Stalham Brass Band in North Norfolk is facing a wonderful future thanks to the award of two £10,000 grants.

Grants

With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on the distant horizon the band’s enterprising Musical Director, Dr Tim Thirst MBE, set about a bold new plan to create the ‘Stalham Training Band fit to perform for The Queen’.

Tim told 4BR: "I knew it would take hard work and about £35,000 of funding to firmly establish a new Stalham Training Band with up to 50 new recruits."

Help

With the active help of the British Federation of Brass Bands and their Liaison Officer Terry Luddington, the band initially gained £1,000 from the Norman Jones Trust Fund, with a further £29,600 raised through over 40 applications, including £10,000 from the Norwich Town Close Estate Charity and £10,000 from Grants for the Arts.

I knew it would take hard work and about £35,000 of funding to firmly establish a new Stalham Training Band with up to 50 new recruitsMD, Tim Thirst MBE

Success

The amazing success has seen over 50 new recruits join the free training scheme which has provided innovative teaching and co-operation from a variety of musical sources including the Corps of Army Music.

The initial time scale of three years has been designed to eventually become a rolling programme for 8 –16 year olds in the area with over a hundred participants.

Great opportunities

Terry Luddington of the BFBB told 4BR: "We believe putting Brass Bands back into our local communities can provide some great opportunities for improving community cohesion.

We look forward to monitoring the progress of the Stalham Brass Band training programme and see how we can further develop and replicate the best practice results in other rural communities around the country."