FORMER regional and national brass band champions, Brighouse & Rastrick band is to hold a special concert shortly marking 70 years since the traditional series began.

Held twice a year, every year since 1945, the first ‘massed band’ concert was held at Huddersfield Town Hall on October 13.

In keeping with tradition, timeless classics will be performed, including some of the same music played at that first concert 70 years ago.

This time the guest band will be The Band of the King’s Division, who will join Brighouse & Rastrick, and there will also be some solos from both bands too.

The Band of the King’s Division was only formed last year as part of the army’s restructuring of its music – and so this is the first time that the two bands will have played together.

The guest conductor for the concert, which is to take place on Saturday, October 24, will be Rob Wiffin, who is currently professor of conducting at the Royal Military School of Music and also teaches conducting for the Royal Air Force music services.

The music will reflect the decades that have passed since conductor Eric Ball - who was also a professional conductor of Brighouse & Rastrick in his time - took that first concert in 1945.

Paul Beaumont, president of the band, often referred to as the most consistent public subscription band in the world, said the twice-yearly concerts at Huddersfield Town Hall were key to the band’s survival.

“The massed band concerts are very important to Brighouse & Rastrick because we are a self-funding band. We are about the only elite band that doesn’t have sponsorship, so we need to earn the money to keep the band going, which is about £150,000 a year.

“To do that we do around 30 concerts a year, as well as radio and tv work.

“We do have a sponsor for our instruments, but we are very proud of the fact that we have existed since 1881 without a major sponsor.”

He added that the venue holds around 1,000 and that tickets were due to go on sale shortly.

“People can expect a fairly spectacular concert, it being the 70th anniversary one.”

There will be a piece containing a number of Salvation Army classics, which was written by Mr Ball, who conducted the first concert all those years ago.

In addition the guest conductor Mr Wiffin has created a special arrangement of songs entitled Song of the Great War.

With the launch of the Royal British Legion’s annual poppy appeal the day before the concert, there will be poppy sellers in attendance and the band is set to make a donation to the Legion at the concert also.

Tickets are to go on sale shortly at Ryecorn Wholefoods shop, Bethel Street, Brighouse, before going on sale at the town hall box office on 01484 223200 and online at kirkleestownhalls.co.uk.

Brighouse & Rastrick, as well as Queensbury’s Black Dyke Band are also part of the Leeds International Concert Season’s best of brass programme, which take place at Morley Town Hall in the coming months.

The first of the concerts in the 2015/16 season features the Brighouse & Rastrick, a band formed through public donations given by the people of the adjacent villages of Brighouse and Rastrick. The concert will take place on Saturday, November 14.

Other highlights of the series include the most successful contesting band in the world, Black Dyke, which takes place on February 13.

To book tickets call 0113 224 3801 or visit leedsconcertseason.com.