Alder Valley Brass raised a fantastic £1,769 for local hospice Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, Farnham, through a second year of Christmas street performances. They met with the Hospice’s Community Fundraising Manager Ashleigh Tennent, to present her with a cheque.

The money was raised throughout December, when the 28 members of the band braved wintery weather to give street performances in 14 different locations across Surrey and Hampshire. They played in towns including Aldershot, Farnham, Sandhurst and Camberley, but their main performance was in Guildford, where they played from 10am-4pm in locations on both the High Street and North Street.

Although a charity itself, the band kindly decided to donate half of the money it raised to the local hospice Phyllis Tuckwell, which cares for terminally ill patients across West Surrey and North East Hampshire. The other half of the money, the band plans to put towards buying new instruments, as they are hoping to purchase new Timpani drums.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to the Alder Valley Brass,” said Ashleigh Tennent, Community Fundraising Manager at Phyllis Tuckwell. “We need to raise over £15,000 a day to be able to offer our services to patients and their families free of charge, and we rely greatly on the generosity of our local community to help us to this. We really appreciate the time and effort which Alder Valley Brass have put into raising this money and would like to offer them our sincere thanks for choosing to donate this money to the Hospice”.

Every day Phyllis Tuckwell supports over 140 patients, relatives and carers who are affected by a terminal illness - such as cancer or Motor Neurone Disease . However, the funding which it receives from the NHS/Government covers less than 15% of its costs, and it therefore has to raise over £15,000 a day itself - which is why Community Fundraising events such as this are so important.

The members of AVB were surprised and delighted when Gordon Campbell, principal trombone of the BBC Big Band and Lead Trombone for the John Wilson Orchestra, called in at rehearsal. Musical Director Roger Burke, who has known Gordon for many years, sprung the surprise on the trombone section first, as they thought they were just arriving early for a section rehearsal. The trombone section were obviously delighted to have the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest exponents of the instrument, as were the rest of the band. Gordon spent the evening coaching the members and passing on his expertise on all aspects of playing.

Gordon holds the post as Trombone Professor at the Royal Marines School of Music, Portsmouth and the Royal Academy of Music. In 2015 he was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (Hon ARAM) for Jazz Trombone.

A very successful day was spent in Guildford High Street. The band played popular melodies which could be heard, while people were passing the Guildhall. Alder Valley Brass would like to thank the people who were in Guildford High Street on Saturday 6th June for their generosity. A total of over £1500 was collected, which was split between two charities, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and also Band Funds.

On June 28th 2015 Alder Valley Brass played in Sunbury Walled Garden. The audience enjoyed the music and also the weather while listening to the band.

In July 2015 Alder Valley Brass played at the Bourne Show . Photos taken by Michael Buckridge, with his permission to use on our website.