The West Somerset Band recently gave the brass band world premiere 'Crash Bang Donkey' in their hometown of Watchet as part of the week-long activities of 'Watchet Summertime'.
The music is set to a children's book written and illustrated by Watchet author Jill Newton, who joined the band on stage for the performance with her hand painted story boards to entertain an enthralled audience.
Jill has illustrated over 150 books, as well as having more than 20 of her own stories published.
Original score
The original music was written by a young American musician, Joshua Guarisco, who set the book and narration to music for his 67-piece Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin, USA.
In 2019 Jill and her husband Cosmo visited the city for its world premiere and a little later West Somerset Band MD Niall Watson was presented with the score and the task of turning it into a brass band version.
Undertaken by Nigel Moyles and with a narration by Colin Whitworth, it all finally came together for a wonderful premiere with plans for further performances during 2024.
