Congratulations to Big Band

Posted on 8 March 2009

The Lancaster University Big Band took part in the Great Northern Big Band Festival at Sunderland University on Sunday 8th March 2009. They faced stiff competition from university, music colleges and professional big bands. Despite this they triumphed, winning an adjudicators award for best ensemble performance with 'Stormy Monday' which featured vocalist Beth Evans.

This big band competition is considered to be one of the biggest in the UK, and to achieve what they have is nothing short of brilliant. It is important to note that the membership of the band is diverse, with members coming from a variety of departments across the University; this is in contrast to other bands there that were entirely made up of music performance undergraduates and postgraduates.

The band members include:

Saxes: Penny Cowell, Hannah Ogden, Sian Williams, Laura Dady, Anna Pickton, Chad Barrigan, Kate Telford, Hannah Russell

Trumpets: John Berry, Jenni Hughes, Lyndsey Walker, James Fialho, Lauren Evans

Trombones: Ole Hunt, Rick Hall, Hannah Dale, Max Stannard

Rhythm: Josh Hustwick, Mike Ciaputa, Thomas Wojtulewicz, Alex Phillips, Tom Killoran

Vocalists: Beth Evans, Lucy Rowan, Andrew Barraclough

Conductors: Phil Allcock, Mike Turner

Judges also commented on the quality of Josh Hustwick's drumming, the accuracy of sectional passages, the quality of the solos, and the exciting performance the band gave as a whole. The adjudicators for the day were Paul Jones and Mick Donelly who are both top UK jazz musicians, having performed with famous artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sting, and Ben E. King as well as more mainstream jazz groups such as with Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., and the BBC Big Band.