Last Night at the Proms in Pembroke and Ottawa

I snapped this photo of Dave Druce as he started the drum roll leading into O Canada tonight (and got my horn up in time to make the first note!) The Maple Leaf Brass Band played our Last Night at the Proms show in front of an extremely enthusiastic crowd. Everybody, including me, played particularly well. It was really a thrill. We played well in Pembroke last night too, but tonight there was a bigger crowd and they were more into singing along and British patriotic flag-waving. Something we did new this year was a medley of pieces for veterans. A hymn called Eternal Father, Strong to Save for the Merchant Marine, Heart of Oak for the Navy, British Grenadiers for the Army and RAF March Past for the Air Force. Veterans of the various services were encouraged to stand up during their song. It made the hair rise on the top of my head to see them get up while we were playing. I snapped the other photos during Pomp and Circumstance. The score didn't actually give me a rest at the time, but I'd just finished my melody part and the rest of the band, the pipe organ, the choir and the entire audience were going full blast. They didn't really need the second tenor horn for a good twenty bars. Links: Maple Leaf Brass Band; the Proms; the Battle of Agincourt