Hello

Please Introduce Yourself.

My name is Taneli, I’m the Musical Director of the White Rose Concert Band

 

What do you most enjoy about WRCB?

All of the wonderful people that make up the band.  Everyone comes to rehearsals ready to engage with the work we do on the music and to enjoy themselves whilst we do it.  Sometimes they even laugh at my jokes!!

 

Why did you get into conducting?

My stepdad was a choral & orchestral conductor so I was watching him and learning about conducting from a young age.  Despite that I predominantly studied classical music performance at University, but I realised that being a multi-instrumentalist, which I’d always hoped would be a strength, was actually more of a weakness in that context as my experience and expertise was divided across several instruments.  Conducting seemed to be an area where this varied knowledge would be more valuable so I decided to pursue it more seriously.

 

What do you think is the most important skill to have as a conductor?

There are obvious things that are important like conducting the beat correctly, reading a score well & having a good musical ear.  But personally I think the most important thing is to have opinions about music.  If you don’t have any opinions about how you want the music to sound, how can you carry out the role of conducting an ensemble to play the music?  Put simply - if you want to direct then you need a direction.  The second most important thing is probably communication, so the musicians can join in your passion for the music and understand how you want them to play.

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What type of music do you listen to?

I like a lot of variety!  I listen to wind band, brass band, classical, jazz, folk, funk, a lot of barbershop quartet music and much more.  For example my most listened to tracks on Spotify last year included a song from a Bollywood film, a Salsa band from Romania and the soundtrack from a German musical about Robin Hood, so I really do like a good variety!

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What are you interested in outside music?

I am obsessed with cricket, and one of my favourite times of the year is the Indian Premier League!!

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Our Chair

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Please introduce yourself    

Hi, I’m James, one of two ‘percussionists’ (drummers), and the band chair. 

 

What attracted you to your instrument? 

I started playing because the high school band were looking for volunteers, and no one else volunteered!  I played the kit and it just felt right.

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What do you enjoy about WRCB

I find it particularly rewarding  joining our training band rehearsals when I can.  It is valuable for building my own skills, and is great to see how well their playing and performances have developed over time.
 

Why did you choose WRCB?

I’ve been in the band coming up to 10 years - I joined WRCB because a previous conductor invited me along.

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What’s your favourite piece in the current repertoire?  

My favourite piece that we’re playing right now is Ardross Castle from Hymn of the Highlands - I like the haunting bagpipes (saxophone-bagpipes!)

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Fun Musical Fact     

As a teenager having never heard of Black Dyke brass band, I watched them in concert, and within weeks was lucky enough to play alongside them at Leeds Town Hall with the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band! 

 

 

Hello, I’m Steve, and I’m the Training Band Director

 

What Instrument Do You Play

Tuba

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Why Did You Choose WRCB

I began playing with WRCB as a dep about 30 years ago, then joined the band as a full time member, and second MD.  I still play for the Main band when needed.  I wanted to get involved again after an illness, and was offered the role in Training Band when the previous director retired.

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What Do You Enjoy Most About WRCB

Training Band enjoy a good laugh.  In fact it’s been suggested that we should be the subject of a sit com!  Our rehearsals are a great way to enjoy playing with others with a relaxed and encouraging ethos.  We also have opportunities to perform both as our own entity, and by combining with the Main Band for some of their events.

 

Favourite Piece In The Current Repertoire

Lillibulero

 

Do You Have Any Other Hobbies

Gardening, Golf and Bowls

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Are Any Other Family Members Involved With WRCB

I’m working on it, so watch this space!

 

A Fun Fact About Me

I used to teach the current WRCB Chair!

 

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Hi, I’m Simone, the second bassoon, and the band secretary

 

What attracted you to your instrument, and do you play anything else?

I had a mid life crisis, and just before turning 50, decided to learn an instrument! I was discussing which I should learn, when a complete stranger who had overheard, offered me a bassoon, and refused to accept payment for it.  So I took up bassoon, and I’m glad I did.  Learning music so late in life has meant that one instrument is enough, but I have passed that first bassoon on to a flautist in Scotland who wanted to take the grade 1 challenge.

