Tag: Royal and Derngate

Royal and Derngate, Northampton

on by GUS Editor

A Summer Review

As the GUS Band prepares to take its summer break, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the year so far and see what the band has achieved over the past seven months.
Our public performances in 2025 began with the Regionals Test Piece Workshop held in Oxford in February, where the band worked through the Lower Section Test Pieces in an open rehearsal format.  This was closely followed by a concert in Crawley at The Hawth, a lovely venue to perform in and one that the band has performed at many times now.
With a fantastic Midland Area Championship win in March, ensuring that GUS once again represents the Midlands at the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall this year, we moved into April and a visit to the Kettering Arts Centre with a Night at the Movies and Musicals.  There was also a visit to St Peter’s Church in Oundle for another highly enjoyable concert.
The month of May saw the band travel north to the Grand Shield competition at the Blackpool Winter Gardens and there were also concerts at Oakham School and at the Stowe School’s annual Speech Day.  Then there was the Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers live performance last month at the Royal Theatre in Northampton, which was a great success and enjoyably different from our usual concert format.  Finally, just before we broke for the summer, the band went back into the recording studio with the World of Sound; more on this to come soon.
GUS working with the World of Sound
We sadly had to say goodbye to Noah Blythe on Third Cornet but we wish him lots of success in his new position as Principal Cornet of the Newstead Band.  We were very excited though to welcome into the world our Principal Baritone, Sarah Lenton’s new baby daughter, Iris.
Once the GUS Band returns after our well-earned break, we will be straight into a busy schedule with a Last Night of the Proms concert back at the Kettering Arts Centre on 30th August.  There’s also a joint concert with Brackley Band at St Peter’s Church, Brackley on 26th September.  We’ll then be off to London again in October for the National Finals in London and then a long journey up to The Glass House in Gateshead in November to compete in the Brass In Concert Championships.
As usual, to all our loyal supporters we say thank you for continuing to come and listen to us and please keep an eye out for our forthcoming concert dates and get them in the diary.  We’ll see you there!
on by GUS Editor

Cracking toast, Gromit!

And a cracking show, too!  The techno trousers may have malfunctioned but there was nothing wrong with the two matinee live performances of Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers given by the GUS Band last weekend.

The GUS Band accompanying Wallace and Gromit

In the opulent grandeur of the Royal Theatre in Northampton, the band entertained the enthusiastic and appreciative audiences starting with a rousing opener of the main theme from Star Wars before launching into the film.  The devious villain Feathers McGraw tried his best to dupe Wallace into helping him steal a jewel but Gromit saves the day and the film score composed by Julian Nott and cleverly arranged for brass band set the atmosphere and excitement perfectly.  After the interval, the GUS Band presented their Wizard of Oz set as performed to great acclaim at last year’s Brass in Concert.

Principle Cornet James Screaton performs

The audience loved it and the whole show was a memorable occasion for all the family, for both Wallace and Gromit fans and brass band supporters alike. To quote Wallace, “all’s well that ends well, that’s what I say” which summed up this memorable afternoon perfectly.

on by GUS Editor

Nothing Wrong With This!

On Sunday June 29th the GUS Band will be putting on a very special performance at the Royal and Derngate theatre in Northampton.  The band will be donning their techno trousers to accompany a showing of the film Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers with a live performance of the soundtrack.

First shown on TV in 1993, this hugely popular film from Nick Park’s Aardman Animations was the second instalment for the loveable Wallace and his dog Gromit who find themselves entangled with a villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw.

Winning the Grand Prix at the World Festival of Animated Film, this will be a really exciting treat for all the family to come and watch.  The show will also include the band performing their highly acclaimed Wizard of Oz set from last year’s Brass in Concert Championships.

To join the GUS Band and Wallace and Gromit on their whirlwind adventure alongside a short concert of other family friendly tunes that everyone will love, tickets can be obtained from the Royal and Derngate, https://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/   To experience The Wrong Trousers like never before there will be a matinee and early evening performance starting at 2:00pm and 5:00pm respectively. Perfect for all ages, this is a one-of-a-kind experience that you won’t want to miss.

Join us at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton for an afternoon of music, laughter, and cinematic magic!