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Helston Town Band is a brass band in the Cornish town of Helston.
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Helston Town Band is a brass band in the Cornish town of Helston.
Helston Town Band has a rich history, which can be traced back to the turn of the century; there are members of the current band whose family connections extend back four generations. Inevitably, during World War II the band reformed with new members and in 1946 numbers were consolidated when most of its pre-war members returned from active service. The band enjoyed steady progress at this time, which culminated in 1951 when it reached the National 3rd Section Finals at Belle Vue, Manchester.
In 1967, the band came under the direction of Edward Ashton, with whom the band gained much success and a reputation for consistently playing music to a high standard. Edward led the band to numerous successes in both local and regional contests, until his retirement in November 2002 after an incredible 35 years.
Following his retirement, the band appointed John Hitchens as their new Musical Director. The band has continued to flourish under John's direction: in 2003, they were crowned Cornish First Section Champions, and in 2004 they gained promotion to the National First Section.
In 2006, the band were crowned West of England First Section Champions, and received an invitation to compete in the National First Section Finals in Harrogate, where they achieved a commendable 7th place. The band went on to achieve third place at the West of England First Section Championships in 2007, and were delighted to become West of England First Section Champions once again in 2008.
These excellent results meant that Helston Town Band earned promotion and is competing in the Championship Section in 2009 for this first time in its entire history.
Helston Town Band is extremely proud of its association with Helston Flora Day, when our 'quaint old Cornish town' throngs with thousands of people. Flora Day is usually held on 8 May unless this falls on a Sunday or Monday.
Brighouse and Rastrick Band recorded its own version of 'The Floral Dance' in 1977 with the help of Terry Wogan, which reached No. 2 in the singles chart. But it is only Helston Town Band who can claim ownership of the authentic Furry Dance. Passed down through the generations of Helston bandsmen and women, no written music exists. The Flora Dance is sacred to Helston Town Band and has never been written on manuscript to ensure it remains only within the band.
On Flora Day, there are four dances throughout the day led by the band:
The first and last dances are led by Helston Senior Band, who are joined by the Junior Band, Beginners Band and invited guest players for the remaining dances. In total, senior band members cover an incredible 16 miles - playing the Flora Dance nearly 1000 times.
Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised by Cornish and Celtic political groups as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area in the county is a conurbation that includes the former mining towns of Redruth and Camborne, and the county town is the city of Truro.
The Lizard is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as the Lizard, is the most southerly on the British mainland, and is in the civil parish of Landewednack, the most southerly parish. The valleys of the river Helford and Loe Pool form the northern boundary, with the rest of the peninsula surrounded by sea. The area measures about 14 by 14 miles. The Lizard is one of England's natural regions and has been designated as a National Character Area 157 by Natural England. The peninsula is known for its geology and for its rare plants and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Penzance and 9 miles (14 km) south-west of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town on the island of Great Britain and is around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) farther south than Penzance. The population in 2011 was 11,700.
In Britain, a brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around communities and local industry, with colliery bands being particularly notable. The Stalybridge Old Band, for example, first performed in 1815 and is still in existence, although it did not become a brass band until the 1840s.
The most famous Furry Dance takes place in Helston, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is one of the oldest British customs still practised today. The earliest mention seems to be in a letter to the Gentleman's Magazine for 1790 where the writer says "At Helstone, a genteel and populus borough town in Cornwall, it is customary to dedicate the 8th May to revelry. It is called Furry Day". The dance is very well attended every year and people travel from all over the world to see it: Helston Town Band play all the music for the dances.
Cornwall is a Celtic nation with a long musical history. Strengthened by a series of 20th century revivals, traditional folk music has a popular following. It is accompanied by traditions of pipers, brass and silver bands, male voice choirs, classical, electronic and popular music.
Gweek is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) east of Helston. The civil parish was created from part of the parish of Constantine by boundary revision in 1986. The name Gweek is first recorded as Gwyk in 1358 and is derived from the Cornish word gwig, meaning "forest village", cognate with the Welsh gwig and Old Breton guic. Gweek village has a pub, the Black Swan, and a combined shop and post office. The village is also home to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.
St Mawgan or St Mawgan in Pydar is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of this parish at the 2011 census was 1,307. The village is situated four miles northeast of Newquay, and the parish also includes the hamlet of Mawgan Porth. The surviving manor house known as Lanherne House is an early 16th-century grade I listed building. The nearby Royal Air Force station, RAF St Mawgan, takes its name from the village and is next to Newquay Cornwall Airport. The River Menalhyl runs through St Mawgan village and the valley is known as The Vale of Lanherne. It was the subject of a poem by poet Henry Sewell Stokes.
The West Cornwall May Day celebrations are an example of folk practices found in the western part of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, associated with the coming of spring. The celebration of May Day is a common motif throughout Europe and beyond. In Cornwall there are a number of notable examples of this practice including the Obby Oss in Padstow and Furry Dance or Flora day in Helston. The celebrations are in contrast to the Cornish midwinter celebrations that occur every year such as the Penzance Montol Festival and the Padstow Mummer's Day festival.
Wendron is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately 3 miles (5 km) to the north of Helston and 6 miles (10 km) to the west of Penryn. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,743. The electoral ward of Wendron had a 2011 population of 4,936.
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands, but may be more correctly termed military bands, concert bands, or "brass and reed" bands.
Cornish dance originates from Cornwall, UK. It has largely been shaped by the Cornish people and the industries they worked in. In most cases, particularly with the step dancing, the dances were still being performed across the region when they were collected.
"The Floral Dance" is a Cornish song describing the annual Furry Dance in Helston, Cornwall, UK.
The Lanner & District Silver Band is a brass band based in Lanner, Cornwall, United Kingdom, and an important part of village life.
The Helston Railway is a heritage railway in Cornwall which aims to rebuild and preserve as much as possible of the former GWR Helston Railway between Nancegollen and Water-Ma-Trout on the outskirts of Helston. It is operated by the Helston Railway Preservation Company using members of the Helston Railway Preservation Society.
The 2013–14 South West Peninsula League season was the seventh in the history of the South West Peninsula League, a football competition in England, that feeds the Premier Division of the Western Football League. The league had been formed in 2007 from the merger of the Devon County League and the South Western League, and is restricted to clubs based in Cornwall and Devon. The Premier Division of the South West Peninsula League is on the same level of the National League System as the Western League Division One.
The 2014–15 South West Peninsula League season was the eighth in the history of the South West Peninsula League, a football competition in England, that feeds the Premier Division of the Western Football League. The league had been formed in 2007 from the merger of the Devon County League and the South Western League, and is restricted to clubs based in Cornwall and Devon. The Premier Division of the South West Peninsula League is on the same level of the National League System as the Western League Division One.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Kate Emily Barkley Moss was a British singer, violinist, pianist and composer whose best known work is the popular 1911 song "The Floral Dance".
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:
