Toddington Town Band
Encyclopedia
Toddington
Town Band, is an English brass band
with over one hundred and fifty years of history.http://blars.adlibsoft.com/wwwopac.exe?&DATABASE=catalo%3Eitems&LANGUAGE=0&DEBUG=0&BRIEFADAPL=../web/adapls/wwwbr1ef&DETAILADAPL=../web/adapls/wwwreq&GC=Z50/142/249&LIMIT=0 The band has won many prizes and competitions over the years and has remained active in public performance and tuitions.
. When James Hyde passed on, his son Dennis took on the leadership post and led the band for the rest of his life.
Dennis passed away in 1982 after a his notable tenure as leader of the Toddington Town Band.
There was then a five year interval before the formation of the current Toddington Town Band. In 1984, Beryl Hyde approached Derek Tiller, a former member, to reform the band, Derek took up the baton and along with players from Ampthill and Sandy bands, joined the existing players at Toddington to make music as a social band. Derek joined Toddington Town Band on VE day
(8th May 1945) when the band was known as the Toddington Home Guard Band. The band rehearsed in the upstairs room of the social club on Sunday mornings. Derek Tiller moved to Yorkshire in 1986. the band continued to rehearse under the direction of their current bandmaster.
In September 1987, Beryl Hyde approached a local brass teacher Kevin Nicholls to take the band forward. Kevin formed a new Junior band and along with the existing senior band, became musical director until John Farmer took up the baton.
John Farmer then conducted the Toddington Town Band for a total of sixteen years. On John's retirement in 2009, resident Bass player, Mick Atkins, took on the post of Musical Director until November 2011.
The Toddington Town Band now plays engagements in the UK and Abroadhttp://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-Fete-du-village-les-20-21-et-22-aout-_61337-avd-20100812-58774696_actuLocale.Htm.
Toddington, Bedfordshire
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England which is situated 5 miles NNW of Luton, north of Dunstable, south west of Woburn and 35 miles NNW of London on the A5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its...
Town Band, is an English brass band
Brass band (British style)
A British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
with over one hundred and fifty years of history.http://blars.adlibsoft.com/wwwopac.exe?&DATABASE=catalo%3Eitems&LANGUAGE=0&DEBUG=0&BRIEFADAPL=../web/adapls/wwwbr1ef&DETAILADAPL=../web/adapls/wwwreq&GC=Z50/142/249&LIMIT=0 The band has won many prizes and competitions over the years and has remained active in public performance and tuitions.
History
The first reference to the Toddington Brass Band was in an 1856 issue of The Dunstable Chronicle but it wasn't until 1910 that the first reference to the Toddington Town Band appeared. Back then, Toddington Town Band was under the baton of James Hyde. Mr Hyde conducted the band for forty one years until his death in 1951. Under James' leadership, the Toddington Town Band achieved repeated competition success; including a contest win at Reading in 1937 followed by a second placing in the "Area Contest" in 1947 and then a further third place in the "Belle Vue Contest" held in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. When James Hyde passed on, his son Dennis took on the leadership post and led the band for the rest of his life.
Dennis passed away in 1982 after a his notable tenure as leader of the Toddington Town Band.
There was then a five year interval before the formation of the current Toddington Town Band. In 1984, Beryl Hyde approached Derek Tiller, a former member, to reform the band, Derek took up the baton and along with players from Ampthill and Sandy bands, joined the existing players at Toddington to make music as a social band. Derek joined Toddington Town Band on VE day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
(8th May 1945) when the band was known as the Toddington Home Guard Band. The band rehearsed in the upstairs room of the social club on Sunday mornings. Derek Tiller moved to Yorkshire in 1986. the band continued to rehearse under the direction of their current bandmaster.
In September 1987, Beryl Hyde approached a local brass teacher Kevin Nicholls to take the band forward. Kevin formed a new Junior band and along with the existing senior band, became musical director until John Farmer took up the baton.
John Farmer then conducted the Toddington Town Band for a total of sixteen years. On John's retirement in 2009, resident Bass player, Mick Atkins, took on the post of Musical Director until November 2011.
The Toddington Town Band now plays engagements in the UK and Abroadhttp://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-Fete-du-village-les-20-21-et-22-aout-_61337-avd-20100812-58774696_actuLocale.Htm.
Notable Members
The principals of the band's current line up include:- Band Secretary: Andrea Horsler
- Bandmaster: Ian M. Smith
- Principal Euphonium: Ian M. Smith
- Principal Trombones: Richard Kemp and Nick Wall
- Bass Trombone: Lynda Alderson
- Soprano Cornet: Steve Mathieson
- Principal Horn: Andrea Horsler
- Flugel Horn: Christine A. Smith
External Links
- Band Concert marks 100 years of Music - Bedfordshire on Sunday Leisure Now
- Toddington concert marks historic passing of the baton. - Luton on Sunday
- Toddington Town Band play for Treasure Hunters
- (Target in Language:French-Français fr_FR) Toddington Town Band play for the French commune of Préaux-du-Perche