Off to The South tomorrow.

About a year ago Glassboro, Rowan, Evesham, NJ, and The Atlantic Brass Band played host to The Avonbank Brass Band from Evesham, UK. One of my personal highlights of 2008 was the party the two bands had at our house in Glassboro, NJ. 80+ people had a grand time talking and relaxing after a combined show at Rowan University. The keg and good food helped, though Sarah and the girls spent significant time upstairs away from the party. I think the neighbors were a little worried when a tour bus pulled up in front of the house and dropped off so many people!

Tomorrow we’ll rent a car and head south to hang a bit with Avonbank as they prepare for their “Regional” on Saturday. We’ll also head to Stonehenge, Bath, Avesbury, Bristol, and then for a couple of hours with Neville Young, trumpet player, educator, writer, and ITG friend. It should be a great weekend and a nice chance to get a way for a bit.

I’ll be sure to post some pictures and video when we return.

On the performing side, I have really enjoyed my evening home! B&R are off today. We had a rehearsal with David King on Tuesday in preparation for our April trip to Barcelona. After rehearsal I looked at the full Gala program we are playing and was stunned to see (a the conclusion of a very taxing 2-hour show) the test piece from last weekend English Heritage!!! Looks like I’ll be doing a bit more practicing the next few weeks!

Cheers,
B-