20th June 2001

Change in the Solo Horn Chair

Fodens have said goodbye to their long serving Solo Horn player Robert Fulcher after 12 years. Robert decided to stop playing altogether because of work commitments. He was presented with a decanter on behalf of the band by Maureen Cameron at the end of the Gala Concert in Cambridge.

The band are pleased to announce that they have signed Martin Armstrong who joins on Solo Horn following Roberts departure. Martin has been playing 1st horn with Black Dyke for the past 2 years and prior to that was Solo Horn with Fishburn for 3 years. He is studying at Huddersfield College with Sandy Smith and is moving to the RNCM in September. Speaking about the latest signing Mark Wilkinson said "Martin is an excellent young horn player who has a lot of talent and skill to bring to Fodens. At present, there is a major shortage of good horn players with a number of the top bands presently searching for one. We are extremely pleased, therefore, that Martin has joined the band and we have secured the services of this fine player. This latest signing comes on top of a number of recent signings we have made which have resulted in Fodens strengthening a number of sections to help maintain our position as one of the leading bands in the world."

8th June 2001

Whit Friday March Contests

Fodens joined well over one hundred bands to successfully compete in this years Whit Friday March Contests. From the eight contests entered, Fodens were placed first once, second five times, fourth once and eighth once. The band won £1700 in prize money and came 2nd overall in the Saddleworth area behind Brighouse but in front of Yorkshire Building Society. This won the band a further £1000. Altogether the band's prize money amounted to £2700 as well as picking up a couple of cornet and trombone prizes on the way.

You can find more information from the Whit Friday March Contests in the Oldham & Saddleworth area from here.

6th June 2001

Earles Court

A number of principals from the band recently played at Earles Court London to start a concert in front of 11,500 people. The concert, which was sponsored by Vodaphone, featured "Right said Fred", "Hearsay", "Texas" and "Travis". The 6-piece Brass Group performed a mixed variety of pieces for one hour.

5th June 2001

New Signings

Fodens are pleased to welcome Alan Hobbins who has joined on solo cornet from Leyland and Robert Richardson who has joined on 2nd baritone. Robert is currently the Solo Baritone with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. Also Steven James joins on Percussion from Todmorden. Speaking about the recent signings Mark Wilkinson stated "we are extremely pleased to announce a number of recent signings which will continue to strengthen the band".

3rd June 2001

Guest Soloist

Mark Wilkinson today performed with the Roberts Bakery Band as Guest Soloist. The concert was held at the Northwich Memorial Hall.

27th May 2001

All England Masters, Cambridge 2001 - Results

Fodens conducted by Richard Evans make top 4 from an early draw but Brighouse come away with the top spot.

Full results were as follows:

Pos.	Draw	Band	Conductor	Points
				Dr. R. Newsmen	J. Scott	G. Whitham	Average
1	9	Brighouse & Rastrick	A. Withington	3	3	2	8
2	21	YBS	David King	7	1	1	9
3	17	Carlton Main	John Hinckley	2	4	10	16
4	5	Fodens Courtois	Richard Evans	5	6	5	16
5	20	Flowers	Philip Harper	13	2	4	19
6	18	DUT Yorkshire Imperial Rothwell	David Evans	1	10	9	20
7	15	Ever Ready	Brian Grant	8	9	6	23
8	13	The Ransome Band	Russell Gray	4	12	8	24
9	2	Williams Fairey	Howard Snell	15	7	3	25
10	19	Besses o' th' Barn	G. Pritchard	9	8	15	32
11	8	Rothwell	D. Roberts	12	5	16	33
12	14	Bodmin Town	Steve Sykes	10	13	11	34
13	3	Leyland	Garry Cutt	6	14	18	38
14	16	First City Brass	Jeremy Wise	11	15	12	38
15	4	Sellers International	Alan Exley	14	11	14	39
16	10	Todmorden Old	D. Hadfield	17	18	7	42
17	11	JAG Mount Charles Band	David Hirst	16	19	13	48
18	1	Travelsphere Holidays	Frank Renton	18	17	19	54
19	6	Aveley & Newham	Nigel Taken	20	16	20	56
20	12	SWT Woodfalls	Peter Parkes	19	21	17	57
21	7	Rolls Royce (Coventry)	David Lea	21	20	21	62

Test Piece: Pageantry, Herbert Howells
Adjudicator: Dr Roy Newsome, James Scott & Geoffrey Whitham

12th March 2001

Bramwell Tovey - Principal Conductor

Fodens Courtois Band today announced that Bramwell Tovey has accepted their offer to become the band's Principal Conductor on a permanent basis.

11th March 2001

North West Area Championship 2001 - Results

Fodens just fail to make it 4 on the run with 2nd place to Williams Fairey at this years North West Area Championship.

Full results were as follows:

Place	Name of Band	Conductor	Points	Draw
1st	Williams Fairey	H. Snell	194	8
2nd	Fodens	J. Gourlay	192	5
3rd	Leyland	G. Cutt	190	3
4th	Freckleton	P. Dalton	188	9
5th	BT	M. Fowles	186	4
6th	Besses o' th' Barn	G. Pritchard	185	6
7th	Wingates	B. Grant	184	2
8th	Stalybridge Old	D. Hirst	183	7
9th	Ashton-under-Lyne	M. Evans	182	1

Test Piece: Jazz by Philip Wilby
Adjudicator: Malcolm Brownbill

Williams Fairey, Fodens and Leyland will represent the North West Area at the National Championships at the Royal Albert Hall on 20th October 2001.

20th February 2001

Bandsman of the Year

Andrew Howard-Smith was awarded "Bandsman of the Year" during the Patrons Concert held at Sandbach School on 20th February. Andrew, pictured on the left, received his award from band chairman Tim Walters who received the award himself last year. Andrew, a member of the Horn section, joined the band from Wingates in 1997 and is an active member of the band's committee.

Previous recipients of this award are: -

1989	Martyn Booth
1990	James Charles
1991	John M French
1992	Kirsten Thomas
1993	Steve Cooke
1994	Robert Fulcher
1995	Colin Short
1996	Peter Coulson
1997	Jonathon Webster
1998	Mark Wilkinson
1999	Tim Walters
2000	Andrew Howard-Smith

19th February 2001