Young musicians hitting the right note

Three good causes are getting some extra brass, thanks to young musicians at Dobcross Youth Band.

Some of the youngsters gave up their Christmas morning to join musical director Seth Livingstone and former members of the band, playing carols around the village.

There was also a collection when the whole band played at the annual torchlit carol service on Churchfields, and at their Christmas concert.

Together, generous donations from residents and supporters raised a total of £652, which will be divided between Kingfisher Special School, Bright Futures School and Cancer Research UK.

Seth said: "We’re really grateful to everyone who’s helped the band with their festive fundraising. We support other charity events throughout the year but Christmas is our busiest time and it’s great to be able to entertain the community at the same time as raising some money for good causes."

The band are now tuning up for a busy spring with a number of events and concerts planned, including:

• Halifax Youth Brass Festival at Halifax Minster on 8 February
• A Massed Brass concert with Boarshurst, Delph and Slaithwaite Bands at Uppermill Civic Hall on 7 March
• The Music for Youth Regional Festival on 15 March
• A joint performance with Norwegian band Mangerfolkogskul at Dobcross Band Club on 27 March

With such a busy programme and more than 80 youngsters now involved with the band, they are now looking to recruit an additional teacher/musical director to take charge of the training band and develop their musical abilities.

New players, aged between seven and 18, are always welcome too and the band have a wide array of instruments available to borrow.

Images: Youngsters from Dobcross Youth Band performing.