A Reunion with Remiremont Band

07 Sep 2017

Enderby Bands enjoy a weekend of international music making.

Enderby Band has recently had the pleasure of hosting Brass Band de Remiremont (France) for a weekend of international music making.
Remiremont is a small town in the Vosges region of France and the ambition of their Musical Director, Pierre-Marie Budelot is to create a British style Brass Band within the town. The result is an all age community band of around 25 players. In fact the oldest member of the band celebrated his 84th birthday during the visit, whilst the youngest player in the band is aged nine.

The central event of the weekend was a massed band event involving Remiremont band themselves, and a mixture of around 35 players from three of the Enderby Band Organisation’s bands (Senior, Youth and Concert bands).
The afternoon was spent rehearsing five previously unseen pieces, with the conducting duties being shared between Pierre-Marie Budelot, Simon Oates, Trevor Hounsome and Stewart Osgood. This was an ideal way for the players to mix and chat together as they rehearsed the pieces in a bilingual environmment.
After a buffet tea, and time spent at the bar, the evening concert was opened to the public. A packed and appreciative audience enjoyed solo spots from a composite Enderby Band, Remiremont Band, and of course the massed band finale pieces that had been rehearsed during the afternoon.

During the rest of the weekend, Remiremont shared the Sunday bandstand concert at Melton Park with Enderby and performed on the bandstand at Stratford upon Avon. They also fitted in sightseeing trips to Leicester, Bradgate Park, and spent a day in London on their way home.

Enderby Band are now hoping to continue the friendship with a return visit to Remiremont in 2018.