The last month has been a busy period for the band. At the end of September the band travelled to Harrogate to perform at the National Finals of Great Britain. The band's Musicial Director Kevin Gibbs was very pleased with the performance of 'Sinfonietta' by Gordon Langford. The band was awarded 5th Place (out of 17) by adjudicator's Steve Pritchard-Jones and Kevin Wadsworth. The band has recieved many positive comments and would to thank everyone who has contacted the band to congratulate us on our performance. In addition the band competed at Pontin's on the 4th November and were awarded 3rd Prize (out of 18 bands). The period after the National Finals has seen a couple of movements within the band personnel. The band would like to thank Simon Morgan for the time and committment he has put into the band as he moves to Pemberton Old Wigan Band to take up their Vacant Soprano Cornet Postion. Simon has been a stalwart member of Flixton Band for a number of years and we wish him luck at pastures new. Tom Hylgaard is also taking a break from the band to concentrate on his professional trumpet playing. Tom is also a long serving member of the band and we wish him well for his career. We welcome a new player to our ranks - Danielle who joins the Front Row Cornets. The band is now in preparation for the local contest season were we have been promoted to the championship section. The first show will be St Helens (Wilkinsons) on 19th November. Finally flixtonband.org now has a sister site courtesy of 1st Horn Player Julie Paton - we are on myspace!! you can view the site at http://www.myspace.com/flixtonband

The band would like to welcome Craig Savage who joins us from Blackburn and Darwen band in time to complete the Cornet section for the National Finals. Craig is originally from Scotland and is currently a music student at Salford Univerisity. In addition we would like to make a special mention for our youngest member, Jenny Patel. Jenny, who plays percussion in the band, has just recieved her GCSE results. Jenny gained 9 A* grades including achieving one of the top 5 marks in music in the country. Well done Jenny!

The band would like to formally welcome Chris Gallon who joins the band on BBb Bass in time for the National Finals. Chris hails from the NE where he has played for a number of bands. Chris joins us from The Pilling Band.

Flixton Band are proud to announce a new addition to our banding family. Horn Player Andy Vail and his Wife Audrey brought a wonderful little girl into the world on Friday 7th July. The proud parents have chosen the beautiful Irish name Róisín. The band would like to congratulate the couple of the birth of their first baby. Róisín has also made it to her first band rehearsal aged 3 days and mother and baby are doing well.

June saw the band competing in the annual Whit Friday Marches. Unfortunately the band was held up in motorway traffic and only made it around 4 villages. But within the short space of time the band brought home 3 prizes - Best 3rd Section band at Greenacres 2nd place at Freizland + Best Basses (for the second year running). In addition the band performed a 'local family concert' at Urmston Leisure Centre. The concert marked the 2nd annual summer concert and the start of the 2006 local concert program. The concert was a resounding success and it was fantastic to see our local friends turning out to support the band. The band is now in preparation for the Nationals Finals (Sep) and our promotion to the Championship Section at the Fleetwood Contest (also Sep). The band shall be performing at a range of events over the summer period. You can keep up to date with our engagement schedule in the Engagements section.

Following the conclusion of the of the contest season, the band has recieved an official notification from the North West Counties Brass Band Association (NWCBBA). Due to the recent successes at St Helens (1st prize), Preston (1st prize) and Tameside (2nd prize), the band shall be promoted to the Championship Section as of September 2006. The band would also like to thank Sylvia Kay for the time and effort she has put into the band over the last 4 years. Sylvia is taking breaking from playing fulltime with the band, but the good news is that Sylvia will be keeping in contact and is staying registered with the band - should we need a reliable dep - great stuff!

Flixton take 2nd prize at Tameside. Performing Peter Graham's 'Prisms' the band took 2nd prize and £400 at the Tameside Open. The contest concludes the local grading contests until the Autumn. This season the band achieved 1st place at St Helens (Nov) and Preston (Feb) and 2nd prize at Tameside (March). This month the band also gained 3 places to move to 141 in the World Brass Band rankings (source = 4barsrest.com) For a full review of Tameside click here

Flixton celebrate further success as they qualify to represent the North West at the Nationals. Competing in the regional qualifying championships the band were awarded 2nd place. The band, along with Rainford Band will be representing the North West at the National Finals of Great Britain in September. For a full review of the day click here

The band would like to welcome Yvonne who joins the backrow to complete the section in time for the regional championships. Yvonne is studying for a PhD at the University, we hope this is the start of a long and happy relationship. Yvonne's profile can be viewed in the Personnel section.

3rd successive victory as the band storms to success at Preston. Competing at the Brass at the Guild contest yesterday Flixton was proud to take a clean sweep with the prizes. The band bought home the 1st Prize Trophy, a cheque for £600 and a trophy awarded to the "Best Soloist" in the section, which was awarded to our principal euphonium, Andy Tyson. For a full review Click Here

The band would like to thank the following players for their services: Nicolette Hilton who leaves to the band to join her husband at Tyldsley, Anthony Bartley who will be joining his partner at Eccleston Brass and Matt Fearn who moves to pastures new at Wingates. We would like to wish the players the best of luck at their new bands and hope to see them in the near future.