Concert 5 RMC Band

Saturday 15th  October at 7.45

RMC STRIKES UP THE BAND IN YASS.

The Yass Music Club presented the Royal Military College Band from Duntroon as its final concert in the 2016 subscription series to an enthusiastic audience in the Memorial Hall on Saturday, 15th October.

As always, the Band was in great form under the direction of Captain Matthew O’Keefe and it provided a wide variety of great brass music. The RMC Band is an extraordinary group of musicians from its harmonious sounds in full Big Band mode down to the brilliant individual ensemble groups of vocalists and instrumentalists, who display an amazing variety of talents.

The show hit the road running with spirited renditions of ‘One O’Clock Jump’, ‘King Porter Stomp’ and ‘Armando’s Rumba’, thence to a torchy ‘Killing Me Softly’ from Simone Dew and on to the wonderfully moving Stephen Sondheim number, ‘Send in the Clowns’, again with Simone and Sean Henderson on the piano. They were followed by the stirring ‘Colorado Trail’ from the Band’s ace Bass player, Barnaby Briggs, accompanied by Sean and thence to a smooth version of the Gene Autry classic, ‘You are my Sunshine’, including a superb saxophone solo from Julian Fung and then back to Simone and her friends belting out a raunchy rock version of ‘Rosanna’, ‘Silk shiny stockings’ and leading up to  the soulful ‘Miss Otis Regrets’, variously performed by Simone, Megan Dodds, Natalie Dajski and Barnaby Briggs.

A lovely supper was prepared and served by the Berinba P&C and they had also provided sustenance for the Band on its arrival and as it readied for the concert.

The great music continued after interval taking us on a roller coastal ride through the martial ‘A Few Good Men’ with Rouslan Babajanov on tenor sax and Luke Greenhalgh on guitar and thence to Simone’s feisty rendition of ‘Whatever Lola Wants’ from “Damn Yankees”, the smash hit musical of the 1950s.

Special pieces such as ‘Mercy Street’, ‘All I am’ and the thoughtful rendition of the ‘Bach Prelude’ were all soulfully played and the Band continued with a bracket of ‘Shaw Nuff’, ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘Travelling Soldier’, ‘Basie Straight Ahead’ and ended with a spirited version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’. The Band also did several encore pieces to complete what had been a wonderful feast of Big Band music for a well entertained and very satisfied crowd.

In his welcome, President Peter Crisp mentioned the outstanding achievement of our Dr RAG Holmes Scholar, Sam Giddy, in coming Second in the NSW Open Organ Competition and the CD donated by Peter Crisp was won Gloria Carlos.

Details of the Music Club’s 2017 subscription series are now available and its first concert will be on Saturday, 11th February featuring David Hobson and then 29th April with Voce Stupende, the Wayne Kelly Jazz Trio on 18th June, the Acacia Quartet on 13th August and the welcome return of vibes wizard Nick Parnell on 21st  October.

Mention was also made of the Stuart & Sons Spring Concert Series at the Crisp Galleries commencing 16th October and featuring the magnificent 102 key full grand Stuart piano, which will be used throughout the Series.  Further concert dates at Crisps this year are on 30th October, 6th November, 13th November and 27th November. Full details of both series are available on our website at http://www.yassmusicclub.com.au.

Brian Millett.

 

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