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They've got the lip Feilding's brass band has been blowing its cornets, trombones and tubas for 124 years. When Jonathon Howe went to band practice, he found out just how physically and mentally demanding a brass band can be. Bruised lips, passing out from lack of oxygen and sore necks. These are the sort of afflictions you might expect a rugby player or a boxer to suffer from, but as Feilding Brass musical director Peter Ellery says, these are just some of the rigours brass band members have to endure for their love of music. "It's very physical. Playing some numbers is like running two kilometres. If you play too loudly for too long, you can pass out from the lack of air." Mr Ellery says this from experience. It has happened to him on stage several times. Nearing the end of practice, in their Council Place headquarters, the band members look fatigued. They have been playing for more than two hours. Mr Ellery lowers his baton and asks: "Have you got the lip?" The 30 attending band members answer by launching into a rousing rendition of their end-of-year concert encore."We like to keep that one secret," Mr Ellery says. Asked what he means by "the lip", Mr Ellery says you can see when players are hurting, because they start rubbing their lips. "Your lips can go numb if you play for too long. There are times when you really have to push it and the blood stops and your lips just drop. Then you're in real trouble. You wake up the next morning and your lips are bruised. Colin Trotter was a band member for 11 years before a quadruple bypass forced him to retire, but he still comes along to watch whenever he can. "They're so good that I still like to come down and listen. They had this band before there was a fire station in Feilding - that's always staggered me." British settlers established Feilding in 1874, and just eight years later the band was founded. Stern pictures of bearded former members watch over the band as they practice - a constant reminder of the band's heritage. But these days the band has a different makeup. Feilding Brass has moved with the times. Now men, women and children of all ages and from all walks of life are but of the band, but they all share the common bond of loving music. Band member of 16 years Stephen Lawton says it best, "We are one big family. It's a real family experience." Band president Richard Kirby, whose three daughters all played in the band says the secret to their success is musical director Peter Ellery. "Peter brings the professionalism to the band and the edge. They really play at a high standard." he says. Mr Ellery took over the band 25 years ago at the age of 22 - at the time, the youngest musical director in the country. His personal style involves creating what he calls a bridge between the audience and the band. "A lot of other bands just stnad there as if they are cast in stone. We like to add some sort of feature to every third number." Dance moves, out-front soloist and on-stage banter are all part of it. "One of the most memorable moments was when we did the Titanic suite. A couple of band members did a collection of video stills from the movie, while the band played the music. About a quarter of the audience were in tears. I just about lost it as well." Twenty-five years in the job has not quelled his passion. "I really enjoyed tonight's practice - it was just electrifying. They had been playing for two hours and they were knackered, but they kept going." Money has always been a problem for the band. With a baritone costing $6000, timpani $5000 and a cornet $2000, money being scarce is not surprising. However, earlier this month Feilding Brass entered into a partnership with the Manawatu District COuncil worth $18,000 over three years. We were getting $5000 before, but that was year by year, so it's good to know the money will be there. So it looks as though the future of this historic band, at least for the next three years, is secure. Feilding Brass will perform their end of year concert at 7:30pm tomorrow night at the Feilding Civic Centre. Life Member Baritone player Jack Parker, 78, can't imagine life without the Feilding Brass. A member for 66 years, Mr Parker started playing aged 11 and has never looked back. "It's the love of playing and the fellowship of the band members that keeps me coming back. My wife would probably tell you the band comes first." When Mr Parker first started playing, it was a men-only affair. "As you can see now we have a lot of females in the band and they are all good players." He still marches with the band but admits the performances wear him out. "It's starting to tell a bit as you have to play as well as march, but I'm fortunate to have been blessed with good health. I'll keep on going until I can't go." The relationship between the conductor and the band is what makes Feilding Brass so impressive, he says. "This is a fantastic band because our conductor Peter doesn't shout and yell - everyone