Kettle Bridge Concertinas

 

Sue uses the rule of thumb to check that John's pint is the correct temperature.

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Report by Fiona.

Arrival

After weeks of preparation, having received a music pack, notes and mp3 files in advance, and with the tunes constantly playing in my head, the West Country Concertina Players Spring residential weekend was finally here!!!

Sue, Sandy and I arrived at Kilve Court, Somerset at 4 p.m. (and not a moment before) to be greeted by several eager members of WCCP ready to assist. I was immediately shown to my own room which was simply lovely and ideal for some quiet time (not that you spend much time in your room). We then helped ourselves to tea and coffee and met up with everyone as they arrived. One of the nicest things of the whole weekend was meeting and talking to fellow concertina players, in the warmest, most welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

The Band

With the full-on Programme studied and highlighted, we made our way to the Tune Room where, as members of the band with tutor Claire Wren, we would spend most of our time. This was ready laid out with numbered chairs corresponding to the numbers on the sheets from our music pack, a conductor's chair/stand and a whiteboard. We were asked to place our music stands at our first designated position but then to leave them as they stood and just move ourselves for subsequent pieces as needed. This did cause some fuss in the intervals as we played musical chairs — lacking the music.

Our tunes for the weekend were Swing Low, Trumpet Tune, Portsmouth Chimes, All in the April Evening, The Attic Rag and a bonus tune which turned out to be Claire's own C-Scape. Fellow KBC players Sally and John were also in the Band, with Liz choosing to spend this weekend in the English Workshop being led by tutor Alex Wade. As a keen band player, the time spent here was immensely enjoyable. We learnt some theory including syncopation and articulation, but it was the practice of playing together which I got the most from personally — listening to others, watching the conductor, adapting your play for certain tunes which for me included some cross-fingering.

Other Classes

For our spare session I joined the English Workshop and played a tune from Piping Hot a selection of bagpipe music. We learned about using the bellows to breathe in the best place, and adding trills to a note to enhance the tune. This was a very brief but fun session and it was good to play with others and gain knowledge from another tutor.

In the Ceilidh Band I chose to play the tunes which on reflection was a mistake as I had not practiced them beforehand (despite them being in the pack, I discovered) and we were led to play them quite fast. However we did have a laugh attempting them with Duets tutor Michael Herbert, and I did persevere and learn to play the odd bar and keep going.

A highlight of the weekend was the Saturday evening tutors' concert where we were all in awe of the talent of our tutors when they entertained us with their chosen pieces, played with such energy and skill. The ceilidh followed and a couple members of KBC chose to dance and from the laughter which ensued they obviously had a lot of fun. I was busy trying to keep up with the tune, but smiling of course!

The Showcase Concert

The end of formal proceedings was the Sunday afternoon Showcase with each group presenting their pieces from the weekend. Our Band performed Trumpet Tune, The Attic Rag and Portsmouth Chimes, and, as is always the case, a few nerves kicked in but under Claire's watchful eye and reassuring demeanour we played well and I feel that we demonstrated tremendous progress as a result of her expert tuition. As a finale, all the groups joined in with a rendition of Swing Low, a relevant choice after the weekend's sporting results.

It is also worth saying that, listening to the English, Anglo and Duet groups, we were amazed at how much everyone had accomplished and the polished finish to pieces over such a seemingly short space of time. We were also delighted to hear some brilliant singing parts which showcased talents other than the concertina amongst their players. I feel we can all be proud of our Concertina playing and achievements over the weekend.

Other Activities

In addition to all of the above, I received some excellent guidance on Bellow Care from repairer Dave Elliott, invested in Alex Wade's Absolute Beginner book and CD from Barleycorn for my daughter who has since started playing, and discussed recorder ensemble music (another passion of mine) with some fellow players which I've since bought.

As one of a small group to stay over on the Sunday evening, we took time to unwind with an afternoon stroll to the beach after the showcase. We enjoyed the lovely weather and it was nice chatting with, amongst others, members of SqueezEast Concertinas on their forthcoming events and playing as a group. After dinner we continued the trend of a bar session albeit a lot smaller, where, with Paul Hardy in attendance, we concentrated on a lot of tunes from his Tune Book, including the bonus of a bagpipe to the mix, courtesy of an Australian attendee. This was a lovely finish to the best weekend you could imagine.

Conclusion

That just leaves me to thank the organisation committee for their time, Martin and the staff at Kilve for the meals, bar work and house keeping, and Sue for driving us and coordinating the Sunday night stay.

I highly recommend it to any Concertina players out there. As you can see I would happily chat about it for hours — it just can't be beaten and I am looking forward to next year already...........17-19 March 2017. ☺