The band have had an extremely good 'contest season', and have finished it ranked 30th in the world! To round off our season, on Saturday we made the very early trip to Durham to participate in the Miners Gala. The band were very much appreciated by the residents of New Herrington and we will hopefully be returning up there next year. Today, another early start was needed as we were recording for the BBC at 8:30am. There were a few sore heads after yesterdays antics, and even a broken cornet but the band sounded well. The band then rushed over to Marsden Park (special well done to Luci, who had to be there to conduct Junior Band in 20 minutes!) for the centenary. The weather held up for us, and a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all. We are now off for 5 weeks and the first rehearsal back is Monday 20th August. Have a good summer!

After winning the Senior Cup in 2009, the band decided to purchase some Polo shirts with the logo and 'Senior Cup Winners 2009' on. We have decided to do this again, but without the writing on and just the logo. In addition to the Polo shirts, we are purchasing Hoodies, Fleeces and Caps. These products will be available to anyone, members of the band, ex-players, supporters, supporters parents and partners, Concert Band members and supporters, and even Junior and Beginner bands. If you would be interested in one of these items, please e-mail: band.manager@marsden-band.co.uk We'll look forward to seeing you in a Marsden Polo!

Last night, three bands from the Colne Valley took part in a concert at St James' Church, Slaithwaite. Linthwaite and Slaithwaite bands did the first half, and Marsden band played in the second. Marsden played music ranging from Morten Lauridsen to John Williams, and from Sir William Walton to Edward Elgar. MD Glyn Williams was fantastic on the mic and his compering was second to none. Well done Glyn and band!

We are pleased to announce some new signings to the band. However, this comes at a cost as Bb Bass player Drew Goodier is leaving for pastures new. We are sad to see him go after 6 years of service. Goodbye Drew! On a brighter note, we'd like to welcome Bb Bass players Gavin 'Hagrid' Brown and Marcus Jones to the section. Gavin rejoins the band after time away, as Marcus joins from VbS Poynton. We hope they have a long and successful period with the band! We'd also like to welcome Erin Gilmour to the Percussion team. Erin is a student at the RNCM and is an asset to the band.

Whit Friday was the start of the band's march contest season, and on the march 'Knight Templar' we won 3rd place overall, beating bands such as Hepworth, Rothwell Temperance and Grimethorpe Colliery. Although we didn't win a contest outright, we were consistent all night, being placed with 2nds, 3rds and 4ths throughout Saddleworth. Solo Euphonium Emily Braverman even picked up the 'Best Euphonium' award in Delph, beating the Euphonium players from Black Dyke and Brighouse. 2 weeks later was the Hebden Bridge and Morley March and Hymn Tune contests. The band decided to use the same march 'Knight Templar' and we used the hymn 'Love Unknown'. The band picked up a 2nd place at Morley, and won overall, best hymn, best road march and best march at Hebden Bridge. Not a bad day out for the band! 2 weeks after that on the 1st of July, the band made the trip to Brighouse. After a sterling performance of Love Unknown and Knight Templar, the band won overall, the best hymn, best march, Dale Garner won the best Soprano prize and our Trombone section won the Best Trombones. Well done band!

The Band has had a very busy first 6 months of the year. This began with Butlins Mineworkers Contest at the end of January. We were placed 5th on the test piece, but the Entertainment contest proved not to be our day, where we were placed 11th. The Band got placed 9th overall. Next came the stern challenge of the Devil at the Yorkshire Area contest, where we were placed a creditable 8th against a field of bands including Black Dyke, Brighouse and Rastrick, and Grimethorpe. The Grand Shield was next in the middle of May. The test piece was the devilishly tricky 'On The Shoulders Of Giants' from the pen of Peter Graham, used for the 2010 British Open contest. The band were placed 7th on the day, which is a very good result after only being promoted the year before. Following this (by a day!) was the Great Northern Brass Arts Festival at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. The band opened the festival and received lots of positive feedback from organisers and audience alike. Two weeks later was the All-England International Masters Championships. After gaining a 3rd place last year, we managed to repeat last years success, necoming the highest placed English band in the competition, behind reigning champions Tredegar (Wales) and Brass Band Buizingen (Belgium). The band were very pleased with the result. The band have performed a variety of Jubilee concerts, from Marsden Park to St James' Church, Slaithwaite. These have turned out to be very successful. We also performed at Armed Forces Day in Greenhead Park, Huddersfield. The organiser was very impressed with the band, and has already booked the band for next years Armed Forces Day!