gets a say. I can't imagine being in any other band." The above article appeared in the Manawatu Standard on Friday, November 23, 2007. Tuba star off to Rotorua In 1978, seven-year old Nigel Towers joined his two older brothers who were members of the Feilding Municipal Band. He learned to play the cornet first, moving on to tenor horn, then, as he said, "the instruments just got bigger." Last week, the tuba player was farewelled by Feilding Brass as one of their longest serving members. He is moving to Rotorua and hopes to join Rotorua Brass, but if they don't want him, he said, his brother has assured him a place in the Te Awamutu brass band. "You're dedication, attitude and outstanding musical ability has been an inspiration to many players and your presence will be very much missed by everyone at Feilding Brass," conductor Peter Ellery said in a message read by president Richard Kirby. Mr Towers will be remembered for his impersonation of Mr Bean driving a mini onto the stage at the Feilding Civi Centre and playing a battered tuba at Feilding Brass school concerts. But concert goers also enjoyed some excellent solo presentations by Mr Towers including a recent star performance when he gave a tuba rendition of Them Their Eyes. On behalf of the band, the committee made a presentation to Mr Towers in recognition of his long service, and some not-for-publication stories of band compeition trips were shared by other members. The above article appeared in the Feilding Herald Central Districts Contest 2007 Section 1 Winners
Section 2 Winners
Section 3 Winners
Champion Drum Major Dennis Maunder, Port of Napier Brass Full results:
Claire Kirby crowned Miss Earth New Zealand Claire Kirby was crowned Miss Earth New Zealand in Auckland during the weekend. Claire, a former member of both Feilding Brass, and Feilding Youth Brass, will travel to Manila, Philippines to represent New Zealand at Miss Earth 2007 contest.  Claire Kirby - Photo courtesy of Keith Birch Details of the event can be found at http://www.missworldnz.com/P2005.htm Schools' Concert 2007 The Feilding Civic Centre was filled with the sounds of excited children and lively music throughout the day on Friday. Around 1000 Year 7 and 8 students were entertained by Feilding Brass in two outstanding concerts. The concerts began with an atmospheric rendition of the Star Wars Rock Medley, enhanced by DVD footage, dry ice drifting around the stage, and blue stars whizzing about the walls courtesy of a mirror ball. As if the children needed to be worked into a greater cacophony, Carissa Davies raised them into a frenzy, clapping, stomping, and yelling to We Will Rock You; thereafter repeating their exuberant performance through such numbers as Hey Baby and the Flintstones. A simulated power failure led to the percussion section saving the day with a performance of Stars and Stripes. The combination of snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, timpani, xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, woodblock and congas made for an intriguing interpretation of this well-known Sousa march. With the intention of inspiring our young audience to take up brass, the students were introduced to the different instruments within the band through various instrument demos and a few 'feature numbers' including the cornets' brazen rendition of Mexican Holiday, and the stunning trombone trio, I Will Follow Him. We were fortunate to have the support of a group of students from Horizon Education, who, in addition to assisting with ushering and stage management, performed a routine to Crazy Frog under UV lights. Dressed in black, with only their white-gloved hands visible to the audience, the students captivated the audience with their unique choreography of this number. For the penultimate number, five fearless teachers from the attending schools, suitably attired as King, Prince, or an ugly Daughter, joined the band on stage for a narrated fairytale, interjected by musical snippets. Before concluding each concert, two lucky schools received books generously donated for the occasion by Feilding Paper Plus. The books were conveniently themed to set up the final number, Harry Potter. As hundreds of excited and thoroughly entertained students headed back to school, we hope the success of the schools' concerts will be repeated in the future.  