Page 142 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

OFTHERIFLES
After a well-earned festive leave we were straight back into our engagements, kicking off with a Pass Out Parade at our home barracks of ATR (W).
The rest of January had people in both ends of the emotional spectrum. We had schools workshops in various locations, and some of our Buglers were playing at funerals. The first small ensemble of the year award goes to our Woodwind Quintet who performed at an Army Air Corps Dinner Night.
We continued with the theme of school workshops, and tied that in with an array of Pass Out Parades up and down the country. Enter the brass quintet who played for the Officer Cadets at Sandhurst at one of their Dinner Nights.
What better way to start a month than to perform at a Pass Out Parade here in our lovely ATR (W). After a week of marching band rehearsals we then upped and left for the wonderful country of Ireland. Here, we were celebrating the homecoming of 2 RIFLES, it was great to see so much support from their friends and families, and we felt extremely proud of them.
After a Roulement tour of Kneller Hall, we began to rehearse for our Guards Chapel Concert in London. One of our Buglers was called to perform for the CGS at one of his events in London. But sadly some Buglers had funerals to perform at.
It wouldn’t be a good month if we didn’t have any Pass Out Parades, so we executed one in Winchester and one in Pirbright. April was also the first time that The Band and Bugles of The RIFLES got to parade and perform Public Duties at Buckingham Palace, Windsor, and St James` Palace. It was so successful that we have been invited to perform again in 2019, what a summer that’s going to be!
Public Duties remained the focus for us for the next three months, and the amount of people that lined The Mall and neighbouring roads was just unbelievable. Pretty much every person in the crowds was taking photos and videos, flashes were everywhere! We even got to perform in Buckingham Palace for a Royal Garden Party that was being held, such a privilege.
The odd day that the band weren’t doing Public Duties, we were performing at various dinner nights. We even managed to squeeze in a music festival in Cardiff.
During the month of July, we had some Buglers out at funerals, remembrance services and commemo- ration events. Plenty of school workshops transpired
at the same time. We also got to play at concerts for SSAFA and ABF, and with heaps of rehearsals it made a nice change with all of the marching band we had been doing recently.
Towards the end of July, we got to perform as a massed band with the reservist RIFLES bands at Allianz Park in London. Of course, you couldn’t let a month go by without a sprinkling of small ensembles at various dinner nights and some POP`s to boot.
Once everybody had recuperated over their summer leave, it was time for us to go to the wonderful county of Yorkshire. We performed Sounding Retreats at Leeds and Wakefield, as well as Freedom Parades there, and more schools workshops.
It was time for us to attend Kneller Hall as Roulement Band again, this also included us performing at the Kneller Hall Club Night. Literally a week had passed and it was our turn to be Roulement Band again.
We also had the fantastic opportunity to perform at the International Tattoo in Belgium and Magdeburg, we all like a bit of Defence Engagement!
Now it’s that time of year for remembrance. We literally had all of our Buglers bomb-bursted across south-west counties, as well as the Band musically assisting in delivering the act of remem- brance at venues such as Winchester Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral. The acoustics in these places is phenomenal.
Our DOM and BM thought it was a good idea to set up a small ensemble competition. We had a Clarinet Quartet, Sax Quartet, Woodwind Quintet, Corunna Brass Group, and Peninsula Brass Group. Each group had to perform two contrasting pieces to the rest of the Band and Bugles. The winner was Corunna brass group.
In December, we attended Kneller Hall twice more as Roulement Band, played carols concerts at a variety of locations, performed at the Officers` Mess Winter Ball, peppered in a couple of solo bugle engagements, and lastly ended our year with a Pass Out Parade for the Metropolitan Police.
Also, many congratulations to LCpl Emma Barquilla on becoming a mum for the first time this year!
2019 started off with a bang, straight into some musical and military training. We had the usual dinner nights scattered about, using a variety of our
WE ALSO HAD THE FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM AT THE INTERNATIONAL TATTOO IN BELGIUM AND MAGDEBURG, WE ALL LIKE A BIT OF DEFENCE ENGAGEMENT!
140 THE BAND AND BUGLES OF THE RIFLES THE RIFLES
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