Bold as brass: Buxton's Burbage Band to play Manchester's Stoller hall in historic performance

Burbage Band played through both World Wars and Covid.

One of the oldest brass bands in the world is set to delight music lovers in Manchester this weekend.

Established in 1861, Buxton's Burbage Band will take to the stage at The Stoller Hall, with a unique performance made up of new compositions as well as popular classics, alongside narrated audio-visual storytelling.

The performance will showcase the history of brass bands, the popular pursuit of contesting, music in war-time, and how British banding shaped the musical scene of North America.

Starting out as a village band, Burbage rose up to the 1st Section of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, became an early pioneer in welcoming women players into a previously male domain and nurtured countless generations of musical talent.

The band even stayed together in the First World War when members took their instruments to the battlefields.

As well as looking back, the work also highlights the vital role that brass bands play in the UK's current arts education landscape - with part of the band's continued success being put down to its training programme, where new players receive free tuition and the loan of an instrument.

Steve Critchlow, longest serving member of the band and its Musical Director for the past thirty years, said: “This project looks at our own band’s history - from its foundation by a local quarry owner through decades of musical exploits - to tell the story of brass banding through the ages.

"Through a series of chapters, you’ll see and hear what it was like to be involved in brass banding at several key stages in its history.

"For one piece we recreate a performance from the mid-1800’s using actual instruments from the era! After a hugely successful reception in Buxton, we’re thrilled to be bringing the work to a wider audience here in Manchester.”

Tickets are available through stollerhall.com.

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