Aldbourne, the West of England Area Champion, is busy preparing for its appearances at the forthcoming British Open and National Championships of Great Britain.

Symphony Hall

They will be directed at Symphony Hall for the second time by Belgian conductor Ivan Meylemans, the chief conductor of the Zeeland Orchestra in Middleburg and Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the LUCA School of Arts.

The band hope to build on last year's impressive top 10 finish on Edward Gregson's 'The World Rejoicing'.

Albert Hall

They will also looks forward to European inspiration for the Royal Albert Hall, as Dutch conductor Erik Janssen takes the baton.

Hugely experienced, he has gained acclaim as well as success with the likes of Brass Band Schoonhoven, Spijkerpakkenband and Carlton Main Frickley

Resident Musical Director Glyn Williams will be performing with Cory Band at both events but will take time for that schedule to lead the contest preparations.

Players

On the personnel front the band welcomes Cerys Hughes to the flugel. She takes over from Mark Yarham who stood own earlier in the summer, after a distinguished tenure in the role.

The RWCMD graduate comes from City of Cardiff Band as well as from playing with Tredegar at the Proms. Cerys said: "I was thrilled to be asked to join Aldbourne.

It's a band making all the right moves and something I'm really looking forward to being a part of."

Meanwhile, former Chairman Ian Keene, has also taken a step back from the baritone section with Ed Latham returning after a short break.

This is such a busy but exciting period for the bandAldbourne Band

Exciting period

Talking about the news, a spokesperson said: "This is such a busy but exciting period for the band.

In amongst performing at these world-class contests, we continue to fulfil our commitment to our village and we are incredibly grateful for their support which helps so much in linking up with these great conductors."