Birmingham Citadel's Night at the Proms

The Birmingham Citadel Band (Bandmaster Graham Lamplough) held another successful Night at the Proms event on 31 January 2009.

This year’s event featured a Disney theme which got underway with a fantastic arrangement by Rick van der Velde of Disney on Parade, with Disney characters on parade around the hall. The first half of the program included some great Disney music with Lion King and Pirates of the Caribbean, together with more traditional Disney themes such as Snow White and Bear Necessities from “The Jungle Book.” The latter was played by Edward Dixon with great panache on solo tuba. There are many such solos with a humorous intent and this one was fantastic with other soloists in the band “muscling in” on Dixon’s solo. The first half ended as it began, with the band playing Goff Richards’ Disney Spectacular with the Disney characters once again on parade.

As always, the event featured a guest soloist and this year the audience was treated to wonderful singing by Stephanie Lamplough. There are not many professional singers who can change, seemingly with a “switch”, from the Theater Show Voice to the Operatic Voice, each of these modes requiring distinctive techniques and voice control. Stephanie was able to do this and gave some wonderful songs and operatic arias. In the first half, she sang When She Loved Me from “Toy Story” with an unusual accompaniment of brass band and keyboard. She also performed Is this Now My Home? from “Beauty and the Beast” and Part of Your World from “The Little Mermaid”. Stephanie’s accompanist, Trudy Purkiss, was excellent in her role and was sometimes joined by Stephanie’s husband, Gavin, on cornet.

The second half was more typical of a Night at the Proms program, with all the items one might expect, such as Fantasia on British Sea Songs (H. Wood), Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 (Elgar), Stainer’s Crucifixion and Rule Britannia. Stephanie Lamplough contributed some Handel and Mozart, excellently performing Rejoice Greatly and Queen of the Night.

In all, the evening was very enjoyable, enhanced by the knowledgable, practiced and proficient compéring skills of Roy Richley. There was also the thrill of having a full hall, with an anticipatory and appreciative audience.