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Why did you choose WRCB?

After I took my grade 3, my teacher suggested that playing with a group would help my progress. WRCB had a Training Band, and so I joined that.  I moved up to main band after passing grade 5.

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What do you enjoy most about WRCB?

Performance wise, I enjoy the bandstands, but for me the best concerts are the charity fundraisers, because we get to give an audience an enjoyable evening, whilst raising monies for a range of good works.  Rehearsals are hard work, but fun and relaxed, enhanced by Taneli’s terrible jokes.

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What’s your favourite piece in the current repertoire?

I’m A Believer, which is a completely new piece for this year, and I think will be a great crowd pleaser.

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Do you have any other hobbies?

I do a lot of knitting, mainly for charities, and you could say that I’m obsessed with Candy Crush….I’m on level 17,452.  I also love to read, and always have a book on the go.

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Is your family involved with WRCB

My husband sometimes helps with the bucket collection at concerts, and my dog is an unofficial mascot.

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A Fun Fact About Me

I once dated a lion tamer!

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My name is Sophie

I play clarinet in main band and oboe in training band, and I’m also a member of the committee

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What attracted you to your instrument?

I’ve been playing clarinet since I was 8 years old - I wanted to play flute really but I asked my mother what her favourite instrument was and she said clarinet, so that’s what I went with.  Years later when I told her this story she said "What? No! Saxophone is my favourite instrument!"

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Do you play anything else? 

 I do in fact now also play saxophone.  I’ve also started to learn oboe, which I play in the Training Band

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Why did you choose WRCB? 

I moved to Harrogate in the summer of 2023 and I’ve been playing with WRCB ever since.  I’ve played in lots of different concert bands and orchestras everywhere that I’ve ever lived, from Australia to Sweden.

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Do you have any other hobbies? 

I have a lot of other hobbies!  I do a lot of crafting and particularly knitting, and I’m involved in local politics.  My house is also a bit of a renovation project, so I spend a fair amount of time working on it.  I like to be busy!

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Hello, My name is Steve

 

I am one of the newest members of WRCB, having joined in October 2024.  My wife Kate and I, downsized from Walton-on-Thames, and moved to the Harrogate area.

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What attracted you to your instrument, and do you play anything else?

I play bass trombone, and I guess it’s in my blood, with a Grandfather, Great-Uncle, Uncle and cousin who played trombone in Salisbury Salvation Army Band.  As a child I was always attracted to bass lines and in secondary school no-one else played double-bass so I played it in various groups.  I used to borrow the school double-bass occasionally carrying it across the city to play in church, and particularly pantomimes.  One of my school teachers brought in an old ‘peashooter’ trombone for anyone to try, which I jumped at.  During my youth, in Church and at school, I did a lot of singing, solos, Gilbert and Sullivan and choral music, including a few times a year in Salisbury Cathedral.  I played percussion for a couple of years, when my Surrey band was without a player.

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Why did you choose WRCB?

Almost by accident.  Having moved North, into brass band territory, I was worried I might not find a suitable band, being a concert band and big band player since the 70s.  Anyway, searching online I was surprised and relieved to find there were several appropriate bands.  At the Big Blow in Ilkley in 2024, I was very pleased to reconnect with a WRCB French horn player who I played with in a band in Surrey, where I was also their Deputy MD.  At Ilkley I also met a WRCB bass/horn player who invited me to dep for him at WRCB, and he put me in touch with a big band in Harrogate which needed a bass trombone.

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What do you enjoy most about WRCB?

The atmosphere and the friendly members!  Of course there is a serious side when we concentrate on performance, but there is a lot of fun in rehearsals, kinda kept in check by Taneli, although he must admit, he is the instigator of much of it!

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What’s your favourite piece in the current repertoire?

Oh!  Far too difficult to choose, I like variety, though I would probably say “Abba” is my least!

 

Do you have any other hobbies?

