Sixth Annual Concert in Hythe

The 6th Annual Concert featuring the Hythe Salvation Army Band and the Hythe Town Concert Band was held at St. Leonard’s Church, Hythe, on Saturday, 8 March 2008.

There was an air of anticipation as the Hythe Town Concert Band took center stage to perform a mixture of classical music, original wind music and themes from blockbuster films such as the Indiana Jones series.

The second half of the program featured the Salvation Army band, directed by Bandmaster Richard Carroll, getting off to a fine start with Righteousness, Peace and Joy, with the members of the band making their entry to the stage as and when required. Items also included two classic marches, Southern New England and Golden Jubilee. These were contrasted with a piece written for the band by Wes Carroll, Just a Piece of Music?, which takes both the performers and audience on a journey through life using the children’s hymn “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild”. Coupled with an introduction from Captain Phil Layton, the piece left no doubt about the purpose of Salvation Army banding.

It has become a tradition that the concert include a “Last Night of the Proms” segment, which the audience joined with enthusiastically.

The guest soloist for this year was a young Australian cornet soloist, Cameron Ivers, who displayed great sensitivity in his rendition of I’d Rather Have Jesus (George Beverly Shea, arr. William Himes). Ivers also demonstrated his versatility with a jazz arrangement of Joshua, accompanied by Wes Carroll on piano.