Showcase Of Original 1929 Masterpiece
Woodhouse Prize Band, formed in 1853, is very proud of it’s 167 year history as a village band. Situated on the South East side of Sheffield and still rehearsing in the village. The band has never received any form of sponsorship and prides themselves on being a family friendly, hardworking, non-contesting band.
The band has always been forward thinking, especially under the baton of previous MD David Morris and latterly under Richard Windle. Richard told us “When I joined the band as MD in 2018, I could see that this was a band with the ambition to entertain audiences. Since the Corona pandemic hit the UK we have been working hard to stay as motivated as possible, producing three lockdown recordings. Mr Blue Sky was recorded first, as a nod to David’s memory, it was his favourite song. 500 miles came next to support a local young lad with cerebral palsy who was raising money for two local charities by walking a marathon, he smashed his target and has now raised over £130,000! And now we have proudly recorded our signature march W.P.B “
The year was 1929, the year of the Wall Street Crash, the first ever car radio was made in America and the first public phone booth appears in London.
Tom Cook, a super talented member of Woodhouse Prize Band, both playing the cornet and conducting, scored the brass band parts to a march which he named Aston Hall. This march had been lost in the band archives until the year 2000 and it has since become an anthem for the band, and was renamed W.P.B.
Tom was a highly recognised musician around the the local area, and was often requested to perform on picollo trumpet for the Earl of Scarborough.
We recently entered the Fodens Whit Friday march contest playing W.P.B, this was the first time the band had every entered Whit Friday, albeit virtually. Something the band of 1929 could have never even imagined! Secretary, Gemma Grayson, is the Great, Great Granddaughter of Tom Cook and told us “to have the band be seen all over the world is very exciting, but for us to be playing Tom’s original composition is something to be extremely proud of! Woodhouse has had involvement from the Cook family since it was formed, seeing many Cook’s become bandmaster over the years. My Grandad, Graham Cook, 84, is still an active, playing member of the band and I know he is overwhelmed with the compliments Tom’s march has received”
You can view the bands performance at this years online whit friday contest here.
Related Posts
Baker steps down →
First SBBA Speaks podcast takes to the airwaves →
Steven Greenall joins Denis Wick Board →
