Alford’s Emerging Musicians to Showcase their Talent

Alford Silver Band has long been proud of its training scheme to teach music and bring the joy of playing a brass instrument to both youngsters and those who are more mature.

The band has an enviable reputation for its training and many of those who started as youngsters with the band have gone on to study music at university and make it their profession.

The main purpose of the training section is to produce players who can progress into the main band to replace players who retire or move away from the area. But the training section has a lot of fun and there is no compulsion to progress into the main band for those who do not wish to.

The education given by the band has become of increasing importance as funding for music in schools has continued to reduce. The band encourages teamwork, discipline and mutual respect as well. The band has musicians covering a wide range of ages from teenagers to those in their eighties.

The trainees and their mentors (all carefully selected from the main band) have given cameo performances at some of the band’s concerts. But now they are being given the opportunity to shine in their own right.

The training section will perform its own programme of music in a short concert to be given in the band’s rehearsal room in Millers Way, Alford (on the far side of the car park behind the Alford    Co-op) on Wednesday 19th July, starting at 7.00 pm. The concert is open to all to attend and it is absolutely free of charge. Many of the main band members will also be there to encourage the trainees.

The musical director for the training section, Andrew Taylor commented, “We have a lot of emerging talent amongst our trainees and they don’t get the chance to demonstrate this as often as they might like. This concert is designed to show just how good they are and how far musically they have come.”

Andrew, himself a product of the band’s training scheme, went on to study music at university and obtain a Bachelor of Music degree. He is now the band’s principal cornet as well as being responsible to develop the trainees.

The band will be pleased to welcome anyone who cares to listen to and support the training section; and those who do will be welcome to stay on for the main band rehearsal afterwards and see and hear the  senior musicians being put through their paces.