The 2012 Ironbridge Gorge Brass Band Festival

When: 14th & 15th July 2012, 11am – 6pm

Where: Outdoors on The Green, Museum of Iron and Enginuity, Coalbrookdale, Shropshire

£: Free (Last Night of the Proms charity concert £10)

What is it?

Now in its eighth year, this free family event showcases some of the finest brass bands from Shropshire and the surrounding counties and is the largest non-competitive brass band festival in the country.

This year, a conductor’s baton representing one of the five Olympic rings will be arriving in style at the festival and bands will be participating in ‘Brass the Baton’, a London 2012 Inspire project, which is part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The festival will feature 19 brass bands including the Jackfield Elcock Reisen Band, the Tongwynlais Temperance Band, the Abraham Darby Brass Band, Wem Jubilee Brass Band, Cleobury Mortimer Brass Band, Porthywaen Silver Band, Llangollen Silver Band, City of Wolverhampton Brass Band, Black Country Brass Band and the Jaguar Land Rover Band.

Admission to the daytime festivals is free and it takes place in a beautiful setting on the Green at the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron and Enginuity, one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s ten award-winning museums in the area.  Throughout the two days, brass bands take to the stage, performing to 4,000 people over the course of the weekend.

On the Saturday evening, a ticketed charity gala concert will take place.  This will feature a selection of ‘Last Night of the Proms’ favourites as well as the arrival of the ‘Brass the Baton’ conductor’s baton and a performance of an extract from the piece of music that has been commissioned specially for the project entitled ‘Going the Distance’ by Paul Lovatt-Cooper.  The concert will feature the Jackfield Elcock Reisen Band and the Tongwynlais Temperance Band and all proceeds will be donated to the Severn Hospice.

More info:  Tickets for the charity gala concert, which starts at 7.30pm on 14th July in support of Severn Hospice, can be ordered in advance from www.eventbrite.co.uk or booked on the Ticketline 07980 475335.  For more information about the festival visit www.ironbridgebandfestival.co.uk or follow on twitter @ironbridgebrass.