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Brass band from Eye tunes up in bid to claim national award




Castleton Brass band. Submitted photo.
Castleton Brass band. Submitted photo.

A brass band based in Eye havs set their sights on a national competition – after raising through the ranks for two consecutive years

Between 2015 and 2017, the self-funded Castleton Brass rose from the fourth section to second at the London and Southern Counties Area Championships.

To win would be a fantastic achievement. It would attract more players, get us better gigs and perhaps get a sponsor
Stephen Hornung

The band will travel to Stevenage on March 18 to compete in the second section of the London and Southern Counties Area Championships.

If the band win, they would become the first band in the history of the competition to have won fourth, third and second sections in consecutive years.

Tuba player, Stephen Hornung said: “It is something of an understatement to say that we are proud of what the band has achieved in the past four years.

“We started somewhat cautiously in the local East Anglia Championships.

“In 2014, we were runners up and in 2015 we won our section.

“Encouraged by our early success, we entered the nationals in 2015.”

Castleton Brass was formed in 2000 with only a handful of regular players.

In 2008, the band started to work hard on recruiting new members and improving its musicianship by appointing current musical director Peter Ryan.

Since then, the band has grown to have 28 members and enjoy success in the National Championships of Great Britain.

Mr Hornung added: “Being in the band is like a team sport – its a mixture of music and teamwork.

“It’s exciting and stretches you to be the very best musician you can be.

“To win would be a fantastic achievement. It would attract more players, get us better gigs and perhaps get a sponsor.”

The finals for sections one to four will be at The Centaur, Cheltenham, in September.

For more information on Castleton Brass, go to www.castletonbrass.org.uk.



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