Picnics and Proms with Newstead Brass

Picnics are welcome as award winning Newstead Brass focus on ‘Picnics and Proms’ as their Summer concert season continues across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

This Saturday (July 2nd), Newstead Brass play a ‘Summer Proms’ night at the Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club, starting at 7.00pm. The event is organised by the Hilltoppers Golf Society, and proceeds will support their joint appeal with Hucknall Rotary Club to purchase a state of the art Prismaflex machine for the Children’s Intensive Care Unit at Nottingham’s Queen's Medical Centre. Tickets cost £7.50 and the audience are invited to ‘bring your picnic, chairs, flags and bunting and have a great sing song.’

On Sunday July 10th, Newstead Brass will return to the ‘Picnic in the Park’ organised by the ‘Friends of Nottingham University’ in the Millennium Garden at the university from noon until 3.00 pm. As well as music by the band, the free event also includes Rocket Making, Pond Dipping and Birds of Prey demonstration.

Newstead Brass complete their Picnics and Proms, which began on June 25th with the annual ‘Picnic in the Park’ at Hayes Farm in Newstead to support the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children, with the ‘Picnic in Crossley Park’ at Ripley on Saturday July 16th. Newstead Brass will be joined by the skiffle group ‘Please Y Self’ for the annual free event which forms part of the Ripley Music Festival and will conclude with a firework display accompanied by live music from Newstead Brass.

Newstead Getting Brassed Off!

Newstead Brass are getting ‘Brassed Off’ as they join with the Mansfield Palace Community Theatre group this week for four performances of the heart-warming tale of ‘Gloria and the Grimley Colliery Band’. The play has been adapted by Paul Allen from the famous film screenplay by Mark Herman.

The story is one the Newstead band can well relate to after they were forced to relocate from Hucknall to Newstead in 1988 following closure of local collieries and associated miners welfares. Many of the band’s players also took part in the professional national tour of ‘Brassed Off’ in 1999.

A band spokesman commented, “Newstead Brass are always keen to work with local community groups and this looks like being a great production which will hopefully introduce the band to new audiences.”

Performances take place at the Mansfield Palace Theatre (Leeming Street, NG18 1NG) from Thursday 9th to Saturday 11th June at 7.30 pm each evening with a 2.30 pm matinee on Saturday. Tickets cost £6.50 each and can be obtained by calling 01623 633133 or www.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre.

Brass Premiere for Byron Festival

Newstead Brass are set to give the premiere of ‘A Nottinghamshire Suite’ as part of a concert for the International Byron Festival in Hucknall tonight (June 4th).

The piece has been composed by band member Andrew Stevenson and depicts ‘Sherwood Forest’, ‘War of the Roses’ and ‘Newstead Abbey’.

A band spokesman commented, “The Byron Festival seems a very apt opportunity to premiere Andrew’s first extended work for the band, particularly as Newstead Abbey was Byron’s family home."

The concert is being held in the Lovelace Theatre within the John Godber Centre on Ogle Street in Hucknall, commencing at 7.30 pm and tickets cost £5 each.

The concert comes at a busy time for Newstead Brass, which was recently placed fifth in the ‘All England Masters International Brass Band Championships’. Next week (June 9th to 11th) the band will appear with Mansfield Community Theatre in ‘Brassed Off’ at the Mansfield Palace Theatre. Performances take place at 7.30 pm each evening with a matinee on Saturday afternoon. Contact the box office on 01623 633133 for ticket details.