BIRMINGHAM

Last weekend we all trekked down to Birmingham for the National Sax Quartet Finals held at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

We arrived early on Sunday morning to take part in the National Saxophone Choir workshop/rehearsal run by Gemma Harvey and Nigel Wood, ready for the Gala Concert in the evening.

Shortly after this we had a final practise for 10mins before the competition started. There were 5 quartets, including us, in the final and everyone played their very best. Unfortunately we didn’t win but were beaten by a very good group called Délice from London.

Undeterred and still in a jubilant mood from the mornings excitement we had a quick snack and spent the afternoon playing all sorts of different saxophones on the stalls, ranging from the tiny Sopranino to the massive Contra Bass sax!

Next came a short rehearsal with the NSC and the world famous soloists Arno Bornkamp and Gilad Atzmon ready for the evening concert. We sat in the sell out audience of 525 for the first half, and were awestruck by the amazing talent of both the soloists! There was a mad rush to purchase their CDs in the interval and we headed up to our backstage room to get ready.

When it came to playing on stage it seemed to go ever so quickly and was a great experience, as its not everyday you get to play with world famous musicians...or even here them live!

Feeling the effects our long day, we headed off our separate ways for the long journey home. Lewy and I stayed on a little longer and listened to Pete Kings excellent set including a jam session with two upcoming musicians studying at the conservatoire, whilst Annika and Alex headed off home (a big THANKYOU to Mr Shiret who volunteered to drive them and Miss Newton to Birmingham and back!).

After the four hour journey we finally arrived home at about 2am feeling tired and worn out. But I think it is safe to say that a brilliant day was had by all!

The Saxophonics