2010 Summer Concert Program Notes

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A Joint Concert with the Clifton & Lightcliffe Band from Yorkshire, England

Band Directors Clifton & Lightcliffe - Mr. John Clay Pomona Concert Band - Linda W. Taylor & Jorge Garcia

Mr. Edmund Fry, Master of Ceremonies

Opening Ceremony     Fanfare     Presentation of the Colors     National Anthems

Fanfare & Flourishes ................................................... John Philip Sousa

Hey, Jude ............................................................... arr. Derek Broadbent Horn Feature

The Second Waltz ..................................................... Dmitri Shostakovitch

In the Pink ....................................................................... Henry Mancini

Deep Inside the Sacred Temple .......................................... Georges Bizet Euphonium Soloists: Graham Cass & Norm Taylor

Let's Face the Music and Dance ......................................... Irving Berlin

Spanish Eyes ............................................................. Berthold Kaempfert Cornet Feature

Ruby Tuesday ............................................... Mic Jagger / Keith Richard

New York, New York ........................................................ arr. B. Lawson

Above performed by the Clifton & Lightcliffe Band

-- Intermission --

La Forza del Destino, Overture ....................................... Giuseppe Verdi

From Shore to Shore ............................................................ Paul Curnow

Chester ....................................................................... William Schumann

Festivity ............................................................................ James Curnow

Them Basses .................................................................. Getty H. Huffine

Above performed by the Pomona Concert Band

Hootenanny ..................................................................... Harold Walters

Stars and Stripes Forever ............................................ John Philip Sousa

America the Beautiful ............................................. arr. Carmen Dragon

Above performed by the Massed Bands

It is thought that the Clifton and Lightcliffe Band was formed in 1838 when most of the inhabitants of the villages around were employed in either agriculture or coal mining.  The formation of the band was a way to escape from the hard work and poor conditions at that time.  In the early 1900’s the band competed and won a few major prizes at the famous Crystal Palace in London, where the National Brass Band Championships were held each year.  More recently the band qualified for the National Championships in 2006, 2007 and again in 2010.  The band has also toured abroad.  2001 saw them performing in France and Switzerland.  In 2004 the band was invited to Guernsey to perform a major fund-raising concert for Oxfam and in 2006 the band took part in an 8 day concert tour of Zell am See in Austria where performances included the famous Mirabel Gardens in Salzburg where the Sound of Music was filmed.  In July 2008 the band toured Lake Garda performing concerts around the area.  As well as the senior band the association also has a "B" band made up of 40 younger and more inexperienced players who when the opportunity arises pass through to the senior band.  Coming up behind the "B" band is a Learners group which is made up of 15 budding musicians with ages starting at 8 years old.  The Association has no commercial financial backing and all the funds are raised with the hard work and dedication of its members.

John Clay started his career on cornet with the Clifton and Lightcliffe band when he was nine years old.  At the age of fourteen he was one of the youngest players to successfully audition for the famous Black Dyke Band, where over the next fifteen years he played all the cornet positions including principal before settling on flugel horn.  He was also the Principal Cornet of the National Youth Band of Great Britain at the age of 16.  When he left Black Dyke due to work commitments he returned to his roots with the Clifton and Lightcliffe Band.  He decided to give extra tuition to some of the younger members and from the initial four members who came along in 1977 on Saturday mornings he formed a Junior band which is now our "B" band and which he still conducts today.  John firmly believes that the foundation of all organisations is the encouragement of its younger members.