Genesis and ethos of the bandFleetville Swing Band is a not-for-profit organization which forms part of a wider community orchestra, the Fleetville Community Band, based in Fleetville, St Albans. Brought together by a local resident, the late Paul Olive, who's vision was that community bonds can be strengthened by making music together, Paul encouraged players of all strengths and ages to come together and perform once a year at the Fleetville Festival. FSB continues that tradition, continually striving to improve musically, welcoming players of all ages (mainly over the age of 18) and abilities, and providing a supportive environment for those who may be new to a Big Band, jazz-orientated repertoire. You can learn more about the band in this interview on local radio station Verulam Radio - here.
FundingOur income comes from paid gigs and members’ subscriptions. These funds are used to pay Fleetville Swing Band's costs which include rehearsal venue hire, equipment maintenance, printing, PAT testing and annual insurance costs.
Our Musical DirectorProfessional drummer, Dave Tandy, is our musical director/conductor.
Originally from Birmingham, Dave began playing drums at the age of 11. In 2001, he joined the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra and also started playing in local bands which gave him the opportunity to meet other musicians and to develop as a versatile drummer, this led to regular appearances with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra from 2010 and he has occupied the drum chair since 2012. He has worked with some of the world’s finest artists and composers. |
Our RepertoireThe Fleetville Swing Band repertoire includes standards from the Swing Era but also includes some bossas, Dixieland rhythms, and contemporary numbers.
New membersThere are currently 30 or so regular members of the band who meet twice a month to rehearse. While we continually strive to improve musically, we enjoy welcoming players of all ages and abilities and provide a supportive environment for those who may be new to a big band, jazz-orientated repertoire.
We aim to be representative of the local community. Unfortunately, we are currently oversubscribed and are having to run waiting lists for instrument sections which are full (at the present time, this is all sections except trombones!). However, from time to time, places do become available and we recruit by instrument. We aim to hold an event each year where members of the local community can join and take part in a rehearsal or performance event. Our arranger (and occasional musical director) is Bob Power.Local teacher, musician and guitarist Bob Power is our musical arranger and former director. He bringing his vast experience and expertise of bands of all sizes and still occasionally directs the band alongside playing guitar.
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The Fleetville Swing band's emblem has changed. We used to use a picture depicting a circle of instruments surrounding the city of St Albans crest. Each instrument represents a member, or a section in the band. Paul (our founder) is commemorated in this emblem by the olive in the semiquaver. However, this emblem proved to be a very difficult image to reproduce well on promotional material, so we decided to replace it with the cleaner simpler black and white image. We still retain the words "Community through music" because we see it as one of the most important aspects of what we do. |