'Meet The Knights' - Sunday 28th March 2004

A couple of weeks previous, the staff and instructors decided that the corps was in a position to publicly display what it had become during the last few months. It was felt that the best way of achieving this was a brief invitational concert/demonstration which would essentially serve three main purposes...

	To showcase' exactly what the members had achieved during their limited time with the corps.
	To give the members a brief taste of what it’s like to perform in front of an audience.
	To let the audience know a little more about the Staffordshire Knights organisation.

To put things in perspective, we should remember that 6 months ago, most  of our members  were just spectators in an SK school assembly presentation, having never played a note. Also, this was the first time that members had performed on their instrument of choice in front of people other than their instructors. With all this in mind, we expected that the proceedings may have the odd glitch, however things ran surprisingly smoothly and everyone gave 100%.

After a welcoming speech by Jason, we launched into a familiar routine, where the Instructors explained how the different sound 'colours' add their part to the ensemble sound. Each instrument was shown and described, then briefly demonstrated by a member. After each of the sections had shown what they are comprised of, that section went through a series of short exercises to show how the rudiments are taught and used to improve excellence.

On conclusion of the demonstrations, there were a series of SK Bronze Awards presented. These awards are one of the motivational tools that we use, and recognise both the dedication that the member has shown and the skill level they have attained.

As soon as the awards had been given out, the whole corps  assembled and performed  the 'Cartoon Medley' (a snippet of the SK 2004 repertoire), which went down really well, so much so that an encore was in order.

Being exposed to an audience is the first step towards moving into the public domain and ultimately the competitive circuit, this being our intention. Our current focus is on recruitment and making sure that the members enjoy their time at SK, and because of continued success on both issues, that day shouldn't be too far away.

The Staff and Instructors would like to thank everyone who came to the Concert, and indeed all the people who offered and gave help which included making drinks, supplying snacks, donating raffle prizes, sweeping up etc. Your support is very important and appreciated, it is this support and the commitment of our members that makes the future of SK strong.

You can find a few photos taken at the concert here

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Here is the programme for the evening...

 

‘Meet the Knights’ – Sunday March 28th 2004   The Staffordshire Knights wish to thank you for attending, and would like to extend to you a very warm welcome. We hope that the hour proves both entertaining and informative.   The purpose of this brief presentation is threefold:   I)     To ‘showcase’ the members achievements during their short involvement with the corps   II)       To give the members a brief taste of what it’s like to perform in front of an audience   III)     To let you know a little more about the organisation.   Here is how we intend the proceedings to flow, but please tolerate us if we veer from this schedule in the event of something unforeseen happening. Remember, this is the first time that most members have performed on their instrument of choice in front of people other than their instructors. Also, 6 months ago, most  kids couldn’t even play a note, so we fully expect minor ‘teething’ problems!     Welcome from Dave Walton – (Management Committee)   Brief overview of SK by Jason Wilkinson  (Corps Director)             ‘Introduction to the Brass Section’ – Andy Wood (Brass Instructor)   ‘Introduction to the Percussion Section’ – Rob Thys (Drum Instructor)   ‘Introduction to the Pit Section’ – Jon Howell (Pit Instructor)   ‘Shows & Competitions’ – Jason Wilkinson   Brief explanation of award scheme followed by mass presentation of Bronze awards           – Jon Howell and Dave Walton   A mass debut performance of SK 2004 playing their ‘Cartoon Medley’     At this point, please feel free to try out any of the instruments or talk to any of the Instructors/Staff.   For more information, please visit our website at www.staffordshire-knights.org.uk and/or contact Jason on 01782 416 293 or Simon on 01538 371 545.   We firmly believe that SK have a strong future, so please spread the word to help us in our recruitment drive, and thank you very much for your support today.