Wardle High School Band is celebrating again after success at this year's National Festival of Music for Youth.

Breathtaking

The band conducted by Lee Rigg performed yesterday at Birmingham's Symphony Hall with a performance that the adjudicators described as, '…breathtaking, with effortless control', and in doing so were presented with the prestigious Allianz Musical Insurance School Brass Band Award for excellence in performance.

Each of the bands performing on the day had to provide a varied musical programme, and Wardle choose to feature all aspects of the musical talent available to them.

Style and control

They started their programme with the march 'The Middy' by Kenneth Alford, which the judges praised for its style and dynamic control.

They followed with 'Highland Cathedral' featuring euphonium players Ashley Higgins and Tomos Giles before closing with music by their Director of Music, Paul Lovatt-Cooper and his own, 'The Dark Side of the Moon'.

The adjudicators were thoroughly impressed by what they heard and commented that they had heard '…a great band with absolute meticulous preparation'4BR

Impressed

The adjudicators were thoroughly impressed by what they heard and commented that they had heard, '…a great band with absolute meticulous preparation.'

On their way back home the band were also informed that they had to perform a ‘lap of honour’ to staff and students in celebration of their achievement.

Exceptional

Head teacher Dr Graham Wright told 4BR: "Wardle High School prides itself in its exceptional musical performances all year round. This achievement at the festival highlights the tremendous efforts of both the staff and pupils. I cannot stress how proud I am."

Sunshine

And the hard work doesn’t stop there either as they now look forward to their week long musical tour of Barcelona starting on July 16th.

Wardle will perform at different concert venues around the city and also relax and bask in the sunshine at the beach resort of Tossa de Mar.