Interview: Warwick’s Big Band Society

Societies are an essential part of the university experience and Warwick is lucky enough to be inundated with loads of excellent groups to get involved with, particularly for those with an interest in music. Boar Music sat down with Warwick University Big Band’s Mike Summers (President), James Webster (Social Secretary) and Rhys Jones to discuss the ins and outs of one of the most in-demand music societies around campus…

Boar Music: Hey guys, thanks for coming in. For the completely uninitiated, how would you describe Big Band?

Mike Summers: Well, we’re a totally un-auditioned student music society in which we practice and perform typical Big Band music and more, whether that be jazz, funk or blues. We spend our year practicing for, and performing in, various gigs with both the full Big Band and also various smaller ensembles.

James Webster: In terms of music itself, we mainly focus on Big Band tunes. You’ll hear a lot of classic swing from the Big Band era, with Count Basie being a particular favourite of mine. As Mike said, we play stuff like funk, blues and vocal tunes, but we always try and tailor our set list to whatever gig we might be performing at. Recently we’ve played gigs at the Real Ale Festival and Music Centre Ball, so we played a lot of vocal tunes such as Sinatra, Bublé and Ella Fitzgerald; that and the funk always go down well! But we always rotate our music so that we’re always playing something fresh and exciting.

BM: Free time for some students is often quite limited, so what is the level of commitment like for Big Band?

MS: In terms of commitment, we rehearse every Thursday from 7:30-10pm in the Ensemble Room in the music centre and usually go for a sociable drink afterwards. This is the only official regular rehearsal slot we have, but there are plenty of other opportunities for people to get involved. There’s ‘Jazz in the Union’ every other Wednesday from 2-5pm where anyone who’s up for it can just come along and have a jam in the Terrace Bar. It is great fun and really helps improve your sight reading and improvisational skills. On top of this, of course, we have our gigs throughout the year which tend to be at weekends but can be any day really, as well as our tours.

One of the highlights of the year though is definitely summer tour; we jet off to an exotic European location for a week, play several gigs and have an amazing week-long social.

BM: Speaking of tours, what is the social side of the society like?

JW: Good hopefully or I’m not doing my job right! [laughs] But, yeah, the social side of Big Band is absolutely integral to the society. Everyone is friendly and outgoing so all the Freshers feel welcome as soon as they walk through the door in Week 1. After every rehearsal, we tend to have a trip to the pub to unwind and relax with our fellow bandmates, which we add to with regular termly socials into Leamington or further afield, whether it be meals or nights out.

We also do our best to provide non-alcoholic socials for variety and keep everyone included, like go-karting or film nights. In fact, we have a film night in the pipeline for the next couple of weeks which is going to be theme tune related. As we mentioned before, we place a great deal of emphasis on touring with the band. In term 1 and term 2, we have a mini-tour, where we travel to a UK city for a weekend, play a gig with the local university’s Big Band and then have some nights out, which inevitably includes fancy dress at some point! Last year we went to Cardiff and Edinburgh, both of which were fantastic. This year we’ve already been to Bristol, possibly our biggest yet, and as we speak, we are currently preparing for this term’s mystery mini-tour, taking place this weekend!

One of the highlights of the year though is definitely summer tour; we jet off to an exotic European location for a week, play several gigs and have an amazing week-long social. Last year we hit up Amsterdam which was outrageously good, and we are definitely looking forward to an equally enjoyable trip to Cologne this summer.

BM: Rhys, as a Fresher, what made you pick Big Band this year?

Rhys Jones: I guess I picked Big Band because I’d played a lot of jazz at school in various bands and it was something I wanted to keep up, so I thought I would give Big Band a go. As soon as I got there everyone was so friendly and welcoming and made me feel like part of the family, so I was absolutely desperate to come back the next week! I have made loads of friends within the band, both in my year and those above, and it is really a combination of the music, the social side and mostly the people that keeps me coming back. I can’t wait for mini-tour!

BM: And what do you guys feel sets the Big Band apart from all the other student music societies at Warwick?

MS: I personally feel the Big Band is pretty unique at this University. I’m in other music societies, all of which I really enjoy, but I feel like the combination of the fantastic group of people that Big Band attracts, as well as such a high standard of music for an un-auditioned society, is something that has developed organically throughout the years and I think is hard to replicate.

JW: We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we put a huge emphasis on having a good time, and yet we manage to achieve a certain level of musical performance, such as winning a Gold Award in this year’s NCBF (National Concert Band Festival) regionals. I think if I had to put my finger on what makes Big Band so special, it’s simple; it is great fun.

To find out more about Warwick’s Big Band society, check out their website at www.thebigband.co.uk.

Photo: Klara Moozova Photography