Grimethorpe Colliery Band Interview 2022/23
- Posted on 20 January 2023
We caught up with Helen Varley, solo Eb horn player of Grimethorpe Colliery Band, ahead of the band’s performance at Morley Town Hall on Saturday 4 February as part of the Leeds Best of Brass 2022/23 series.
How long have you played with Grimethorpe Colliery Band?
I joined Grimethorpe in June 2017 so I have been in the band for over 5 years now.
What’s your highlight so far with Grimethorpe Colliery Band?
Hands down it would be the first performance of Brassed Off Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2017. It was an incredible experience and the atmosphere was just electric, especially during the Pete Postlethwaite speech at the end of the film – it actually felt like he was on stage with us, which was quite a surreal experience.
How did you get involved with playing a brass instrument?
I was given the opportunity to play an instrument when I started middle school and was specifically told “don’t you dare bring home a violin!”. The woodwind teacher had no instruments left, so brass it was.
What was your earliest musical experience?
My mum was a very good piano player, so when I was very young I used to love to hear her playing impressively difficult pieces by Chopin.
Who has been your biggest influence?
I was incredibly fortunate to have a great teacher, James Shepherd, the former principal cornet player of Black Dyke Band. He’s been a mentor to me ever since I picked up an instrument. He’s so inspiring, not just as a player, but also as a person.
Do you enjoy practising or find it a chore?
When I started it was definitely a chore! But I discovered that as you improve you enjoy practicing more – it’s an addictive cycle.
Were your parents musical?
My mum was an excellent piano player. My dad doesn’t play but he has an excellent ear as an audience adjudicator and his eclectic taste in musical styles has always been an influence.
What piece of music do you most enjoy playing?
It changes every day! Macarthur Park is a particular favourite though.
What’s the best and worst things about performing?
It’s a great feeling when you really stretch your own personal limits of playing, and even better when you’re on a stage with like-minded people all achieving the same. The flip-side of that is the huge amount of personal commitment required – personal practice every day, minimum two rehearsals a week, concerts every weekend and a large mileage on your car!
What can the audience expect from a performance by Grimethorpe Colliery Band?
A diverse range of music played by performers at the very peak of their careers.
Leeds International Concert Season
Carriageworks Theatre
The Electric Press
3 Millennium Square
Leeds
LS2 3AD
Join our mailing list
Sign up now for exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and special offers that will make your classical music journey truly extraordinary.
By following the link below you’ll be asked to set up an account with Leeds Ticket Hub, who manage our customer data, and give permission to Leeds Ticket Hub to contact you. If you no longer want to hear from us, you can unsubscribe at any time.
Privacy Overview
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category . |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
CookieLawInfoConsent | 1 year | Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. |
elementor | never | This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__cf_bm | 30 minutes | This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 2 years | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. |
_gat_UA-171560785-1 | 1 minute | A variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. |
_gid | 1 day | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
CONSENT | 2 years | YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 5 months 27 days | A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. |
YSC | session | YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. |
yt-remote-connected-devices | never | YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. |
yt-remote-device-id | never | YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. |