Once Upon a Time, Feilding Brass style! Former member of Feilding Brass crowned Miss Manawatu Claire Kirby, a former member of the horn section in Feilding Brass and Feilding Youth Brass, was crowned Miss Manawatu on Saturday night. The following article appeared in the Manawatu Standard and on www.stuff.co.nz  GLOWING: Rachel Crofts, Miss Manawatu 2006, hands her successor, Claire Kirby, the winner's sash on Saturday night. ROBERT CHARLES/Manawatu Standard Tears and shock were Claire Kirby's reaction when she was named the new Miss Manawatu. Dressed in a pink evening dress, the 19-year-old trainee barista beat 27 other girls to be crowned on Saturday night at the Regent on Broadway. She called the moment, which occurred in front of about 800 people, "overwhelming". "I'm in shock, it just didn't seem real. "Even now it doesn't feel real. It feels like a dream or something. Exciting though, definitely exciting." Miss Kirby had not planned on becoming Miss Manawatu. She entered because her sister, Charlotte, was also competing. Although she beat her sibling, Claire said Charlotte was thrilled for her. "She was so excited." Claire says the moment she was announced the winner was the highlight of the whole experience - "the feeling of actually standing there, with the other finalists, and just hearing my name read out as the winner." Claire now goes to Auckland in March to compete against other regional winners for the chance to represent New Zealand at the Miss Universe pageant. She is not nervous about the pageant, although she will have to go on stage in her swimsuit, a category that was held in private for the Manawatu competition. Pageant organiser Kate Balfour said Claire did very well and called the whole night a success. "Fantastic. They (the competitors) were just fantastic, they were all shining." The girls, along with 16 teenagers competing for the Miss Teen New Zealand title, spent six weeks learning the art of competing in a beauty pageant. Mrs Balfour said the transformation into beauty queens was obvious. "They were a quiet bunch of girls and they have just grown so much." Alex Prier took out the Miss Teen New Zealand title also announced at the Regent on Saturday night. By KATIE CHAPMAN - Manawatu Standard | Monday, 9 July 2007 Results from the Feilding Festival of Bands
New tacks for bold brass Four hundred musicians from 12 brass bands invade Feilding on Sunday. Richard Mays talks to Peter Ellery from Feilding Brass about the town’s annual Festival of Bands. Oompah-pah, oom-pah is no longer “that’s how it goes”. Fourteen years ago, the long-serving musical director of Feilding Brass had a brainwave. Peter Ellery wasn’t exactly “brassed-off”, but was dissatisfied with the traditional format of brass band competitions and concerts. While the usual competitions were all very well for bettering playing standards, they often led to public concerts that lacked entertainment value. "Brass and symphonic bands would sit on stage and play to themselves. There was a need for the musicians to take a step out of their comfort zone, and engage with their audiences by making more of the performace." It was in this spirit of providing entertainment and emphasising showmanship that the annual Feilding Festival of Bands was born. The concept sees an adjudicator pick an overall winner, give gold, silver and bronze awards to recognise playing quality – and importantly, reward the most entertaining programme. There is also an award at the festicval for best soloist – which could be for an instrumentalist or a vocalist. "Quite a few bands include vocal arrangements in their performances. Programmes can include arrangements of rock, pop, jazz, swing, classical, traditional (brass band) and original numbers. There’s a huge range." On Sunday Feilding Brass is including in its repertoire a new arrangement of Mika’s current top-40 hit Grace Kelly, along with Opus #1, classic rock ‘n’ roll in Green Door, and Roberta Flack’s timeless anthem, Killing Me Softly. According to Mouthpiece, The New Zealand Brass Bands’ Association magazine, Ellery has the distinction of being the longest-serving musical director of any band in New Zealand. He has spent an astonishing 26 years at the helm of a leading C-grade band – nationally recogonised as one of the country’s most consistent and innovative. "We’re seen as a successful band that breaks the mould of how traditional brass bands typically function – that is attending formal contests as a number one priority. Instead our focus is on entertaining the community." The band’s hugely successful Last Night of the Proms in May 2006, with guest soloists Wendy Kale, Ray Woolf and champion cornet player Clyde Dixon, epitomises this gala approach. The 32-member band usually finds itself performing at between 15 and 20 community occasions every year. Earlier this year, Ellery received a Community Honours Award from Manawatu District Mayor Ian McKelvie for his long term involvement, vision drive and leadership. A member of Feilding Brass since 1971, he was appointed to his current role in 1982 aged just 21 – then the country’s youngest musical director. The band leader intends to be out in front wielding the baton next year when Feilding Brass, founded in 1883, celebrates its 125th anniversary – an event surely worth a prolonged drum roll and a rousing fanfare or two. Among its illustrious alumni are two of the Hume brothers from Evermore who are playing at Arena next week, Murray Hickman who formed the percussion group Strike and has played for the NZSO, and Graham Hickman who became musical director of the New Zealand Army Band and is now musical