Test Valley Youth Band recently overcame 40 degree heat to wow the crowds in Portugal, as they took their brand of popular brass band music on a tour of the country in their half term.

Eight in six

The band performed no less than eight concerts in six days, both outdoors and indoors, from a tiny village theatre to a massive bullring. And with audiences of churchgoers, high schoolchildren and bookfair afficienados, the 40-strong band from Andover were the talk of three Portugese cities.

Our trip was a voyage of discovery too, especially for our young musicians, many of whom had never been to Portugal, and for our audiences, many of whom were hearing a brass band for the first timeMD, Steve Large

Discovery

Musical Director Steve Large told 4BR: "Portugal prides itself as a nation of discoverers. Our trip was a voyage of discovery too, especially for our young musicians, many of whom had never been to Portugal, and for our audiences, many of whom were hearing a brass band for the first time."

Venues

The trip included concerts in Sintra, leafy home to Portugal's summer palaces and grand houses, Castello Branco, a rapidly growing town near the Spanish border, and Evora, where Roman and Moorish buildings survive within Mediaeval city walls.