; the Band provides a forum for friendly music making.

Concerts are given periodically through the year at venues throughout the East Midlands area.

The music ranges from light classical, through 'big band', Broadway stage, film and television, to 'pop' - the Band can provide a musical Pandora's box of delights for every occasion.

To book Ashby Concert Band for your next concert, corporate, or fund raising event, contact Promotions & Advertising.

Christmas Concert Memories

ACB was pleased to welcome a capacity audience at the Annual Christmas Concert on Saturday 22nd December 2007. The concert proved to be another memorable evening of music. Many of the traditional pieces were played as usual - the audience comes expecting to hear Sleigh Ride! We also had first performances of three piece. "What's Up At The Symphony" provided a welcome break from Christmas and some great entertainment. A "Canadian Brass Christmas" was very well received by the audience - this is a superb arrangement for Concert Band, and a great joy to play. A real highlight, however, was a first performance of "Radetsky March" - performed twice! First time, just to settle the Band, Adrian Ashon the MD conducted the Band whilst a reasonably enthusiastic audience stamped their feet and clapped their hands. Second time through Adrian invited the Mayor of Ashby, Cllr. David Price, to step forward, remove his Chain of Office, and conduct the Band, whilst Adrian stood back and encouraged the audience to stamp and clap like their lives depended upon it. Cllr. Price did an excellent job, conducting the Band with enthusiasm and passion. Vienna beware!

Ashby Concert Band in Variety Music Hall Extravaganza - 13th October

ACB performed a first on 13th October with a Variety Music Hall concert at The Palace Theatre in Ibstock. It was an evening with a difference with many solo and ensemble acts by members of the Band. Click here to view a pdf file of the Programme for the evening, to see the variety of acts. Below is the Press Release/Review of the evenings entertainment:

	To the delectation and delight of a capacity audience, The Ashby Concert Band presented an evening of Old Time Variety Music Hall music and entertainment, in the candle-lit Palace Community Centre, High Street, Ibstock, last Saturday night. An appreciative audience, many suitably attired in period costume, were treated to a bill which included such variety as a selection of Cole Porter classics, ‘Stardust’, and ‘Jeanie with the light brown hair.’ Musical Hall medleys gave the audience a chance to join in with such ‘Old Time’ favourites as ‘Any Old Iron’ and ‘Lets all go down The Strand’. The Musical Director for the evening was the delightful Mr Adrian Ashton and the office of Master of Ceremonies was ably filled by the jovial Mr David McKnight. The musicians were able to demonstrate their versatility with numbers from sub-divisions of the band, under such wonderful guises as ‘The Flootin’ Floozies’ and ‘The Fruity Tooters’. With charming solo performances from vocalist Miss Josephine Baldry, a couple of highly amusing comedy monologues, and a rousing finale of ‘Down at The Old Bull and Bush’, The Palace setting, appropriately decorated for the event with fresh flowers, captured the very essence of an authentic Old Time Musical Hall.

ACB : Germany - 2008

Final plans are now being made to take the Band to Germany at the end of May. We will be travelling out on the 26th May to Lahr in the Black Forest Region. We will be playing on bandstands at Tittisee and Baden-Baden on the Tuesday and Thursday, and at Bad Krozingen on Wednesday, where we will give a formal evening concert in the Concert Hall at the Spa. On Friday we take a day off to enjoy the sights of Strasbourg before returning home to Ashby on Saturday 31st May.