‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, from the multi-award-winning film, Bohemian Rhapsody, was a very appropriate encore at the Midsomer Norton Community Band’s second Spring Concert held at the Town Hall on Saturday – because this band is unstoppable!

The Midsomer Norton Community Band had so much support that Midsomer Norton Town Hall was overflowing, with all seats taken and with only standing room left!

The team were more than astounded by the huge response they received from the local community, and this piece (with an amazing alto-saxophone solo from student, Ben Beechener) was just one item amongst a popular repertoire, including show medleys from Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and All That Jazz from Chicago.

Cllr Lynda Robertson, Midsomer Norton, said: “Since the formation of the band just over a year ago, I have been to each and every one of the Midsomer Norton Community Band concerts, and they just keep getting better and better. They are such a talented group of young musicians and deserve this support.”

The concert was held not only for the audience’s entertainment (and to showcase the hard work of the band members who meet every Tuesday to practice), but also to raise funds for band music.

Katharine North, Band Leader, explained: “Music scores are very expensive, and our musicians are becoming more accomplished and therefore, continuously need more challenging music to learn. We also need new material for them to work through, so that we can keep performing and maintain everyone’s interest!

“The High Street was once again incredibly generous, many donating lovely gifts for the raffle. Mulberry donated a purse as First Prize and parents also brought in prizes. As a result, the raffle was a huge success and over £500 was raised from that alone.

Amanda Garland, Band Leader, said: “We were amazed by the support and generosity, not only from friends and family of the band, but also from local businesses and the general public, who had no ties to the band and we would like to express our thanks.”

Conductor, Fiona Langley, added: “We are into our second year of running the Community Band, and the support we are getting is fantastic – but we still need more musicians, especially brass and percussion players of Grade 2 standard and above.”

For more details on joining or supporting the Midsomer Norton Community Band, email: [email protected]

Katharine North