Rothwell Temperance Band (RTB) are a Championship Section
brass band in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. Although they do not rehearse in
Rothwell itself, they have strong connections with the town and hold many concerts for the local community.
The band were crowned Yorkshire Region Champions at St George's Hall in
Bradford on 8 March 2009. In March 2012, they qualified for the National Championships at London's Royal Albert Hall for the 5th consecutive year.
Early history
Formation
In the mid-19th century a band called the Rothwell Model Band existed in the town. Later, a dispute arose between the alcohol drinkers and the
teetotallers
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...
in the band. As a result, the Rothwell Temperance Band was founded in 1881. When the
Temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
Hall was built in 1904 one of the four cornerstones was inscribed with the following:
''Laid by Thomas Blackburn in the name of the Rothwell Temperance Band. Established 1881.''
The Rothwell Model Band then became known as the Rothwell Old Band.
Early years
After the 1939-45 war
Changing names
In 1999 the band was renamed the Wallace Arnold (Rothwell) Band, reflecting sponsorship by coach tour operator
Wallace Arnold
Wallace Arnold (Barr & Wallace Arnold Trust) was one of the UK's largest holiday motorcoach tour operators.
History
Wallace Arnold was founded in 1912 and was named after two of its founders Wallace Cunningham and Arnold Crowe. In 1926, the Bar ...
. The then "B" band retained the name Rothwell Temperance Band and is the current band.
In 2000 the Wallace Arnold (Rothwell) Band merged with the
Yorkshire Imperial Band, which for some time became the Yorkshire Imperial DUT (Rothwell) Band.
Recent history
Major contest successes
In true brass band style only top six placings are listed. For these and other contest results see the Results Archive section o
4barsrest.com
{, class="wikitable"
!width="100", Date
!Placing
!width="250", Contest
!width="150", Location
!Notes
, -
, 9 May 2009, , 1st, , Grand Shield, , Blackpool, , Promoted back to British Open
, -
, 8 Mar 2009, , 1st, , Yorkshire Region (Championship Section), , Bradford, , Qualified for National Finals
, -
, 11 Oct 2008, , 6th, , National Finals (Championship Section), , Royal Albert Hall, London
Mybandsite.co.uk, -
, 2 Mar 2008, , 4th, , Yorkshire Region (Championship Section), , Bradford, , Qualified for National Finals
, -
, 26 May 2007, , 3rd, , All England Masters International, , Cambridge, ,
, -
, 28 May 2006, , 1st, , All England Masters International, , Cambridge, ,
, -
, 5 Mar 2006, , 4th, , Yorkshire Region (Championship Section), , Bradford, , Qualified for National Finals
, -
, 18 Sep 2005, , 5th, , British Open, , Birmingham, ,
, -
, 8 May 2004, , 2nd, , Grand Shield, , Blackpool, , Promoted to British Open
, -
, 7 Mar 2004, , 6th, , Yorkshire Region (Championship Section), , Bradford, ,
, -
, 3 May 2003, , 1st, , Senior Cup, , Blackpool, , Promoted to Grand Shield
, -
, 2 Mar 2003, , 4th, , Yorkshire Region (Championship Section), , Bradford, ,
, -
, 29 Oct 2000, , 1st, , Pontins (Championship Section), , Prestatyn, ,
, -
, 30 Sep 2000, , 1st, , Swiss Open, , Lucerne, Switzerland, , They were only the second English band to take the title
[Rothwell and District Record, November 2000]
, -
, 16 Oct 1999, , 6th, , National Finals (Championship Section), , Royal Albert Hall, London, ,
, -
, 28 Feb 1999, , 3rd, , Yorkshire Region (Championship Section), , Bradford, , Qualified for National Finals
Notable members
*Richard Marshall played
cornet with the band in the early 1990s and is now principal cornet player with the
Black Dyke Band.
*Tom Hutchinson played Principal Cornet with the band for over 4 years before joining Black Dyke Band in 2005. He is now Principal Cornet of the top ranked Cory Band in Wales
*Michael Howley grew up playing
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
with the band and has held the principal euphonium seat at several top bands including
The Fairey Band, YBS and
Brighouse and Rastrick.
*David Roberts (
conductor) was principal cornet player with the band in his youth before playing with
Yorkshire Imps and
Black Dyke Band. He then returned to Rothwell to concentrate on conducting.
*Lucy Beeson is a regular
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
ist with the band. She competed in the final of the
BBC Young Musician of the Year
BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010.
The competition, a former member of the European Uni ...
in 2004, having won the percussion class.
*Labour Politician, James Normington, played cornet in the band for 7 years.
Tours and performances
The band have featured several times on BBC Radio 2's ''Listen To The Band'' programme, using tracks from the band's CDs and having recorded sessions especially for broadcast.
In the late 1990s the Band toured Norway, visiting Bergen and the surrounding area
References
External links
Official Rothwell Temperance Band website
British instrumental musical groups
British brass bands
Musical groups from West Yorkshire