Ellesmere Port Concert Brass

Ellesmere Port Concert Brass (EPCB) is a registered charity raising funds from a number of sources. Fortunately we have received sponsorship over the years from several  local employers, for which we are extremely grateful. We ask for a small subscription from members, but payment for playing concerts is by far our biggest income generator.

In the main we play in the Wirral and Merseyside area with excursions into rural Cheshire.  We meet weekly on a Thursday evening for practice at Capenhurst Village Hall (Ellesmere Port)

Please navigate the site to find out more about us including our long and proud history as a brass band and also our up to date Events Diary.

Vale Park 2025

On Sunday 22nd we performed our annual concert at Vale Park Bandstand, a wonderful venue with loads of atmosphere. The bandstand is surrounded by trees with the river Mersey as a backdrop.   We were lucky or unlucky, depending on your point of view, with the weather.  Following two weeks of heatwave the weather had taken a different turn and torrential rain was the forecast and, as soon as the baton came down, the rain started. However, it wasn’t as hard as forecast and was very intermittent.  The audience there are a hardy bunch and had come prepared for wet weather with umbrellas and raincoats.  The only person to suffer was our conductor whose back was exposed to the west wind and the rain.

You can see more pictures at Vale Park 2025.

 

Ashton Park 2025

On Sunday 18th May we performed at Ashton Park in West Kirby.   The weather was hot, so it was shirt sleeve order.  Our audience, as usual, sat on the stone steps giving the impression of a crowd at a Roman amphitheatre.    

You can see some more pictures at Ashton Park 2025

 

Stuart Pattinson's Memorial Service

Sadly, our bass player Stuart Pattinson passed away suddenly last November.  He had been a member of our band for nearly ten years first joining in 2016 with a break of a few years when he moved to Skipton. This picture of him playing at Ashton Park in 2016 must have been one of the first concerts he played with us.  He was a popular member of the band and hardly ever let his health problems stop him from playing.

On Sunday 16^th March we joined forces with Rock Ferry Salvation Army band to provide the music for his memorial service held at their church in Rock Ferry and arranged by his wife Jacqueline. We were made very welcome, the music was very fitting and we did our best to match the high standard of their playing.

A common feature of funerals seems to be that you learn things about people that you were totally unaware of and this was no exception. We learned much about Stuart that we did not know, that he came from the North East was evident from his lilting accent but we had known nothing of his deep faith, his lifelong commitment to the Salvation Army or that he had spent some time in Harpenden and been an active member of the Salvation army band there. Also, it was clear from some of the anecdotes told that we had only glimpsed his impish sense of humour and what it was capable of.  

Stuart will always be remembered by us.  Perhaps the strongest will be of him at Christmas carolling in the cold wearing his Russian hat with it’s ear muff’s, shunning the Santa hats which the rest of us wear. The picture, showing him in his hat, was taken outside Marks and Spencer’s super store in Cheshire Oaks at the Christmas before last.

Follow this link to go to  The Salvation Army Rock Ferry's Facebook page