St James's Players started life as theTravellers (shown right) in 1987. The band was a group of about half a dozen adult musicians and singers, led by Paul Revis. It accompanied the Sunday evening Prayer ‘n Praise services and later started to accompany the All-age services on the first Sunday of the month.
When Paul left in 1997, Martin Hinckley took on the job and gradually changed the Travellers from a rock style band to a small, amazingly well-balanced orchestra involving families and youngsters.
In the early Millennium the name of the group was changed to the St James’s Players and continued to accompany and play in the All-age and various other services. The group had to strike a balance between 'making a joyful noise unto the Lord' and providing an acceptable accompaniment for the congregation.
It had a repertoire of about a hundred religious songs and hymns and forty meditative pieces and playouts. It accompanied the hymns during the All-age Service, played quiet music before the service, processional music at the end and anything else that needed playing.
The Players also supported various special services, such as the Carol Services, Confirmations and a Deanery Service at St Mary’s Hampton.
Its director, Martin Hinckley, arranged all the music especially for the band and then wrote it all out by hand for each member. A few years later technology advanced and he scanned the hand-written music into his computer and eventually used special software to arrange new music straight into the computer. Some years after that he uploaded it all to the church website for the players to print out.
The membership changed as people came and went, but the group continued to draw in both the young and not so young and encompassed a wide range of musical experience. New members of more or less any instrument at more or less any standard were always welcome at anytime. For some members this was their only opportunity to make music in a group and the fellowship engendered could not be underplayed.
There was a run-through half an hour before each service. The limited rehearsal time and the need to be ready with the right hymn at the right time in the right key develop useful transferable skills!
When the new Together All-age Service began in April 2017, the Players were only needed for the occasional 'old-style' All-age service every so often and eventually just at Christingle, Mothering Sunday and Harvest. Sometimes Martin had to conduct while playing his clarinet! The group eventually wound up during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
