Thurrock Marching Brass - BBC Inside Out programme

Thurrock Marching Brass was re-launched for youngsters in the Thurrock area officially on 18 October 2010 and provides kids between the ages of 6 and 16 years full access to marching band activities and performing arts opportunities up and down the country. The original band was formed by David J. E. Loader on 18 October 1973 and went on to local, national, European and World stage acclaim, closing its doors in 1989 as a marching band. The re-launch, lead by Paul Morgan, established a board of trustees, all of whom had previous involvement within the band ranging from first night boys to some who joined the band later in the 1980’s, with one single aim, which is to provide the kids of Thurrock all the many and great opportunities that those that went through the ranks of the original band had enjoyed.

The board appointed Darren Crisp as Corps Director in 2010, and Darren has been tasked with not only developing the youngsters that have come through to the new band but also in preserving the traditions that are so important to all of those involved. Quite a challenge given the history involved, but it is through Darren and his staff’s dedication and hard work that the name of Thurrock Marching Brass is starting to rise again.

As a result, the organisation were contacted by the BBC who wanted to create a program that centred on building something from the ground up that had once been firmly established but stopped for whatever reason. The board felt that this would be an excellent opportunity to share the development and educational benefits that the youngsters under our charge are going through and as a result agreed to work with the producers to create a positive program that would gain national air time.

After spending some time filming the kids at rehearsals and also following them to the 2012 BYBA Nationals, the final editing of the program relating to Marching Bands is complete and an air date has been released. The program centres around the re-launching of one of the UK’s most prestigious Marching Bands after an absence of 21 years. It follows the reasons why the band was reformed and where the idea initially came from, and has some interviews with key personnel within the organisation who give their own account of the current and future of what has been restarted for the youngsters of Thurrock. The kids enjoyed immensely being the centre of attention throughout the filming and the BBC wish to pass on their thanks to everyone involved at Thurrock Marching Brass.

The air date for the film, which is approximately 8 ½ minutes long is Monday 19 November 2012 at 7.30pm on BBC1.

Chairman Paul Morgan comments “having been involved in the marching and performing arts world now for some 38 years and in many capacities, the people that I have met along that journey have helped to shape how I think and act, and to each and every one of them I would like to extend a huge thank you. It is through those relationships that the achievement of re-launching the band has come about and we set out initially in April 2008 in my living room the plans for bringing what was almost an institutional name within the marching bands world back to life from the ground up. Such were the challenges that it took us until 2010 to finally achieve the re-launch. We have in Darren Crisp an amazingly gifted Corps Director, who is working wonders with the young people that are currently on board. This opportunity will showcase all that is good and positive within the marching arts world in general, and because it will have national coverage, to a much wider audience than has been achieved for a very long time. I have seen literally thousands of youngsters involved during my time and I think it is high time for a bit of positivity for what they do and what they go through to achieve. Our own kids work so hard and are a credit to their parents and to the organisation, and as we grow, the many lessons that I and the entire team at Thurrock Marching Brass have learned from so many great people, including our founder Dave Loader, will hopefully serve us well as we develop the next generation going forwards. I hope that everyone enjoys the production as much as we and the kids have in providing the material for it”.

For further information relating to Thurrock Marching Brass visit www.thurrockmarchingbrass.org

9th November 2012 - updated 20th November