The Band of the Island of Jersey is currently without a bandmaster and is seeking a replacement as a matter of urgency.
The last Bandmaster, Nick Manning, has had to stand down for personal reasons, and although he is still in the band, the "head" position is now open. Nick took over the position five years ago to "fill the gap". He will be a hard act to follow. For the time being the Deputy Bandmaster, Chris le Maistre, holds the musical reigns. It is he that now conducts the band and runs rehearsals.
The Band is now actively searching for a new Bandmaster who will be the musical director of this well established group. The responsibility for whoever takes over the "Jersey Band" is a large one. Over 45 musicians and regular audiences require a high standard to be maintained of this internationally renowned brass band. The Band is not one to rest on past achievements.
The Band of the Island of Jersey is Jersey's musical ambassador, an ammeture, non profit making organisation that provides uniforms and instruments at no cost to members. Our age ranges from 12 to 80 plus, men and women. Further information is available on our web site at http://www.bioj.demon.co.uk.
Should anyone be interested in this position or any other within the band (we are always looking for new members), please contact the secretary, Liz le Moeligou on 744366.
THE wind of change is blowing loud and clear through the Band of the Island of Jersey with the arrival of its first-ever female members. Emma Wilton and Gillian Noble represent a historic break in the brass band's 122 year past. During that time it only ever accepted male members, but two weeks ago decided to open its doors to the fairer sex because of the approaching millenniun.
The change of stance is music to the ears of Ms Noble, a tenor horn player. Ms Noble, who will join her is 16 year old bandsman son Ryan for performances, said: "It is a top notch band and everyone has been smashing." A staff nurse who has played for the Marple Brass Band from the Cheshire village, she said she could understand why the band persisted for so long as a male-only organisation.
'But there is only one constant in life and that is change. And there is a wealth of talent out there - much of which is female,' she added.
Le Rocquier pupil Emma Wilton is also keen to trumpet the band's change of tack. The cornet player, who has performed with the Le Rocquier Big Band and Concert Band, said: "I have always wanted to play with the Band of the Island of Jersey. I feel like I count as one of the band already".
Band spokesman Keith Barry said he was not in the least bit surprised that women were coming forward to join up.
It is likely that both the two new recruits will perform with the band at Howard Davis Park this evening.
(N.B. Both new members did play in the concert that evening)
The Band of the Island of Jersey played to capacity crowds at the
Birmingham International Tattoo at the weekend - entertaining audiences of 10,000 on two
successive nights. Also taking part were the Band of the Grenadier Guards, the
Hungarian National Guard Band and the Band of the Royal Swedish Navy. It was the second
occasion in which the Island Band had taken part in the Birmingham Tattoo. It was invited
back this year after its first appearance in 1995. A total of 50 members of the band,
spanning the ages of ten to 78, took part in the tat- too. Mr Berry said that it had been
a great experience for the members. - 'This has put Jersey on the map for many people,' he
said, 'and as a result of the performance, some new offers of overseas engagements were
discussed, which may happen over the next two years.' High-points on both nights were the
individual performance, and the 'spectacular' Christmas finale to the three- hour show.
'During the finale, he said, the arena was filled with all the performers, including the
Band of the Grenadiers, the Hungarian band, a 1,000- voice choir and ourselves.' A fanfare
team from the Grenadier Guards Band, along with the Jersey band and the West
Midlands Combined Services Band, opened the performances with the parade of standards of
the Royal British Legion. This was followed by many different acts, including performances
from the Honda Imps motor cycle display team (which hope to visit Jersey next year), and
the fire service section of the Combined Services Band, which played in this year's Battle
of Flowers.
The 11-month-old son of Peter Durham-Waite, drum major of the Band of
the Island of Jersey, has already clutched the band's mace in' his small hand. if the
band's traditions are anything to go by, he, his sons and his grandsons will one day wear
the band's uniform with pride and march out to represent their Island, just as his father
will next'
The Band of the Island of Jersey originated in 1872, when they were known as the Societe
de 1'Avenir. In 1907 they changed their name to the Jersey Musical Union, a military-style
band with a corps of drums, and when in 1962 they dropped the woodwind and became a pure
brass band, they retained the drum corps.
The youngest and oldest marching bandsmen are ten and 78 years old, and the oldest
uniformed bandsman is 86 and still plays in concerts. Next month the Band of the Island of
Jersey will appear at the Birmingham Tattoo and will present a
ten-minute display of marching and playing which will be similar; to the
routine they per- formed for the Festival of Remembrance at Fort Regent on 8; November -
although in Birmingham they will have ten times as much space in which to do it.
