120 musicians from the High Peak District covering all age ranges and abilities, from a variety of local bands such as Burbage, Tintwistle, Thornsett, Glossop and Silk Brass, converged on the New Mills High School to attend a coaching day by senior Fodens players. This large group were split between experienced and less experienced players. The day started at 10.00 with a Master Classes given by the tutors on their respective instruments.

The group was split in two and coached as follows:

Cornets:
Experienced - Mark Wilkinson
Less Experienced Solo Cornets/Reps - Pete Coulson
Less Experienced 2nd and 3rd Cornets - Helen Fox
Horns:
Experienced - Janet Gilder
Less Experienced - Andy Howard-Smith
Euphoniums:
Experienced - Glyn Williams
Less Experienced - Neil Jackson
Trombones:
All players - John Barber
Basses:
All Basses - Mark Bousie
Percussion:
All percussion - Mark Landon

The experienced group were rehearsed as a band with Glyn Williams conducting and were working on Dean Goffin's Rhapsody in Brass while the less experienced were taken by their tutors in sectional work on their piece Northern Fantasy by Goff Richards.

The groups then swapped over and John Barber directed the less experienced while the tutors worked with the experienced players in sectional rehearsals.

After a well earned lunch break, all the players (120!) got together and were directed by Glyn Williams in a 30 minute session of hymn tune playing were Glyn worked on the basics of ensemble and general band playing.

Finally came the performances of the pieces that had been worked on all day. John Barber directed the first group in their performance of Northern Variation, aided by Fodens tutors dotted around the band, while the others formed an attentive audience.  The performance of this difficult piece went well and the experienced players applauded enthusiastically.

Audience and band then swapped over and the experienced group, directed by Glyn Williams performed the 1st movement of Rhapsody in Brass, again supported throughout by the Fodens tutors.

The whole day went down very well with commitments from organisers, players and tutors to run another training day in the High Peak very soon. Everybody went home exhausted but smiling with the feeling that the experience of the Fodens tutors had made an impact