www.saxband.co.uk

Welcome to the Home of the Manx Saxophone Ensemble

In the early Months of 2007, we settled in Peel and, once the horrors of moving house amidst vicious winter gales had faded a little, my son Ben and I got out our trusty saxophones, and looked for a music group to join.

With a characteristic lack of due process, we decided it would be a good idea to form a saxophone quartet.  A few well-placed posters later, and our first meeting was held - 25th June ‘07 - to see if there was enough interest.

 

In the event, rather more saxophonists turned up than we’d expected, and the original quartet idea was rapidly shelved in favour of an ensemble.  The group had no rules, no structure and no music, but plenty of potential !

 

Some months later, having been volunteered into the role of Music Director, I found myself deeply immersed in feeding the ensemble with a varied diet of musical morsels, from ballads through classical to jazz ... and desperately trying to stay two steps ahead of nearly twenty lively and enthusiastic saxophonists.

 

Skip forward to summer 2011, and we find ourselves as an established island band, well known for our lively tunes and informal performance style.  We have a large and varied library of sheet music to fuel the ensemble, and a membership of around 12 players.  We meet weekly for rehearsals, and generally play at around a dozen public events each year.

 

As a group, we’re largely self-financing through affordable member subscriptions.  Most of our performances are put on for a nominal fee as a contribution towards costs, or in the case of charity support events, free of charge.

 

So how can you join in ?

 

If you play the saxophone and would like to find out more about the MSE, please check out our “Joining in” page.  There you’ll find an overview of what’s involved, and a more detailed guide to “Playing in the MSE” as a downloadable PDF document.

 

Come and be part of the most friendly music group on the island, the Manx Saxophone Ensemble.

 

See you soon  !                                                                                                      Jem Cotton,  June 2011