We all know that Bramwell Tovey is a bit of a musical superhero to those in the banding world, but even his special powers were put to the test on the weekend after a distraught bride and groom sent out a SOS message that not even Thunderbirds could have managed to respond to in time!

Apoplexy

The National Youth Band were getting ready for a rehearsal at St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich on Saturday afternoon, whilst adjoining them in the Blackfriars Hall the soon to be Mr & Mrs Sam Taylor were in a state of apoplexy after their accompanist rang to say he was stuck in traffic and could not make it to the wedding to perform all the necessary marital music throughout their service.

As soon as I told him of the situation, he put his foot down and got to the Hall just in time – it was real Thunderbirds to the rescue stuffPhilip Biggs

Short notice

Administrator Philip Biggs was summoned at 3.30pm by the now desperate couple to see if he had any contacts to help out at short notice, and within seconds was on the phone to the Associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as he was making his way through Norwich in his car to get to the NYBBGB rehearsal at 5.30pm.

Minutes to spare

With the minutes ticking away to the start of the wedding ceremony, Bramwell shot through the traffic and made it to Blackfriars Hall with just 5 minutes to spare.

Virtuoso

With no music and just the basic details, he then proceeded to produce a virtuoso performance of wedding repertoire – from the Paganini Caprice to the Mendelssohn march, plus light interlude music as the happy couple tied the knot.

Luck

The happy couple could not believe their luck of course – there providing the music as they stared into each other’s loving eyes was none other than one of the world’s top orchestral conductors, playing all the music their hearts could desire!

Fantastic man

Philip Biggs told 4BR: "It just goes to show what a fantastic man Bramwell is. As soon as I told him of the situation, he put his foot down and got to the Hall just in time – it was real Thunderbirds to the rescue stuff."

The happy couple could not believe their luck either, telling Philip that Bram’s 'incredible' performance had, 'made their day'.