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Welsh youngsters shine under Army spotlight

Even The Band of The Prince of Wales's Division has been impressed by the latest batch of talented youngsters found on their doorstep...

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The Band of The Prince of Wales's Division recently travelled to the Richard Lay Innovation Centre in Swansea to work with some of brightest young brass and percussion talent found in West Wales.

Full day

A full day of plenty of fun and great music making was made up of joint and sectional rehearsals followed by a concert in the evening, all with the aim of providing the rising stars with an experience of practising and performing with professional musicians.

Fabulous

Director of Music, Capt Paul Collis-Smith told 4BR: "It was fabulous to see so many keen and happy faces perform to such a standard in such a short space of time.

The majority of them had never seen the music before the day, but by the evening they were ably performing in front of an audience. You could hear why Welsh banding is doing so well at the moment — and the future looks to be in safe hands too!"

Special mention

He added: "All the participants worked hard over several hours of music making and particular mention must go to Elizabeth Rogers who performed 'The Lonely Shepherd' on flugel, having only first playing the music in the morning."

It was fabulous to see so many keen and happy faces perform to such a standard in such a short space of timeDirector of Music, Capt Paul Collis-Smith

Plans for more

The Band of The Prince of Wales's Division plans to host several more events of a similar nature over the coming months and can adapt joint rehearsals or training days for musicians of all ages.

The majority of events are at no cost as they are as part of the band's community outreach programme with the Army.

Contact

If any bands in Wales are interested on organising a similar event, the Director of Music Capt Paul Collis-Smith can be contacted on 01446 798229.

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