THE Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band will conclude their ‘Mini Tour’ of the Vale when they give a concert of Christmas music at All Saints Church, Victoria Road, Penarth on Saturday, December 20 at 7.30pm.

The band has been celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and has performed concerts at Rhoose, Fonmon Castle, Dinas Powys and Penmark.

As it was their anniversary the band decided to do something out of the ordinary so they would try and visit as many places in the Vale as possible. This would be on top of their regular commitments to competitions.

The year started with a join concert with the Porthcawl Male Choir on St David’s Day, which was closely followed by the first competition of the year in Merthyr around late March.

Extra rehearsal time for the test piece ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by Paul Lovatt Cooper was needed. Being relatively new to the competition stage the band gave a good account of themselves.

Musical director David Short introduced a lot of new music into rehearsal in preparation for the forthcoming busy concert season. The Anniversary Concert held in Rhoose with the Band welcoming Robert Westacott as Special Guest Soloist for the weekend.

The band was invited to play at the First World War Commemoration Day in Penarth which was held in The Windsor Gardens Bandstand. The event was organised by The Friends of St Augustine’s Church where a crowd of over 200 gathered.

The band then came fourth in the National Eisteddfod in Llanelli in the ‘Own Choice Entertainment’ Competition and the next day presented a programme near Penarth Pier.

Then it was a performance in the library at Fonmon Castle followed by their next competition in Merthyr where they just missed out for third place by two points.

The Autumn concert was held at Dinas Powys where the Special Guest Soloist was Euphonium Player Robert Burnett.

So with the busy anniversary year coming to an end this final concert is a perfect chance to listen to them. Tickets cost £5 and are available on the door or contact 07917 796841.

The Vale of Glamorgan Band would like to thank their sponsors, A Class Apart uniform suppliers of Dinas Powys and CJ Contract Travel Services for their support and to the people of the Vale for attending their concerts this year.