MUSICIANS from across the region will come together in Dumfries next month for a concert to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Annan Town Band is hosting the concert at the Crichton Church on Saturday May 28th, which will also feature guest performances by talented young musicians from Kirkcudbright Academy.
Under the baton of musical director Andrew Warriner, the band is preparing a special programme of music suitable for a royal occasion.
Band manager Dale Simmons said: “The Queen is known to be a great lover of music, and she is actually a patron of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain where Annan Town Band has represented Scotland on a number of occasions,
“We can’t think of a better way to mark her 70-year reign than a celebratory concert.”
And the event will hold additional significance, as it is the band’s first major concert since the organisation became a registered charity at the end of last year.
Dale continued: “We are committed to spreading the benefits of brass banding and music making across the region, and charitable status will open up even more opportunities for us to do that.
“The Crichton Church is a stunning venue and we think it is the perfect location to welcome back our loyal supporters after the pandemic, and maybe introduce brass band music to some new audience members too.”
Annan Town Band attracts musicians from across Dumfries and Galloway and northern Cumbria and has enjoyed an unprecedented run of recent success.
After representing Scotland at the European Championships in Switzerland in 2019, the band were crowed Scottish Champions in March 2020.
Despite missing over a year of rehearsals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they were able to continue their run of good form at their first live post-pandemic contest appearance with a fourth place at the British finals in September last year.
But while the band is hoping to continue competition success, they are also looking forward to resuming many of their community and youth music activities this year too.
Committee member Charlotte MacKay said: “At our heart we are still a community band who just enjoy making music together. Without the dedication of our players and the support of our local community our recent successes would not have been possible.
“We’re delighted to welcome some fantastic young musicians from Kirkcudbright Academy as guests at our concert to show that music making is very much alive and well in our region.
“The Jubillee concert is the first chance for us to really show what we have managed to achieve over the last 18 months in the most difficult circumstances, and we can’t wait to put on a great show.”
Tickets for the Jubilee concert are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/annantownband and are also available at the Midsteeple Box Office in Dumfries and Pet Savers in Annan.
For more information visit www.facebook.com/AnnanTownBand.
