The Surrey Advanced Brass Ensemble (SABE) will be performing at the Mercer Surrey Half Marathon for a fifth year on 11th March 2018. SABE, who support partner charity Woking Sam Beare Hospices, perform at the event every year outside Old Woking District Recreation Club (on the Westfield Avenue and Westfield Road junction) and are a “familiar favourite” for returning runners.
SABE is a symphonic brass ensemble comprising musicians from all over Surrey. They play a wide variety of music from renaissance brass music, through to contemporary music styles and traditional brass band repertoire. Some of their members play brass instruments such as cornets, flugel horns and sousaphone – instruments that are not called for in orchestras, wind orchestras or jazz bands.
Half Marathon runners first pass the band less than a mile into the race, and then again on the way back during the home stretch. 5km runners and the kids also get to enjoy their performance.
Unlike many ensembles, the repertoire performed is often suggested by the members who may have played it elsewhere, heard another group perform it, or even found it on Youtube. For the Mercer Surrey Half Marathon, the band invite runners to submit their own requests.
If you have a song that you’d like SABE to play, you can request it via Twitter. Tweet your request with the tag @ S_AdvancedBrass and use the hashtag #surreyhalf.
The following songs have already been requested for 2018:
Eye of the Tiger
Don’t Stop Me Now
Keep on Running
Gonna Fly Now
Pound the Streets
Previous requests have included:
Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag
Barbie Girl
Fear of the Dark
Toxic