A brass band will celebrate its 140th anniversary with a special free concert in Blackburn.
The Salvation Army’s Blackburn Citadel Band will host the event in the worship hall of The Salvation Army.
The band, made up of 25 regular members, will present a reunion concert to mark the 140 years featuring 35 musicians in total, ten of which are returning for the performance.
The Blackburn Citadel Band will be accompanied by East Lancashire Hospital Choir who will be singing a medley from Les Misérables, For the Beauty of the Earth and All Things Bright and Beautiful by John Rutter.
The event will also celebrate the 50 years’ service of Blackburn Salvation Army Treasurer Alan Bury and 29 years’ service of Stuart Oliver, Young People’s Bandmaster.
The band’s bandmaster Eric Millest said: “We’re proud that our band has reached such a big milestone and it is wonderful to see the joy that music brings. It helps tell a story and it’s important for us to express the Christian message in this way and create a sense of fellowship and service.
“We labelled it a reunion concert as a big number such as 140 years warrants celebrations of those who have performed with us over the years. I’m thrilled that 10 former band members will be returning to join us for the celebratory event.
"It’s such a lovely thing to get people back together and lift people’s spirits and we want to thank them for agreeing to return for this special occasion and extended thanks to the East Lancashire Hospital Choir too.”
The Salvation Army has been a part of Blackburn, serving members of the community for 144 years, since 1878, with the Blackburn Citadel Band forming four years later in 1882. The concert will also collect donations for the crisis in Ukraine where the Salvation Army has 11 centres in addition to its churches in neighbouring countries.
Major Ashley Dawson, church leader of The Salvation Army in Blackburn said: “Brass bands are such an icon of The Salvation Army and in the summer last year as we started to reach a more practical level of the pandemic, the band was the first activity for the church to get back up and running, opening our doors to the whole community that wanted to get involved.
"We are pleased that as a result of concerts by the band in recent years we have been able to collect hundreds of pounds in donations to charities such as Covid vaccines for poorer countries, suffering children in Yemen, Myotonic Dystrophy research and the Royal Blackburn Hospital.”
“140 years is such a remarkable number to reach and is testament to the hard work and enthusiasm that all members over the years have dedicated to keeping the band alive, even playing recently at Blackburn Rovers football ground.
"The Salvation Army Blackburn has a proud brass band heritage and history of integrating within the community and it seemed only right to mark this wonderful occasion along with the sterling service of both Alan and Stuart over the decades.”
The free event begins at 6pm on Saturday, March 19 and takes place in the worship hall of The Salvation Army on Vicar Street, Blackburn.
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