King's Lynn Community Samba Band

Rehearsal dates

KLCSB contemplating the long walk at this year's Northwold Carnival - thankfully the torrential rain held off till the end

click here for dates

The KLCSB is an open access community band set up with the help of Norfolk Music Works in 2000 and now operated by DeeP Music. New members are always welcome. The band performs a few times a year in carnivals and village fetes and has taken part in some large scale community music projects including two in collaboration with The Grand Union Orchestra and Mac Tontoh's Kete Warriors and the "Crossing the Line" project in Dereham - probably not the first samba performance in a swimming pool, but memorable nonetheless! Members of the group are also encouraged to join in with regional and national encounters, gatherings and events known as encontros.

Derek leads the sessions and the band plays a mix of Anglo-Samba rhythms including those known as batucada, Mozambique, samba-reggae and Timbalada, which will be known to other "sambistas" in the UK. The set pieces have been composed by Derek, Lee Higgins (ex-Desfile, the Peterborough Community Samba Band, who moved on to lecture at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and from there became a world recognised authority on community music), sambistas within the East Anglia Region and nationally or through workshops. The KLCSB also play a couple of more unusual crossover rhythms, not known to be played by any other group including Derek's "Samba March" and his taiko-influenced "Mitsouri". After a period of dwindling numbers 2007 saw the band once more strong enough to begin performing once again under its own name. Many thanks to those members of the band who have worked hard to boost numbers. We are happy to see even more players though!

Several members of the band have in past years joined in with the mega performances of Eastern Bloco, a large samba percussion band that drew players from the groups in Bedford, Cambridge, Hitchin, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Luton, Northampton, Norwich and Peterborough. Eastern Bloco performances included Luton Carnival, Cambridge Strawberry Fair, Northampton, Chatteris and St Neot's Carnivals, Peterborough Mayor's Parade, Wisbech Rose Fair and the World Conker Championships near Oundle.

Rehearsals and workshops for the King's Lynn Community Samba Band usually take place during school term times on the first and third (and sometimes the fifth) Thursday of each month from 7.30-9.00pm. These all take place in the function room at the Ouse Amateur Sailing Club, Ferry Lane, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1HN. This venue (locally known as the "Ouse Booze") has a main entrance protected by a door-code. Please do not use this main entrance. We use the side door into the function room on the right as you walk down the lane before you reach the main club entrance.

Cost per session works out at £6 per person (£3.00 under-18s). This is payable for the whole block in which a date falls and normally at the first session of the block of dates. Blocks of dates are set out below. Although some people have always paid for sessions in advance members decided in December 2011 to ask everyone to pay like this as a means of helping to secure the continuation of the group. This arrangement will continue unless a sudden influx of new members willing and able to commit to the band makes other options possible. Thank you everyone for your support and co-operation for this change in the arrangements. Should anyone wish to pay for all twelve sessions listed below in one advance payment I would be happy to accept payment for eleven sessions only. This effectively offers the twelfth session as a bonus. Without wishing to get even more complicated it seems fair to offer new members an option to pay per session for their first two blocks. After that I would assume most people are able to decide whether they would like to continue.

Under 15s may only attend by special agreement and if they attend with a family member or a designated responsible adult. It is, however, the responsibility of the adult to ensure that their child can cope with the demands of a rehearsal situation and an adult environment. Since we only rehearse a couple of times most months we need to make full use of the time we have.

If you are curious about playing with the band, you can contact DeeP Music to talk it through by phone or e-mail or you can just turn up on the night. Your first session is a free taster. Thereafter you can pay per session for the remainder of the first term you attend. Below is a list of dates for workshops and performances.

Any non-KLCSB events, with which we may become involved will be listed in grey.

Rehearsals at the Ouse Amateur Sailing Club (OASC).
Here are the dates for your diaries

Thursday, 19th January 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 2nd February 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn

Thursday, 23rd February 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 1st March 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 15th March 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 5th April 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn

Thursday, 3rd May 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 17th May 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 7th June 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn

Thursday, 21st June 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Thursday, 5th July 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn
Saturday, 7th July 2012 - Wisbech Rose Fair performances
Thursday, 19th July 2012, KLCSB workshop/rehearsal, 7.30-9.00pm - OASC, King's Lynn

Keep an eye on this page for further updates or contact DeeP Music for more information.

KLCSB at 2007 Rose Fair in Wisbech, the capital of the Fens

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