On Saturday 6th December Foden's held their first Christmas concert of the year to an appreciative audience in Crewe! On Sunday 7th they returned to Sandbach to perform alongside the fantastic Matt Ford for their annual 'Memories of Christmas' show to a full house! The concert also featured the 'Fodenettes!' (Terri, Grace and Ashley). This concert was directed by John Barber who arranged all the show content Foden's return to Sandbach this weekend to perform 'Wallace and Gromit' and other Christmas favourites on Saturday and then their annual Christmas concert on Sunday! Saturday (Sandbach School Theatre) 11am and 12.30 - https://www.priorbooking.com/u/fodens Sunday (Sandbach School Sports Hall) - 2pm pay on the door

On Saturday 29 th November Foden's travelled to St Asaph, Wales upon the invitation of President Paul Mealor to perform a concert to celebrate his 50th birthday. The concert featured music, requested by Paul as well as including the band's recent 'Brass in Concert' entertainment set 'EXODUS - Moses in Egypt.' To commemorate the passing of Elgar Howarth earlier this year the band programme two movements from Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exihibution' (who scored the entire work for Brass Band) The highlight of the concert was a World Premiere of a major new composition from Paul entitled 'Tranquil Abiding' as well as the first performance of 'The Callender March' in over 100 years! The concert was recorded by BBC radio to be broadcast across BBC Radio Wales and Radio 3 in the coming months (stay tuned for more information!) Full Programme  The Callender March - Percy Fletcher A Welsh Fantasy - Trad arr Gordon Langford Vivat Regina - William Mathias Sosban Fach - Gareth Wood Tranquil Abiding - Paul Mealor Interval EXODUS: Moses in Egypt Ubi Caritas - Paul Mealor Baba Yaga and The Great Gate of Kiev - Mussorgsky arr Elgar Howarth

Foden's are delighted to announce the signing of Ollie Jackson who joins the bands percussion team from Carlton Main Originally from Sheffield, Oliver is a drummer and percussionist currently studying at the Royal Northern College of Music under the tutorage of Simone Rebello. His musical journey began at the age of nine, learning drums and piano before joining the Oughtibridge band aged 16. After two years, he progressed to Carlton Main and has also had opportunities to perform and compete across several European countries with Youth Brass 2000. Alongside brass bands, Oliver performs with a wide range of ensembles such as orchestras, wind orchestras, musical theatre groups and function bands, helping him build strong experience across all percussion disciplines, including orchestral percussion, timpani, tuned percussion and drum kit. Ollie commented 'I’m so grateful for my time at Carlton Main and to have been a part of a great band, I now look forward to joining Foden’s and beginning the next chapter in my journey’ On behalf of Foden's Mark Landon commented 'We are delighted that Ollie has joined Foden's, he is a fantastic all rounder who will be a valuable addition to our section and band' 

Following the announcement of the 2026 Area test Pieces in September, Foden's launched a new initiative giving competitors the opportunity of working with the bands Principal players and Conductor on these challenging works. Over the past couple of weeks Michael Fowles, Mark Wilkinson, Gary Curtin, John Barber, Jonathan Bates and Andy Cattanach have held sectionals / sessions on the 4 th - 1 st area pieces which has seen nearly 100 members travel to Sandbach. As well as working on these test pieces, the sessions also covered various aspects of brass playing and score preparation. Speaking about the initiative Mark Wilkinson commented 'The overall feedback has been fantastic and we are delighted that we have been able to give competitors a heads up well in advance of the contests. We have been delighted with the response with players travelling from as far as Weymouth, London and Yorkshire for the sessions. Due to the project success we will be shortly advertising further dates in mid to late January'

Presenting our 2025 Brass In Concert programme to be premiered at the 'Glasshouse' Sage on the 15th November Music composed and arranged by Jonathan Bates and Will Savage, plus narration by Tom Redmond - Foden's will be starting their journey on the tranquil waters of the Nile, escaping into the desert, receiving the 10 commandments and leading our people to the promised land across the parted waters of the Red Sea! EXODUS MOSES IN EGYPT 1. The River's Lament (Jonathan Bates) (Tenor Horn Soloist: Jonathan Bates) 2. Khamsawy (Egyptain Trad. arr. Bates) 3. Go Down, Moses! (Spiritual arr. Savage) (Trumpet Soloist: Jon Probert & Piano Soloist: John Barber) 4. The Wrath of the Plagues (Jonathan Bates) (Euphonium Soloist: Gary Curtin) 5. The Parting of the Sea/Le Separation de La Mer (Claude Debussy/Jonathan Bates) 6. A Land of Promise (Jonathan Bates) (featuring: Mark Wilkinson, Jonathan Bates, Ashley Dixon & Gary Curtin) 7. 'When You Believe' from 'The Prince of Egypt' (Stephen Schwartz arr. Bates) (Vocal Soloist: Sara Kimber)

On the 6 th December Foden's will return to the beautiful St Michael's Church in Coppenhall (near Crewe) for a concert of Christmas favourites! Saturday 6th December St Michael's Church, Coppenhall, CW1 3TN 2pm £15 payment on the door

Always one of the highlights of the band's festive period - Foden's will once again team up with the incredible Big Band vocalist Matt Ford on Sunday 7th December to bring some of the all-time favourite festive swing numbers to life in Sandbach! Sandbach School Theatre Sunday 7th December 2pm http://www.priorbooking.com/e/fodens-and-matt-ford-memories-of-christmas-7th-december-2025

Foden's are delighted to announce that they will be heading to St Asaph on Saturday 29th November in a special concert to celebrate the 50th birthday of band president, Paul Mealor! The programme will feature the world premiere of a new work by Paul entitled 'Tranquil Abiding', alongside first performance of a revised version of 'The Callender March' by Percy Fletcher, as well 'Vivat Regina' by William Mathias, 'A Welsh Fantasy' by Gordon Langford and 'Sospan Fach' by Gareth Wood. St Asaph Cathedral Sunday 29th November 7pm https://nwimf.com/en

On Sunday 19th October a team of tutors from Foden's had the pleasure of visiting Lions Youth Brass to assist with their preparations for this year's Youth 'Brass in Concert Championships' in Gateshead to be held on the 16th November Mark Wilkinson, Melanie Whyle, Mark Bousie, Paul Hughes, Shaun Farrington and Mark Landon all enjoyed a great day working with and inspiring the next generation of brass players in Sandbach. All at Foden's wish them the very best for their ventures in the North East!