Page 61 - Phonebox Magazine August 2011

OLNEY BRASS: Inaugural Concert 15th July 2011
There is something really special about a Brass Band don’t you think? The sight of the gleaming instruments all shapes and sizes. The puffed out faces and smart uniforms of
the players - all shapes and sizes. And the history and heritage packed into every beautiful note. Now, for the first time since the 1930’s, Olney has its own Brass Band again and it’s very first concert was held at the Carlton House Club on the 15th July.
At the concert, Ed Keeley, Musical Director of Olney Brass, recalled the headline for the Northampton & County Independent of 1934: Unwanted band instruments piled on a dustcart! The newspaper continued ‘Olney Silver Band, once the pride of the town, today dejectedly piled their instruments onto the dustcart’. The instruments were, apparently, stored in The Carlton House Club for many years. Well now the town has a band once again of which we can be very proud.
Musical Director – Major Ed Keeley (Retd).
Ed Keeley came to Olney Brass, steeped in musical experience, gleaned from a
distinguished 28 year career in the British Army. In May 1997 Ed was appointed as
Director of Music to the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas and in 1999, he was
appointed Director of Music of the Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers. With the
Engineers, he toured South Korea, Cyprus, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and many parts of Europe.
The concert heard from both Olney Brass, and the very important Olney Brass Development Band, the future lifeline of Olney Brass. It was a hugely enjoyable evening with beautiful music and we look forward to the band being a regular feature in the town.
Olney Brass was formerly Stantonbury Brass, the senior brass ensemble within Milton Keynes Music Service (MKMS). It was formed in 1974 and continued as Stantonbury Brass until 2011, when, due to cuts in funding, MKMS was unable to sustain its support for Stantonbury Brass.
Stantonbury Brass had a strong link to Olney, as 12 of the original band lived in or around the town and several of the band today, including some founder members, come from Olney. Stantonbury Brass held regular concerts in and around Olney and could be seen at many local fetes and, of course, Dickens of a Christmas and Cherry Fair.
And so Olney Brass became a brass band in its own right, gaining charitable status in 2011. It is both an entertainment and competition band competing at 2nd section level at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.
Tony Moroney, Chair, said at the inaugural concert: ‘I have to give very special thanks to everyone involved with Olney Town Council, whose unanimous support for the idea of a new Olney band was invaluable, indeed without it we would not be here this evening! A special thanks also to Richard and Viv - our hosts this evening - for donating the use of this wonderful venue’.
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Phonebox Magazine 61