Gallery
January 10, 2017 in Slideshow
You are browsing the Blog for RDTC, Author at Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps - Marching Band.
60th Anniversary Concert
January 10, 2017 in Other
Our trip to Sopron, Hungary
June 19, 2016 in Recent Highlights
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- The band on Parade in Sopron
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- Dinner time!
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- The band serenades a newlywed couple
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- Sightseeing around town
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- Massed bands gathering in Sopron
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- The view from our hotel
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- Time for a dry toboggan run
West Ham vs. Manchester United
June 19, 2016 in Recent Highlights
On 7th May, the last game for West Ham United was held at the Boleyn ground – home for the team since the start of the 1904/1905 season. West Ham were up against Manchester United and the band were delighted to be a part of the last ever game at West Ham United’s Boleyn ground. The band has played at this ground on numerous occasions in the past and to play one last time on such a momentous day was a huge honour. Playing before the game and at half time, the atmosphere was amazing and a show we will never forget.
NTC Contest 2015
October 27, 2015 in Recent Highlights
25th October
Sunday was competition day – the first competition for the band this year. The Nautical Training Corps Contest 2015 was held at The Triangle Leisure Centre in Burgess Hill, West Sussex and aside from the NTC classes, they had offered an Open class which the band entered into.
We had been practicing for the month leading up to the contest and put in two extra weekend rehearsals to make use of what daylight was left of the season and the excitement of the band grew for our first competition of 2015.
The contest involved a 12 minute arena performance and the band entered to the march; Glorious Victory – more on the victory later 🙂 The band formed into 3 ranks of 16 as Drum Major, George Foreman saluted to start our performance. The routine started with the march; Imperial Echoes which entailed a series of quick and slow marching as well as an array of visual manoeuvres. Moving on to something more contemporary, the band then formed a circle to play Uptown Funk (the 2015 hit by Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars). Lastly, but by no means least – in fact, most in some ways – the band played Zorba which starts at around 45 beats per minute (bpm) and gradually increases up to around 190 bpm. It starts as a slow march, one pace at a time, and by the end resembles something just short of a jog – this was made famous by our friends at The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas
For the results – we did rather well! We won a collection of 8 awards including:
- Best Overall Band (Open Class)
- Best Turnout
- Best Musical Performance
- Best Visual Performance
A thoroughly enjoyable day on all counts and the band did an excellent job, with additional thanks to our Band Director Paul Binder, and the rest of the tutors, and supporting staff.
The RDTC, NTC Contest 2015
Beating Retreat 2015
June 14, 2015 in Recent Highlights
The Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps were invited to open Beating Retreat 2015 at Horseguards Parade, London which we last appeared at in 2013.
This year was themed around the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo so it had a strong historical prominence, and situated against the backdrop of St James’ Park.
The band last appeared at Beating Retreat in 2013 and we thoroughly enjoyed it two years ago, so all of the members we’re looking forward to going back for the two night event. The event itself featured music from the Massed Bands of The Household Division and a military re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo.
The Band had a 20 minute programme to put on for the audience so we combined some traditional miltary marches and a 2015 chart hit. We opened with a quick march – Great Little Army – followed by Imperial Echoes where the band started to show its experience of visual displays. Alternating sections of the band mixed slow and quick marching before breaking into a slow march – Royal Standard.
At this point, our drum section moved forward to show their precison of playing and stick movement, before the band brought things up to date with the chart it “Uptown Funk” – a 2015 hit from Pharell Williams.
Bringing the performance up in tempo, the band finished their display with Zorba (The Greek) often performaned by The Band of the Brigade of Gurkahs. It started with a very slow march, moving one step at a time and as the piece progresses, so does the tempo along with the band’s marching, where it finished at around 150-160 bpm.
The band were well received in person and on social media and the members were also full of excitement after both nights, a job well done!
“What a show, Colour, military music and precision and great entertainment. The Waterloo theme was a bonus and really made the evening go with a bang. Well done the Household Division, Britain’s military at it’s best assisted by the German marching band and the very professional marching band from Romford during the warm up.”
(http://reviews.ticketmaster.co.uk)
For more images of the Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps at Beating Retreat 2015, see our collection below:
Christmas Concert 2015
June 1, 2015 in Recent Highlights
Tickets £6 (£5 members) and £4 children.
Can be purchased at rehearsals or email: Fiona Widdop | feewiddop@gmail.com
London Marathon 2015
May 7, 2015 in Recent Highlights
The band returned for another year playing at the London Marathon, at our usual post – mile 23, outside the Tower of London.
The fun always starts with getting the marquee up and learning our lesson from last year, we marked the connecting section and beat our own personal best of 26 poles in 18 minutes. The day is always good fun and this year didn’t let us down, entertaining the runners – some of them even joined in – and bringing out some new pieces like: “Manhattan Skyline” (Saturday Night Fever)
This year, some extra encouragement was due as our very own Aaron Uglow (1st Trombone) ran in aid of the band. Looking well at mile 23, Aaron went on to finish in 5 H 23 mins – a great achievement.
RDTC Annual Christmas Concert
January 5, 2015 in Recent Highlights
This year we held the band Christmas Concert at our HQ in Taunton Road, Harold Hill on two nights. The performance itself was split into two halves. 
The first half featured some of our new and favourite pieces – to name a few:
- Mechanized Infantry (March)
- Game of Thrones Theme
- Solitaire (Trumpet Solo by Ben Widopp)
- Hey Jude – The Beatles
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Happy – Pharrell Williams
The second half had a much more festive approach with:
- Happy Christmas (War is Over)
- The Christmas Song (More Commonly Known as Nat King Cole’s Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
- Stop the Cavalry – Jona Lewie
- Silent Night
- Jingle Bells
- The Nut Rocker (An upbeat arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nut Cracker)
…and of course, everyone’s favourite “The 12 Days of Christmas” with the usual Audience Participation!