director of Skellerup Brass in Christchurch. For 12 years, the Feilding Festival of Bands was the only event of its kind in the country with the day-long celebration in the town’s Civic Centre continuing to attract bands from around the lower North Island. Last year, Matamata inaugurated its own Festival, and based on the Feilding format, Hastings fired up a similar gathering in March this year. Feilding Brass travelled across to the Bay for the day and duly picked up a Gold as well as the Most Entertaining Band award. On Sunday, under the well-tuned ear and performance eye of adjudicator and jazz supreme Roger Fox, it’ll be trying to win its hometown entertainment award and best all-round band against 11 other outfits. "The limit is set at 12 bands, and we regularly get 10-12 each time. We’ve always enjoyed wonderful support from the Hawkes Bay." "This year we’ve got the Hastings Citizens’ Band, Bay City Concert Band, Concord Symphonic Band – made up of players from Lindisfarne College and Hasting Girls’ High School, and the Havelock North High School Concert Band." The remaining entries include the Feilding Youth Band, Freyberg High School’s senior and junior bands, Wellington’s 7th Battalion Regiment Band, the Huntly Jazz Band and the Levin Centennial Concert Band. The playing ensembles range in size from 18-55 members, and refreshing the only rule is – no playing over the 30 minute time limit. "Any size, any instruments, songs or arrangements with the emphasis on the audience and entertainment," Ellery proclaims. Thanks to generous Creative Communities sponsorship, a little "muck" earns a lot of brass. Entry to the Feilding Festival of Bands only costs a brass razoo - $2 a head for the all-day Sunday performances that start at 11am in the Feilding Civic Centre. From the Manawatu Standard - published Friday, 15 June 2007. Inaugural Hastings Music Festival Feilding Brass traveled to Hastings on Sunday the 25th of March to participate in the first Hastings Music Festival. The festival was based on the format Feilding has used for its annual Festival in June. Ten bands from the Central North Island each took to the stage for 20-30 minutes to entertain the audience, and of course the adjudicator!  Feilding Brass performing at the Inaugural Hastings Music Festival Selwyn Holmes was the adjudicator for the festival and made many useful comments to the bands that were present. He began by commending the school bands on their outstanding efforts and high standard of playing. An appeal was made to all players to consider volunteering for a solo. Mr. Holmes sees performing solos as the only way to dramatically improve ones own playing and was surprised at the lack of solos performed during the day. Mr. Holmes noted that Feilding Brass was enjoying themselves immensely and encouraged other bands to consider smiling more! He explained that no one in the audience is going to hear the wrong, so put a smile on your face and enjoy the time on stage.  'Them Their Eyes' starting Carissa and Nigel Advice was also given to the conductors become more involved with the music. "You have your score in your head, not your head in your score!" This sound advice is a good way to remember that band members respond to a conductor that is well prepared and gives feedback throughout the actual performance of the music. The results in order of performance:
Start Date for 2007 The first rehearsal for Feilding Brass for 2007 is: Wednesday, 31st of January Dedicated Community Services Recognised from the Manawatu District Council A HOST of community achievements were recognised recently when Manawatu District Mayor, Ian McKelvie, presented Community Honours Awards to Peter Ellery, Grahame Guy and Marjorie Shannon. The annual Manawatu District Council-sponsored awards recognised the significant contributions made by the three recipients over a period of many years. Forty-nine district residents have now been honoured since the awards were introduced in 1991. Mr Ellery received the award for his long-time involvement with Feilding Brass, with the musical director-conductor’s vision, drive and leadership making the band one of the most successful in New Zealand. "The strength, calibre and reputation of the band in Manawatu and throughout New Zealand can largely be attributed to Peter’s contribution," the citation said. Mr Ellery first represented Feilding Brass at the 1971 national contest and when appointed the musical director-conductor of the band in 1982 he was, at age 21, the youngest musical director in New Zealand. He has also been actively involved in community concerts such as the prestigious Feilding Festival of Bands and the annual "Carols by Candlelight". For the full report and photo please visit the Manawatu District Council Feilding Brass would like to congratulate Peter for this fantastic achievement and look forward to a busy and challenge-filled year ahead! 2006 News Archive 2005 News Archive |
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