Page 62 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

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The Band of the Mercian Regiment
CSgt Jake Lees (PSI)
The Band of the Mercian Regiment thrives on challenge, and 2020 has certainly been a challenging year for musicians! Many of the public events that the Band support regularly were cancelled, and most training has had to be conducted virtually for a large proportion of the year. During the national lockdown, the Band’s musicians conducted virtual training concentrating on skill development, music theory and CEQ qualifications, whilst some also began to look at new technologies and
to develop skills in mixing and virtual recording, something that there is not often time to do between engagements in a normal year. These new skills were put to good use in August as they recorded and released a video tribute for VJ Day, taking full advantage of the stunning scenery at Holcombe Camp to film up on the hillside. Future recordings are also in the pipeline!
In August, the Band conducted their ATE at Holcombe Moor Camp in Lancashire
and were thrilled to be back together and playing live once more. With all live music having been cancelled due to the pandemic, no-one expected that this training would
be able to go ahead. However, changes
in government guidance for professional musicians, coupled with strict regulations and thorough Risk Assessments from the Army and CAMUS (Corps of Army Music), meant that the scheduled training could take place. Having live training again meant that the Band could get back out onto the square for marching band rehearsals with the focus on putting together a display ready for when public performances
are resumed. As part of the new social distancing guidelines, there are different manoeuvres to master so
that the Musicians are able
Marching Band new manoeuvres. Holcombe Camp August 2020
extremely useful as they rediscovered their whole band sound and got stuck into some challenging repertoire ready
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
to stay safely 2 metres apart whilst performing and they also took this opportunity
to incorporate some new marches into their repertoire. They were also able to use technology in different ways to develop their sound, and a key element of this was
The Band were pushed well and truly out of their comfort zone as they found themselves 40ft off the ground on high rope challenges
for live performances to resume.
Whilst on ATE, they also had the opportunity to develop the teamwork and relationships that enhance the sound of a band. As part of this, the Band were pushed well and truly out of their comfort zone as they found themselves 40ft off the ground on high rope challenges at Go
to record sections of pieces
in different locations, and to
listen back to and critique
their performance. Having not played together for just over four months, this was
Ape Rivington. For some members of the band, it was definitely a ‘face your fears’