Under the leadership of Band- master Nick Manning and Drum Major Peter Durham-Waite, they
will take part in the presentation of the standards at the beginning of the tattoo and
will play the national anthems of all the countries taking part.
Among the other bands at the Tattoo will be the Band of the West Midlands Fire Service,
who have played at the Battle of Flowers, arid the West Midlands Police Band, bands from
Sweden and Hungary, and the Grenadier Guards. There will also be a massed UK youth band
and a 1,000-voice choir.
An audience of 10,000 is expected on each of two nights, 6 and 7 December, at Birmingham's
National Indoor Arena, home to TV programme The Gladiators. It is a daunting prospect for
the band's youngest members, something for which they have all been -rehearsing for the
last two months.
There are 52 bandsmen in uniform, 15 of school age, and when they travel abroad they all
stick together, the older men keeping an eye on the younger ones, with a good selection of
grandfathers, sons and grandsons, brothers and cousins: among the bandsmen. Deputy
bandmaster Chris Le Maistre's sons are the fourth generation of their family to join the
band. The band recently took in seven, members aged between ten and 18 and they are still
in urgent need of kit drummer and bass drummer, as they tend to lose their bandsmen when
they go off to university or join the forces. 'The young lads are treated as bandsmen and
not boys, and they take a great pride in their appearance and work hard on their music,'
said Nick Manning. He started playing the comet at La Pouquelaye School and progressed to
St Helier Boys School, as it was then. He joined the BIOJ as third comet in 1973 at the
age of 12. 'We are amateur musicians and apart from those of retirement age, we all have
full-time jobs or are at school.' The standard of musicianship and display marching in the
band is impressively high and young bandsmen have gone on to careers in the Marine Corps
and RAF bands.
The bandsmen pay no fees and no subs, their instruments and uniforms are supplied at a
cost of hundreds of pounds per bandsman and yet all the funding is found from paid
performances and fund-raising by their associate members. All the money earned goes
towards the maintenance of the band, new musical instruments and instruments for learners.
The band members supply their own black shoes, white shirts and travelling expenses. They
attend at least two practices a week and dozens of drill and marching sessions during the
course of year. The band costs about £15,000 a year to run and yet they still manage to
put on three charity events a year of their own, through which they have raised £25,000
in the last ten years.
They have represented the Island at such events as the opening of the Island Games, the
Battle of Flowers, the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, and members of the
public and companies can hire their services for such events as conferences and weddings.
They play in town marches and in the Royal Square and fit in about 25 engagements between
May and September. They have a fanfare played by eight members of the comet section who
played at the handing over of the Elizabeth and Gorey Castles to the people of Jersey. One
of their frequent trips to France was for the start of the Starmanche yacht race, which
involved the bandsmen in a long hard day of marching and playing, including a long uphill
march to the parade ground while the visiting French band took a coach to the top. 'We
have received some subsidies and grants, including one from Tourism for new uniforms some
years ago and from the TSB Foundation more recently, for which we are very grateful,' said
Mr Manning. 'Tourism are also covering the travel costs for our trip to Birmingham.'
Recently £2,000 was spent to buy a euphonium case, a cornet and a tenor horn - money
doesn't go far in terms of musical instruments and expensive uniforms for growing lads.
The Band of the Island of Jersey was formed in 1876 as the Society de L'Avenier. This continued to just before the Second World War when it changed to the L'union Musicale, or more commonly known as the Jersey Musical Union. At the outbreak of the second World War, when the island was occupied by the Germans the band was dissolved due to many of its members joining the armed forces. The bandmaster, Nick Manning, said that the Band was reformed in early 1950 as a military style band with about 35 members from the island. A lot of the members then purchased their own instruments. Shortly after this time the band changed its style to a Brass only band, using the present name of the Band of the Island of Jersey.
Nick said that the band again changed in style by including a drum corps to make it a marching brass band. This enabled it to take part in many island functions including the Battle of Flowers as well as contests in the UK and performances in France. One of the problems encountered in France with the original petrol grey uniforms was the resemblance to the German style that on one occasion caused mistaken hostility from the locals. The design and colour of the uniform was changed shortly afterwards to Navy blue with red highlights and a distinctive Jersey flash. Nick said that next year we will be replacing all uniforms (that are now ten years old) at a cost of about £12,000 and there is a rolling program of instrument replacement at a total cost of £70,000 for the whole band. This has caused some considerable problems in fund-raising as the band is self funding out of performances and the work of the Associate Members.
