Last week I went with my pal Jill Jamieson to a rehearsal of Rhyl Silver Band (pictured above at Drift Park in 2008). The band is steeped in history. It began in 1877 as The Rhyl Town Band and has been based at its present address, in an alley between Windsor Street and Kinmel Street, since 1939. These days at least half the players are women.
At the rehearsal we heard a stirring march, Faure’s ‘Pavane’ and the 16th century Christmas carol ‘Gaudete’. The music director/conductor Milne Robinson has been in post since July this year. He was taught to play cornet at the age of five by his father and has worked with Salvation Army bands, and brass and silver bands, in North West England and North Wales ever since.
Milne’s wealth of experience, attention to detail and insistence on quality notes bode well for a rise in standards, and the future looks promising. As 2nd cornet Martin Moyse says, “It’s like a football team. You have a run of good years, then a run of not-so-good years, and then you bounce back.”
Rhyl Silver Band welcomes new junior and senior members and has its own social club which is open six nights a week. Please click here to visit the band's web site:
http://www.rhylsilverband.co.uk/
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THU 3rd MAY 2018 UPDATE: Rhyl Silver Band has released a CD titled Jubilation. The catalogue number is RSB1.
Click on the track list to see it more clearly.
The CD is available from Amazon and via eBay. Proceeds go to the band.