Being a school teacher for nearly 40 years, playing in a big band and a concert band and being a parent down in Surrey, there was not time for a hobby.  Now, having retired, with Grandparent duties and my music activities, playing with three bands, there is still not time for other hobbies, although my wife and I volunteer to listen to readers a couple of times a week in our local primary school which is great fun.

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Is your family involved with WRCB

Not at the moment, but my daughter played clarinet and alto sax to a good standard at school, so perhaps she may take them up again when her children are a little older.

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What type of music do you listen to?

‘Alexa’ in our house is usually asked to play ‘Magic Classical’ or ‘Magic At the Musicals’, though I do listen to all sorts.  Students in class used to ask what was my favourite kind of music and my answer was, and is, that it is individual pieces which I like rather than a particular genre or composer.  This reflects my past having played concert bands and big bands since the 1970s.  I have also played in pit orchestras for about 30/40 different shows, starting at school whenever the local operatic society needed a second percussionist.

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A Fun Fact About Me

I have a memory for useless information.

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Hi, I'm Jonathan and I play 2nd Alto saxophone

 

What attracted you to your instrument, and do you play anything else?

I just love the sound it makes! It is perfect for gritty blues music and the fast rhythms of jazz.  Did you know the instrument was invented by Adolphe Sax, a Belgium instrument maker in the 1840s and designed to bridge the gap between brass and woodwind instruments?  I taught myself (hence the gaps in my playing!) when I first became a teacher many years ago and played in a school production of Grease.  I play piano a bit too and love to belt out tunes from musical theatre!

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Why did you choose WRCB?

I was looking for a community band locally.  I had played in one when I lived in Stockport and loved the camaraderie.  I’ d played in another jazz band which didn’t perform and I missed this.  WRCB perform at concerts very regularly and I love this aspect.

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What do you enjoy most about WRCB?

The people I play alongside in the Band.  The range of music we play.  The concert venues and Taneli is a great Director who makes rehearsals fun and I’m learning so much!

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What’s your favourite piece in the current repertoire?

It has to be Swing’s The Thing because it is the swing style of jazz I love to play and listen to.

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Do you have any other hobbies?

I play Padel (cross between tennis and squash), am an usher at Harrogate theatre and run a crime and thriller reading group for the U3As.

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A Fun Fact About Me

I was mistaken for the crime author Mick Herron (of Slow Horses fame) at the Old Peculier Crime Writing festival last year.  Sadly I had to say it wasn’t me.  My moment of fame lost!

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​Hi, I’m Sue, and I play Flute

 

What attracted you to your instrument, and do you play anything else?

I started learning to play the flute at secondary school, and it was largely because that was what was available!  I was fortunate in that my school had a strong musical tradition and ethos, and anyone could learn an instrument.  My Dad was a massive fan of Military Band music, and really wanted me to play a brass instrument, but I was only little (still am!) and didn’t fancy lugging a large instrument the mile to school and as a flute was available I chose that.  It was at the height of James Galway’s popular appeal, (yes, I really am that old!), and my parents were fans of his music so it was a reasonable second best!  I played during school, and was in the Brighton Youth Orchestra, but once I left school inevitably life, university, work and children rather got in the way so I rarely played for the next 40+ years.  My son learnt the flute to Grade 3, so I played a bit then to help him, but he decided that acoustic and electric guitars were much more interesting and so gave up at that point.  About 8 years ago I had an email from someone I had played with in the Youth Orchestra with a plan to have a reunion and play a concert in the south of France, where we had toured all those years ago.  If you could still play, to any standard, you were invited, so I dusted off my flute and had a few lessons as I really liked the idea.  Sadly, the reunion didn’t happen, but I realised how much I had missed playing and continued to do so.

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I also sort of play the alto sax.  I have always wanted to play the piano, and recently tried to learn.  We have a digital piano at home from when my daughter was learning, so it seemed a good idea to make use of it.  My ageing brain sadly struggles to read more than one note at once though, and I’m not familiar with the bass clef, so that really hasn’t gone very well!

 

Why did you choose WCRB?

You can blame Simone for that!  I was at a Wind Quintet weekend arranged by my flute teacher, and met Simone there.  She told me about the band, and encouraged me to join as I wasn’t playing in any group at that time.  I’m very glad she did.

 

What do you enjoy most about WCRB?

The chance to play music with other people.  I’ve always enjoyed that much more than playing alone.  And the people are just great!  I really enjoy my evenings there, even with Taneli and Max’s jokes!  I enjoy the varied music and the chance to be part of something that comes together with us all working together.

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What’s your favourite piece in the current repertoire?

Anything without lots of semiquavers.  Only joking! I generally like marches and stirring music (it must be my childhood immersed in military band music), but at the moment I think my favourite is Coldplay On Stage.

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Do you have any other hobbies?

Oh yes, I am busy with several.  I sang in choirs at school, and so returned to singing when I retired.  I sing with Otley Choral Society.  I also enjoy gardening, and have a new garden to ‘sort out’ as we moved house last Autumn.  I have a long term interest in Amateur Astronomy, and am Chair of Bradford Astronomical Society.  Organising meetings and speakers for that is quite time consuming, and not always straightforward!  And I do Pilates and Zumba regularly..

 

Is your family involved with WCRB?

My husband is a regular attender at our concerts, and is a faithful chauffeur and taxi service whenever needed to the bandstands!  My son occasionally comes, but my daughter is more interested in other things!

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A fun fact about me

I’m a weedy Southerner, who has now lived in Yorkshire for more than 30 years.  I didn’t expect I’d be staying when I first came here to work.  Perhaps I’ll be allowed to stay?!

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Hello, I’m Bill

l’m the Training Band rep in the committee, play second clarinet in the Training Band, sometimes third clarinet in the Main Band and look after the website.  Some people call me the Webmaster, but I prefer Web Apprentice as I had little expertise in running a website until, in a moment of madness, I volunteered to take on the role back in 2022.

 

What attracted you to your instrument, and do you play anything else?

Around twenty years ago I found myself on my own and about two years later met a lady who is a professional violin and viola player and was steadily introduced to her musician colleagues.  I rapidly learnt that the second question a musician asks is “so what do you play” and after replying “nothing” several times felt it was probably best, if only out of self-defence, to try learning something.  Somebody asked “what do you like to hear” so I offered “clarinet” having been something of an Acker Bilk fan in my youth.  He said that he had “graduated” to saxophone so had a spare clarinet that I could borrow if I wished to try learning.  So, at the tender age of 68, I started with his clarinet a few weeks later, really enjoyed the challenge, with the vertical learning curve and the rest is history as they say.  For orchestral playing I have built up a set of Bb, A, and C clarinets, and have also invested in a low C bass clarinet that unfortunately I don’t get enough opportunity to play.

 

Why did you choose WRCB?

As my playing developed my partner encouraged me to join various groups.  Initially a clarinet group, then a small orchestra, and then WRCB.  This was a baptism of fire as playing in a group is so different to playing on your own or with a pianist, but also so much more pleasure.

 

What do you enjoy most about WRCB?

The group playing is very enjoyable and the sound of a group playing in harmony is very rewarding, especially when you come in at the right time!  Rehearsals require concentration and are enjoyable under Steve’s direction.   At almost 84 I claim to be the oldest member of either band!

 

What’s your favourite piece in the current repertoire?

I don’t really have a favourite, probably the Easy Gershwin selection, that takes me back to when I was much younger!

 

Do you have any other hobbies?

I learnt and improved both French and German through my work in international trade over almost 40 years travelling the world, including living in France for a couple of years.  Since retiring almost twenty years ago I have learnt Italian, initially because I wanted to visit the country more often and had found that even some knowledge of the language helped me to “get under the skin” and also it is a very appropriate language for music.  I now play regularly in a chamber orchestra of around 40 people, in a small clarinet group, and in a wind quintet, and have recently started been improving my Italian, so with the maintenance of the website that keeps me out of mischief!

 

Is your family involved with WRCB?

My partner is very supportive and attends some of the WRCB activities; she has even played with us at the informal Christmas concert when we play Christmas music at a local golf club!

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