Recent YCB Trips
2014: Paris
After playing a concert at Ryedale Stadium at the start of the Tour de France in York, the Concert Band went to Paris for the finale of the race. As in the accompanying photo from the York Press, before we set off, the Lord Mayor of York invited us to the Mansion House to collect a letter for the Mayor of Paris.
On Saturday 26th July, the band travelled by coach and ferry from York to Paris, where we stayed for four nights at the Mercure Paris Opera Cusset. We performed a Sunday afternoon concert at the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower, after which some of us went to watch the end of the Tour de France on the Champs Élysées.
On Monday we played at the bandstand at the Jardin du Luxembourg. Later that night, our coach driver, Andre took us on a tour of Paris by night. On Tuesday we had a free day with an optional trip to Versailles by coach and in the evening we all went for a lovely meal together. The next day, it was time to set off for home after a brilliant trip.
2013: Kendal visit to York
This year it was the turn of the Kendal band to come to York. After an enjoyable Friday evening buffet and drinks, we met on Saturday morning for our rehearsal. We performed a joint concert at the Riley Smith Hall in Tadcaster that evening with the mixed choir, Tadchorale.
We concluded the visit on a sunny Sunday afternoon, with a joint concert to an appreciative audience in the Valley Gardens in Harrogate.
2012: London
To celebrate YCB's 20th anniversary, we went by coach to London on a Saturday morning in June.
We played a concert at Victoria Embankment Gardens on a gloriously sunny afternoon. Later we had a meal together and then went to see Les Miserables, from which we had played a musical selection at the concert.
2010: Lake Garda
This summer we went to lake Garda in Italy, staying at Riva del Garda on the north of the lake. (We flew from Leeds Bradford but due to the limited baggage allowance, the bass player and his son, a trombone player, drove with his van and all the bigger instruments and equipment across Europe to meet us at the hotel. )
We played in Bardolino in Garda, but unfortunately, due to heavy rain, our last concert at the south of the lake had to be cancelled. On our last night, everyone joined together for a very enjoyable farewell meal.
We also had a sightseeing trip to Verona and visited the beautiful walled city of Sirmione on our way to Milan airport for our journey home.
2009: York visit to Kendal
Again, our regular joint venture saw us playing two concerts, one at the Glebe in Bowness. We were much luckier with the weather this year!
2007: La Spezia
We followed the success of our first la Spezia trip with a second, in summer 2007.
One night we rehearsed in a castle with the local Maggiore band with both conductors taking turns in conducting; the locals must have liked the sound, as we soon had an informal audience.
Our trip coincided with a festival in la Spezia and we were invited to join the revellers for dinner on a table for 1000, which was set up on the Main Street and stretched all the way from the town centre to the waterfront.
2005: York visit Kendal
We revisited Kendal, staying in a mixture of hotels and Kendal band members' homes. We were treated to a lovely reception at the local cricket club on Friday night and rehearsed on Saturday morning. On Saturday evening we played a joint concert in a church on the Main Street. On Sunday afternoon, we were due to play outside the brewery but sadly, just as we were about to start, the rain came down in torrents!2004: La Spezia
The first ever York Concert Band trip abroad was to La Spezia in Northern Italy. We played at Verase Ligure, one of the town squares and in the castle at Torrechiara.