Cory's innovative Arts Council Wales project, that has seen the band work with youngsters in a socially and economically deprived area of the south Wales valleys, will come to a conclusion with a special concert this week.

Members of the band have been making weekly visits to Rhymney Comprehensive School over the past three months to engage with students who hadn't previously enjoyed interactive music support.

Thanks to the project, Glyn Williams, Steve Jones and Composer in Residence, Christopher Bond led classes in brass playing (utilising P-buzz instruments), percussion and composition.

Inspired

Many of the students were inspired to take part after coming to the project launch at Cory's bandroom in March, where they enjoyed their first taste of just what a brass band sounded like, and how they could get to be involved in a form of music making in their own community. The majority had not been touched by music on any level before the project started.

Since then the weekly visits have become increasingly popular, with the project attracting new recruits and engaging other departments within the school as the link also explored the rich mining heritage of the area.

Culmination

The culmination of the hard work and plenty of fun comes on Thursday evening (29th June at 7.30pm), where the centrepiece will be a new composition by Christopher Bond called 'Fanfare Rocks Rhymney', which showcases the band as well as the combination of student-performed P-buzzes and percussion, all at once!

Philip Harper and the band will be in school on the day to give final workshop tuition and guidance before the evening concert brings the school and local community together.

This has been such an interesting and rewarding project. It was great to welcome so many secondary students to the bandroom and then to engage with them through the weekly work of the Cory tutors at the schoolPhilip Harper

Rewarding project

Philip told 4BR: "This has been such an interesting and rewarding project. It was great to welcome so many secondary students to the bandroom and then to engage with them through the weekly work of the Cory tutors at the school.

Our thanks also go to the brilliant Head of Music, Michelle Diamond, and all the other staff at the Rhymney Comprehensive School for their superb enthusiasm, interest and drive — all of which will be rounded off in the concert.

We believe this has ignited real interest in brass and percussion playing in the school — something that will hopefully be of benefit for the students for years to come."