This guide is intended to help you to make a success of your event when hiring Lyme Regis Town Band. Our band is proud of the high standard of music we offer and we also enjoy performing and sharing our music with others. The performance itself, however, is only part of the overall event, and in order that we make the best possible contribution we ask that you spend a few moments to check through this guide.

The guide consists of the following parts:

1. How to get the best from the band – This describes the points to consider when hiring the band.

2. Event Booking Form and Checklist – This is an overview of the key details of your event. Please complete each section, save the document and return it by email to our Secretary. This should ensure that both parties are clear about our respective commitments well in advance of the event.

Contacting us

For background information about the band please access our website www.lymeregistownband.co.uk or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LymeRegisTownBand

If you have any queries about this guide, or any other aspect of the booking process for Lyme Regis Town Band please contact our Secretary at :secretary@lymeregistownband.co.uk

How to get the best from the Band

What do you want the band to do? It’s best to have a clear idea of what you want the band to do.

• What is the nature of the event?

• Do you want a full concert?

• Will there be a formal audience for the band (in which case the band may want to prepare a compere and a programme)?

• Do you just want background music?

• Is the band accompanying singing or other activities? (In which case greater detail and liaison will be required)?

• Are additional groups (musical or other) also taking part in the same event? How will the time / stage area be shared?

• How long do you want the band to play for? With what intervals? The band usually performs two sets of 45 minutes with a half hour break between. If a longer break is required there will be an additional charge.

What to provide

• For nearly all events the band will require seating (usually around 25 brass players and 2 percussionists).

• Chairs with arms make things difficult for brass players, so it’s best to avoid them if at all possible.

• The band formation used is shown below.

• The band would ideally expect to occupy a space of around 7m x 7m, though smaller spaces may be accommodated. We are able to play on some ‘tiered’ stages, but this is dependent entirely on the size and location of the tiers. This must be discussed and agreed with the band in advance.
  
  

• The band will need a back room or similar space to congregate and warm-up before playing, including somewhere to store the instrument cases.

• There needs to be adequate overhead lighting for the band to be able to see their music. Spotlights shining straight at the band will not be sufficient.

Percussion

• It is helpful to inform the band how they will access the venue – will there be a long way to carry equipment, or can the venue be accessed more easily? Is the venue at ground level, or is it on a higher floor, in which case is there a lift available? These points will then be borne in mind when the band is assembling its programme.

• The band will usually arrive by private cars and will need somewhere to park. Instructions of where is suitable will be most helpful. Close vehicular access to the venue for the band’s larger instruments and equipment would also be appreciated.

• Light refreshments are always welcome – particularly at intervals – as playing is thirsty work!

Outdoor engagements

• The open-air is a good place for a brass band in the summer, but attention should be given to the location. Drums particularly are vulnerable to extreme heat and rain and wet music is very difficult to read, so a shady spot or under cover of some kind is preferable.

• It is useful if the playing area can have some shelter from wind. Music stands carrying music are particularly difficult to deal with in even moderately breezy conditions, so any shelter is always appreciated.

• In the case of wet or inclement weather, what will happen? Will the event be cancelled, or moved indoors? Will the band still be required? If the band’s services are cancelled, what notice would we receive, and would there still be payment available?

• From a practical point of view, the ground needs to be relatively flat. Not only is it important for the physical position for somebody who is to work sitting down for an hour or two, but music stands are top heavy and can be unstable if the ground is not good. If you want the band to play on grass, please bear in mind that chairs with thin legs, on soft ground quite easily sink into the turf. We would certainly appreciate some wooden flooring to avoid this situation.

• You need to think what will be going on around the band. For safety, we should not be placed next to a busy road. Think also of animals – which can be startled by a band and of other sounds that will be around us that could detract from your listeners’ enjoyment.

Timing

• Lyme Regis Town Band is an amateur organisation and most of our players have full- time jobs, so it is often difficult to get the Band together during working hours.

• We accept bookings well in advance. Please book early but check out our website first, as this shows engagements we have already confirmed.

• As an amateur band, we limit our commitments across the year. Early booking will limit any disappointment.

• Once at the venue, the band will require time to set up – at least three quarters of an hour prior to the playing time, possibly longer in certain circumstances. If there is a

  shared arena / stage, then details will need to be resolved as to how and when the interchange between performances /stage areas will take place.

• Percussion is always a challenge – it takes quite a while to set up properly. Modern brass band repertoire demands quite a range of percussion, however this will depend on the programme for your event and, in some cases, the space available.

• The band prefers engagements that have a reasonable length of playing required. An event that only demands 15 or 20 minutes of music is not ideal. An hour or two is more usual, and ensures that you get the best value from the Band. A typical concert format would be 45 minutes playing in each half, with a 30 minute break. Please bear in mind that extremes of heat and cold make sustained playing without a break more difficult.

Payment

• You will not have to pay professional rates for our services; however our performances are always carried out in a professional manner! We provide excellent value for money – a high standard of musical performance for a reasonable fee.

• It costs a lot of money to run the band, including music, rehearsal facilities and of course instruments, which are all in excess of £1000 each. The funding for this comes from our engagements and other fund raising activities. Individual players do not receive payment.

• We charge £300 per performance for two forty five minute sets with a half hour break in between. If an extended break is required eg to accommodate other performers, there is an additional charge of £50 per half hour in excess of the standard half hour break.

• We require a non-returnable deposit of £50 on completion of our Engagement Form.

• In the event of a cancellation the following scale of charges will apply:

  • Cancellation up to six weeks prior to the event - no fee is required

  • From six weeks prior to the event, 20% of the appearance fee is payable, in addition to the £50 non-returnable deposit.

  • From two weeks prior to the event 50% of the appearance fee is payable, in addition to the £50 non-returnable deposit.

  • One week prior to the event 100% of the appearance fee is payable minus the £50 non-returnable deposit.

  Promotion

  • In any promotional material, please ensure that the band is referred to as Lyme Regis Town Band

  • Our Musical director is Mr Ellis Holt.

  • Further information and photographs can be provided on request by our Marketing Manager, Mr Rob James at marketing@lymeregistownband.co.uk or simply downloaded from our website but please give credit on websites to the photographer.

  Event Booking Form and Checklist

  Please complete an Engagement Form, retaining a copy for your organisation and returning a copy to our Secretary via secretary@lymeregistownband.co.uk.