Rogerstone Celebrates 75 Years
The Rogerstone Band from South Wales celebrated its rich 75 year history with a local concert on Friday 12th April at Bethesda Baptist Church. The band, led superbly by MD Robert Burnett, was in fine form and delighted the capacity crowd with two very entertaining sets. Music included Beatles classics, film music, banding favourites and a lovely solo from the band’s flugel horn player, Rob Sweet. Band Chairman, Olly Thomas shared some memories of how the band began, “In 1945 there was a meeting to discuss the idea of forming a band to celebrate the end of World War Two, but it took a few more years for the necessary funds to be raised. In 1948 the Rogerstone Band was formed. There have been plenty of milestone events since then including the building of a brand-new bandroom in 1974 that we continue to use today, but we remain rooted in the community and its always a pleasure to give concerts locally to thank our supporters.”
Sandwiched between the senior band’s sets was the inaugural performance of the newly formed Junior Band. This latest reincarnation of the Junior Band was the brainchild of local banding celebrity Dr Robert Childs, who wanted to provide an opportunity for his four grandchildren to play in a band, just as he had growing up. Bob explained, “I have such terrific memories of playing with my family in Tredegar Junior Band. I made lifelong friends and playing together with other musicians is always so much more enjoyable and inspiring than practising at home by yourself.” Bob contacted Olly Thomas, who was delighted with the idea and the Rogerstone Junior Band was reborn. The band’s 75th celebratory concert was the perfect occasion for the youngsters’ debut, where they each performed solo and duet offerings, ranging from the much loved ‘The Acrobat’ and ‘Wellerman’ to the crowd rousing ‘Oggi, Oggi, Oggi’ and ‘Snake Rattle and Roll’. The group, comprising children aged 7-13, also performed together treating the audience to several film, Disney and rock inspired arrangements. Congratulations to the Rogerstone Band for a wonderful history over 75 years
.gif)
