The Black Dyke Band has enjoyed a growing chorus of worldwide plaudits following its BBC Proms performance at the Royal Albert Hall on the weekend.

Under the baton of Director of Music, Prof Nicholas Childs, the concert featuring four major works and centrepiece euphonium concerto thrilled a near capacity audience on Sunday morning, as well as a global listenership who were able to enjoy the music through a live Radio 3 broadcast.

Long list

The congratulations for the band and their guest soloist David Childs came immediately after they left the stage, with Proms and Radio 3 producers waiting in the wings to be the first in a long list of those expressing their admiration.

A little later Prof Childs didn't have to buy a drink at the nearby Gloucester Arms pub as ardent Pondasher fans and well wishers mingled with orchestral players, composers and conductors to have their pictures taken with the MD and the soloist.

Simply superb

In between selfies with the likes of conductor John Wilson, Prof Childs told 4BR: "I've been very fortunate to direct Black Dyke Band at so many memorable events, but I can't think of any as special as this. The schedule has asked so much of the players, but they were simply superb and it was the greatest privilege to conduct them here.

The way in which David performed his concerto was also breathtaking. The response has been quite incredible — and now we want to return!"

That schedule saw a concert on the Friday night, as well as providing a fanfare on the steps of the hall for the First Night of the Proms the following day alongside four live radio interviews and a photo shoot.

Positive critics

The first critic reviews have also been overwhelmingly positive, with Rebbeca Franks in The Times saying that their "blend and soft playing were a thing to behold", with "the band's immaculate, subtle playing, conducted by Nicholas Childs, that impressed and delighted the most".

Barry Casey of the influential Music OMH website described it as, "a brilliantly varied programme from Bingham to Gregson, with a dazzling Hemingway concerto at its heart", adding that 'A Moorside Suite in particular had seen the band bring "every shade of its character to the performance".

The Broadway World website said the original works for the medium featured were "perfectly strident and passionately poignant", whilst David Childs' performance showed "remarkable command and restraint".