USA East Music NYSB BULLETIN - SUMMER 2018 | Page 4

NYSB Recording Weekend Report
Nathan Power, NYSB Second Trombone
The latest addition to the staff band’s armory
is a purpose built recording studio and
practice space right in place of the existing
bandroom. This has meant the band has
rehearsed in a few other places over the last
year or so, but the time out has been worth
it. This new resource will set the band up for
further success for many, many years.
Having barely christened the wooden floor
with our spit, we met on Friday afternoon, Jan
19th, to record the band’s latest CD. This will
be our flagstaff recording for the Japanese
Tour, but also a nod to all the composers and
new compositions the band has been playing
under Bandmaster Derek Lance.
The disc’s aim is to get these new
compositions out into the public. The
concept of the album will be novel, with no
traditional marches or hymn settings, but
all brand new compositions. I often wonder
how new music will be received, but if our
recent concerts are anything to go by, some
of the newer pieces were awarded with
standing ovations!
The recording schedule was grueling to
say the least. The Bandroom mics were very
close to the individual players, meaning every
last gasp of air and mute drop was more
than audible. Having recorded in a variety
of different settings this was new to me and
many members of the band. However, it really
gave our engineer and producer a fantastic
amount of control. The results, I’m sure, will
be a true representation of the band’s sound
and technical proficiency.
I won’t spoil all the surprises, but the
highlights for me were the larger works, in
which there are three of: Martin Cordner’s
Wake up the Saint, Marcus Venable’s Endless
Power, and Andrew Wainwrights’ Fearless.
Fearless was the winner of the NYSB’s recent
composer competition, so it really felt like the
ink was still drying on that one. All three of
these pieces are an incredible indicator of the
standard of music being produced for God’s
glory. The thing that really struck me was the
level of concentration which was required
from each individual to ensure this was going
to be a success. Mentally it was extremely
draining, never mind how the bands lips
were feeling. We played from 4pm to 10pm
on Friday and were back at it at 9am Saturday
morning, right through to 4pm.
To match up with those weightier works
we recorded one solo (Pie Jesu Faure, Arr
Dorothy Gates, soprano soloist Chris Ward)
and a cornet duet (Streamlined, Marcus
Venables, soloists Brindley Venables and
Stuart Dalrymple). The former piece was
written in memory of Simon Birkett, who was
a true friend of the NYSB and is a real loss to
the SA brass banding family. Chris as always
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played beautifully and our prayers continue
to be raised to Simon’s family back in the UK.
In between these moments when the
spotlight was on soloists, the band was put
through their paces in a few opener style
pieces, Living Power by Tom Davoren and
Martin’s second contribution Semper Fidelis.
After a few crashes, bangs, and wallops, the
quieter reflective pieces were the real test of
the band’s stamina. Turn your eyes upon Jesus
by Jonathan Rowsell is a particularly pretty
treatment of this well-known prayer chorus.
Although it blooms to a gorgeous full sound,
it finishes in the same dainty quintet as it
starts. As I’m sure you all know, these quieter
pieces are always the hardest to get in the
can, as many great players have suffered from
an attack of “the wobbles” trying to achieve
the perfect pianissimo entry. Fortunately, the
tuning note was the only place we heard any
jitters (from myself I must add), and these soft
passages were negotiated with relative ease
once we had a few passes.
While on that vein, the other thing that
was a pleasant surprise was the lack of
engineer’s tricks. There were no short cuts
taken and all the passes at the music were
healthy minutes instead of seconds, meaning
that the integrity of the recording will be
beyond doubt. Some of the final sections
really felt like concert quality in terms of
adrenaline and emotion so I know this
excitement and rush of praise will come
through in the final CD.
Thanks must go to all involved at
THQ who have seen this refurbishment
project through to its completion, it
really is a beautiful space to rehearse
and record in. We were also indebted to
NYSB alumni and fellow trombonists—
The Phils! Phil Rayment travelled from
Canada to be “the ears” in the box
(Producer) alongside Phil Bulla who
ensured that all the takes were put in
the right places (Engineer). With the two
Phils we really had a dream team in the
recording booth so a huge thanks to
them. Of course it goes without saying
a big thanks to the music dept. at THQ
who all put in extra hours to make this
project a reality and in particular BM
Derek Lance who continues to push the
band to their limits.
W W W. N Y S B. O R G