Having survived acute myeloid leukaemia (a type of blood cancer) Taupō Brass conductor Mike Martin thought why not put the band’s next concert on at Izard Hospice House.
Mike, who has been in remission now for two years, said the idea is an afternoon tea with the band from 2.30pm on Saturday, November 15.
“So come along and get a coffee and a cake… And then the concert itself will start at 3pm.”
The programme will feature some good old toe tappers as well as some singalong pieces that will include a chance for audience participation, he said.
“Some of the pieces we are actually playing in the concert on Saturday are ones that the band took down to a district contest when I was in hospital.”
When he brought them out for the band to rehearse again some band members reminded him when they played them last – taking Mike mentally back to his dark days in a hospital bed, but which he can now laugh at.
“Yeah, ‘Always look on the bright side’ and ‘You’ll never walk alone’, those sort of real classics.”
The band will give a significant donation to Hospice from out of the $15 entry fee once expenses are covered, he said.
Taupō Brass was finding its niche as an ensemble type of band, said Mike.
While not the same as a large band that sits 35 members on stage there were so many different arrangements available now that 10 players “can put on decent sound on and away you go.”
He was also keen to change the perception of a static band just sitting there and performing.
“Were keen to play some other fun stuff. Do the more sort of entertainment concert.”
The band was already in the planning stages for its participation in next year’s Music in the Botanical Gardens with this in mind, he said.
