A Special Christmas Present for Uckfield Concert Brass

Whilst most people were making their final preparations for the big day, the 25 members of Uckfield Concert Brass had their minds on their live appearance on the "National Lottery Live" broadcast on Christmas Eve.

Uckfield Concert Brass were one of many bands who were asked if they could appear on the show and were fortunate to be the first to respond. This all happened just one week before the event giving them little time to prepare! The BBC asked them to play 3 carols at the close of the programme and a medley of "Jingle Bells", "Deck the Halls" and "Good King Wenceslas" was selected.

With only 2 days to go, we received another call asking us also to play "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" at the start of the show which was one of the few carols for which the band had no arrangement! Resident Conductor, Andy Wooler, burnt the midnight oil and wrote a special arrangement which was played by the band for the first time at the dress rehearsal!

The big day itself started off with an appearance by Andy Wooler on the BBC Southern Counties Radio Breakfast Show, talking about the band and giving a quick rendition of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". At the same time, other local radio stations & the local press were also mentioning our appearance that evening.

Arriving at the BBC Television Centre at 6.30, the band were straight in to a dress rehearsal - little time for nerves to develop here! After a short break, it was time to take the stage for the live broadcast. By this time, the band members had got used to their surroundings and the split second timing required to start at the right moment was no problem for this experienced group of musicians.

15 minutes later, it was all over and the band were able to relax and think about getting home for a well earned drink at the band HQ at the Alma Arms, Uckfield.