FROM Burnley to London's Royal Albert Hall - it's all in a day's playing for Towneley High School Brass Band.

Young musicians could find themselves playing in the schools' prom at the prestigious venue after their performance at Rochdale regional festival of the National Festival of Music.

The band has been invited to join eight other school bands from Great Britain at the largest youth music festival in Europe at the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank, London, on July 8.

Some of the bands taking part will later be invited to play at the Royal Albert Hall in November.

It has been a remarkable year of accolades for the band. It was placed sixth in the Youth Entertainment Championships of Great Britain, and won £60,000 of Lottery cash to buy new instruments and employ a composer to write new works for the band.

Locally, the band won three first prizes at the Burnley Festival and best school band at the Skipton Festival.

And 15-year-old Baritone player Steven Williams has gained a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Chetham's School of Music in Manchester.

Founder and musical director Dave Warren said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have gained a place at the National Festival of Music for Youth and it will be the opportunity of a lifetime for our young people to perform at the Royal Festival Hall, one of the premiere concert halls of the country.

"The band began just four-and-a-half years ago, and the founder members are now about to leave us.

"It is tribute to the incredible hard work of all members that we have reached such a high standard in such a short time.

"It will be an incredible experience and one which I'm sure we will all remember for the rest of our lives."

The band has also been invited to attend the third World Youth Music Festival in Zurich, Switzerland, in July.

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