THE NORTH EAST CONCERTINA PLAYERS (NECP) 

An Excursion by Patrick Gilbert 

There are two Concertina societies which cover the Folk Roundabout area - the North East Concertina Players (NECP) based in Sedgefield, and the Yorkshire Concertina Club (YCC) based in Leeds. Both cater for all formats of concertina (English, Anglo and Duet). Both cater for all skill levels, from beginner to expert … and both welcome new members of any skill level. 

The NECP meets at Ceddesfeld Hall, Sedgefield on the second Sunday afternoon each month (except August) from 2.00 to 5.00 pm. These sessions are for all skill levels, and members can in turn choose to play music/tunes for everyone to join in, or to play their own ‘party pieces’.  

There is also a ‘beginners session’ on the same Sunday from 1.00 to 2.00 pm, where support is given to newer players by Dave Turner. There is a further ‘beginners session’ from 1.00 to 3.00 pm on the fourth Sunday of each month. 

NECP membership has fluctuated a lot over the years. At one point membership was down as low as four, but we now have a healthy 17 members … and are hoping to attract still more (see page  for membership details). Although the repertoire played in these sessions features ‘folk music’ there is also significant coverage of other genre - ranging from Classical Music to Music Hall, ‘Parlour Music’ and ‘Popular Music’.

‘North’ (NECP) meets ‘South’ (YCC) 

For many years the NECP and the YCC have arranged annual exchange visits with each other. On Sunday 15th September this year, it was the turn of the NECP to visit the YCC, and nine of our members travelled to Leeds for the visit. We made our way to Leeds for 12.00 pm and received a welcome of tea and biscuits (nothing stronger!). The room was then set up and we were ready to play. 

As is the usual practice at these get-togethers, our respective leaders (Dave Turner for the NECP, and Caroline Wade for the YCC) took us through four new pieces - two before the lunch break and two after. Of these four pieces, we had a nodding acquaintance with three of them (Moon River, Edelweiss, and Mama Mia), the fourth piece (Gardes du Corps, by R.B.Hall) being quite unknown to us. 

 Players were allocated parts as ‘treble 1’ concertina, ‘treble 2’ concertina, baritone concertina, and bass concertina. After a few runs through the tunes (plus some extra guidance from our tutors), I think we made a pretty good job of them!

The room we were playing in was not large, so - with over a dozen of us playing at once - we had the feeling of playing in a big band … just as it must have been for the musicians in the old-time concertina bands of the 1920s and 1930s.

Then it was time for ‘party pieces’. The NECP offered pieces played by two North East Concertina Players sub-groups. The well-established Push Button Band (Dave and Pat Turner and Alan Alden) play a broad repertoire, and they treated us to a fine rendering of the exciting Dill Pickle Rag. The relatively newly formed Raggle Taggle concertina band (Roger Gawley, Patrick Gilbert and Su Childs - yes, that Su Childs, your editor) played The Ghost of the Atlantic Hotel, a haunting two part melody by Brian Childs. 

We finished about 4.30 pm, and set off home very well satisfied with the day - and looking forward to next year. And next year, when YCC come to us, we will be celebrating the NECP’s twenty-five years in residence at Ceddesfeld Hall in Sedgefield. We’ll make that a bit special!