Lyceum Brass #1

I attended the first 2020 Lyceum Brass Band rehearsal today at 8:00 PM although I arrived half an hour early to chat to Ralph before the practice began. He seemed to enjoy recalling the history of the band and could relate it with fantastic detail. The room was beige and classroom like, very unassuming and I suppose just how I expected it. Ralphs red jumper stood out dramatically and it made me itch to photograph him. He told me they had 800 pieces of sheet music that they play as a 25-piece band, though 17 would attend this particular practice. As more members arrived, they each began to tune up. At first seemingly unrelated to one another. Yet as the numbers grew, a large wave of harmony and dissonance began to meld into one force. As the conductor took his place, he wished everyone a happy new year then passed over to Ralph. He explained my presence and no one seemed too resistant to the idea of me being there. A brief hush came from the conductor, which reminded me of how a teacher might treat a well behaved but talkative class. Then they began to play. Perfect Harmony. You couldn’t pick out a single wrong note. It was surprisingly overwhelming. It seemed funny that something so incredible and moving was happening in this tiny plain room, twice a week on the Wirral. After two songs back to back, I felt like applauding but didn’t want to disturb. It was far more somber and romantic than I had anticipated. Then once the air had settled. After the silence of the songs, the conductor announced “It’s so nice, not playing that Christmas shite”. I used up the rest of my roll of film, from three or four different spots. I noticed some problems. The room is likely to be always laid out in the exact same way. Therefore, the spaces I can physically get in will be the same every week. This puts me at risk of getting the same angles every time, unless I begin to stage the shots. Something I will definitely try. Another problem is the instruments themselves seem to block the musicians faces. I had noticed this on their current press photos, so cannot be too surprised. Perhaps the best photos may be the opposite of what I have already captured; staged photos with the musicians not playing but holding their instruments. I will await to see the developed images before returning. I definitely feel there is something exciting here. There are characters to draw from, a musical theme and even a professional aspect in that of publicity for the band. I think there is longevity and a creative identity, even from the early stages of the project.