Andre’s Trombone
“When I was in my early teens I was part of a Mediaeval Re-enactment Society in my hometown of Sheffield.
Formed in 1973 by my parents and three or four other families all connected with the Police force, they named it Escafeld, the old name for Sheffield, and the group is still going strong today. In the early days they were trying to grow it, so I asked my best friend from school if he would join. We were both 13.
At the time my friend’s hobby was playing in the local brass band, which had reformed in the late 1960s and were also looking for new players. We struck a bargain: he joined Escafeld and I joined the brass band. I started out on Tenor Horn, but ended up on trombone after a suggestion by the conductor.
When we were around 20 years old, my friend and I both quit Escafeld. I moved away for work, and my friend had become a knight and was fed up of getting hit on the head with swords. We both carried on playing in (different) brass bands, and I kept going despite moving around for work until I was 32. At that point we had our two daughters and moved to Leeds, where I still live, and I stopped playing. Largely because of the children, but also because I fell out of the habit.
My best friend who started me off happened to live close by us in Leeds, and he and his wife played in a local band. We also had children who were almost the same age. When their daughter decided to learn to play, and joined the youth band connected to her parents band, my youngest daughter decided to learn as well. They were both around 13 at the time. I decided to help out by playing with the youth band, and dusted off the trombone after 14 years of inactivity.
My friend’s daughter gave up after about a year, but by then my daughter was committed to carry on because she had chosen to do music for her GCSE’s, and had moved to a bigger youth band a few miles away. I followed her, playing in the same youth band and helping them, eventually joining the senior band 20 years ago. I am still playing and enjoying it to this day.
My favourite times are taking part in the national contests. Briefly, banding is divided into five sections by ability and there are annual contests between bands in the same section and geographical area. The winners get to play against the same level bands from each of the nine areas around the UK. There is also promotion/relegation between sections in each area, so it’s similar to football but at a local level.
Over the 59 years since I started playing, bands I have been part of have managed to win through to the finals seven times.
On a less positive note, my most memorable moment was accidentally re-enacting a famous scene from the film “Brassed Off”. If you haven’t seen it I recommend you watch it.
“Brassed Off” is a powerful history of life in the ‘80s for people in the mining industry, following a brass band and its struggles to survive when the local pit closes down. In one scene the band is on a march, and the main trombonist drops his slide while playing. He is seen scrambling around trying to pick it up as the band plays and marches on.
I did the same on a march once, and it was highly embarrassing.”
Andre Hill
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