Band Master, Nick Manning, said the youngest band member is 12 and the oldest performer is 86. Nicks' ambition is to see the band built up to 80 members. Our main concern is that we require a bass drum player as a matter of urgency.
Last year the Band was asked to perform at the Birmingham International Tattoo alongside the Red Army band, the US Airforce Band and HM Royal Marines amongst others for an estimated audience of 20,000 over two nights. We were able to attend this event with the kind help of Jersey Tourism. The Band has now been asked to return to Birmingham in December 1997.
President Serge le Moeuglou
Band Master Nick Manning
Deputy Band Master Chris le Maistre
Drum Major Peter Durham Waite
Treasurer Glenn Beardshall
Associate Members President Cliff Manning
Members: 52 uniform members.
Brass Monday and Thursday 20:00 to 21:30 at the Band Room, Rue Crevecoeur, Grouville (01534) 857769.
Drum Corps Sunday 10:30 and Wednesday 20:00 at the Band Room.
French day trips, annual dinner and other events.
Instruments, uniform and training supplied free.
No subscriptions ,but associate fee £2 per year.
The highlight of the Birmingham international Tattoo was, for Drum Major Peter Durham-Waite, the moment when the Band of the Island of jersey left the arena playing the Liberators march.
"The audience's response was fantastic, " he said, on his return to the island, "I couldn“t begin to explain the emotion. It was a privilage to play in front of 20,000 people, and both nights were incredible."
"That, and our involvement with the Liberation celebrations must be the highlight of the year. As Norman Rogerson the producer said, afterwards, "it left a very good taste"."
“A very good taste“ is how Tourism president Senator Dick Shenton might have phrased it on Saturday night, when he was at the Tattoo as one of the guests of Counciller David Roy, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.
For in a letter to the JEP after that 28 October performance, he pointed out thet the band had received as much acclaim as the Band of the United States Air Forces in Europe, and the Russian Army Central Band (The Red Army Band).
"But what on earth..." any ordinary member of the public might ask, were the ameteur musicians from Jersey doing at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, in the first place?
The ten-minute programme which the band put together, included Glorious Victory, The Great Escape, Maranatha and the Liberators Marchfinale, were included in the four hour extravaganza because this was the 50th year since the end of the Occupation of Jersey, and more importantly, because of the reputation the band has enjoyed in its long and distinguished history.
Indeed, as long ago as 1872 the band, than known as the Society de L“Avenir, was making music, although it was only in 1907 that they changed their name to the Jersey Musical Union and became effectively a military-style marching band to include a drum corps. Suitably uniformed, it was soon in demand in both France and Jersey.
So, by 1988, when Peter Durham-Waite became drum Major and took over training of the drum corps, the Band of the Island of Jersey had already established a reputation for its musical acumen and for its regular concerts at the Howard Davis Park.
A pure brass and drum band since 1962, when it was decided to drop all woodwind instruments, the current bandmaster is Nick Manning, who rose through the ranks from cornet player to deputy bandmaster in 1991 and then bandmaster in 1993.
His collaberation with Durham-Waite means that on Mondays and Thursdays the concert band practices, whil Wednesday evening and Sunday mornings are reserved for the drum corps.
"What helped to persuade the organisers to invite us to Birminham were the people who knew us and had seen us play," added Mr. Durham-Waite, "people like Norman Rogerson, who was director of the Black Watch Band and had been over to Jersey with them in the past".
"We have ex Jersey bandsman John Connor to thank, too, for he now lives in Birminghamand suggested we might go over".
"We were delighted to be asked and may return to the Tattoo in 1987".
If the band does go back, to join the likes of the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines it would be hoped that most of the current crop of the current crop of 40-plus band members pack their instruments to go on the Thursday night, work their fingers (or lungs!) to the bone on the Friday, during an intense day of rehersals, and then return again after the Suday night, tired but happy.
With the youngest band member, Craig Bizouarn, not yet in his teens, he would seem a certainty for 1997.
As for Nick Manning, he too should be there, for at 34 years of age he is the youngest bandmasterand director of music the Band of the Island of jersey has ever known.
Please note that the Band also played the standards on at the beginning of the night
and took part in the massed bands finale with the choir, thribute to the forties and the
closing ceremony.
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This page was edited under WebEdit, 11 December 1995
Most recent revision 13 December 2003