Bratton Silver Band treats festival goers to a special performance

BRATTON Silver Band recently performed at the Holy Trinity Church in Dilton Marsh as part of the Westbury Festival and they treated the audience to their first performance of ‘The Lost Village of Imber’. 

This piece of music was commissioned to mark the band’s 160th anniversary. It was made possible with the support of an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant and a grant from the Norman Jones Trust Fund.  

The music was composed by Christopher Bond, one of the most sought-after composers for brass bands of his generation, as he tells the real story of Imber on Salisbury Plain, which had been inhabited for over 1,000 years before it was evacuated in 1943 to make way for military training in the Second World War. 

A spokesperson for the band said, “An appreciative audience was recently treated to a concert by Bratton Silver Band under the direction of David Hayward, musical director, as part of Westbury Festival in Dilton Marsh. 

“Other highlights of the evening included a cornet trio ‘Bugler’s Holiday’ featuring Faye Coussens, Mary Kestelland Dougie Keepin and a soprano cornet solo, ‘Fanfare’, featuring Paul Croker. The concert concluded with Sweet Caroline as an encore and the National Anthem.”