Masterton District Brass Band is celebrating 150 years of playing, with a weekend of events including a Sunday afternoon concert in Queen Elizabeth Park and the launch of a new summer polo top.
For decades, Wairarapa people have watched the band play and march in distinctive red wool jackets with black trim, or in formal white shirts, especially in their busy month of December.
“We used to wear the wool jacket during Christmas parades in 32 degrees,” band secretary-manager Narissa Knight said. “We can’t enjoy ourselves if we’re very hot – we have to be comfortable.”
In high-summer heat, moisture on the face can affect brass players achieving a good seal around their instrument’s mouthpiece.
“My metal mouthpiece can sometimes slide off my lips in the heat,” Knight said.
“In December, the brass band is out three to five times a week, carolling outside a supermarket, marching in a Christmas parade, or playing in a rest home – carrying or holding a tuba that weighs 15-17kg in summer heat is a big ask.”
Knight said the traditional smart wool jackets would remain and be used during colder weather, for Anzac Day and for contests.
“The red polo shirt with a new logo coincides with our 150th anniversary and will become our summer top. We’ll still wear our band hats and our black on the bottom half.”
The main brass band of experienced players has about 20 members – with four joining in the last two months – and includes six youngsters aged 11-17.
“They all play different instruments too – the tuba, the baritone, the trombone, the tenor horn, the cornet and one plays percussion,” Knight said.
The junior band has 12-15 members, with more girls than boys.
“We teach in four schools now and it’s a way of attracting young members,” she said.
The Masterton District Brass Band is a D-grade band, which is “common for smaller country towns like us”.
“We aren’t the oldest brass band in New Zealand but we are one of the only bands that played through World War 2, when other bands had to stop – one of our [Wairarapa] players couldn’t go to war, so he got friends to start playing and they continued.”
The current band is welcoming and inclusive, said Knight, who coordinates the school lessons.
“We have young students and band members with ADHD and autism, some of whom are very good musicians.
“There is joy when our students get a note, or they are finally able to play a piece.”
Brass instruments are owned by the band.
“A new B-flat tuba can cost $25,000,” Knight said. “That’s why donations from the community during concerts are so important and appreciated, as well as grants received from Masterton District Council, Masterton Trust Lands Trust and Trust House, mostly for our youth.”
The band’s conductor, Kevin Pett, lives in Lower Hutt and has been involved with the Masterton band since 2011.
“He likes all music and knows what we can play. For our November concert, we’ll have marches, slow pieces, a Cliff Richard tune and more swing and upbeat music – there’s a range coming through,” Knight said.
For street marches, Cheryl Cavanagh is the band’s drum major and is also the only adult learner in the junior band, on the tenor horn.
Knight said the 150th celebrations would miss the presence of Norm Henderson, who died last year, the oldest member of the band.
“The band was Norm’s New Zealand family, as his children live in Australia,” Knight said. “He would sweep the band room’s driveway and carried his instrument on a golf trolley.”
The band’s most senior member now is Brian Castle, 80, a former drum major who now plays solo cornet.
“Our youngest member, Eliana Baird, is in Year 7,” Knight said. “In a brass band, members of all ages become friends and there’s nothing weird about it – we just all share a love of music.
“We are a family, we care about each other and we give music to the community.”
Masterton District Brass Band 150th celebrations November 3-5. Friday: Social mix-and-mingle at the Band Room, Park St, Masterton. Saturday: Practice at 10am before a march through town [or performance at a venue to be confirmed] at 1pm. Celebration Dinner at Club Wairarapa. Sunday: Community concert at Queen Elizabeth Park band rotunda from 1pm. Anyone wishing to participate should email: [email protected] or check their Facebook page.
