The Tewkesbury Town Band have a long and proud history of curating top-class performances. With three bands, ranging from their training band to their senior band, there aren’t many weekends that pass without their members performing.

Helen Walters has been involved with the Tewkesbury Town Band for many years now, as a player in the senior band and as a conductor of the training band, and she says the opportunity to be a part of such a talented and passionate group of musicians is a real joy. She said: “I play solo cornet in the senior band but also conduct the training band as well. It’s very rewarding to work with members of the training band, they’re all so enthusiastic and work so hard to improve their playing skills.

“I’ve been playing the cornet since I was nine. My father was very musical, in fact he conducts the senior band, so I picked up a lot of my passion for music from him. My husband is involved in the band as well, he plays in the senior band, it’s a real family affair!

“Our training band is open to anyone who wants to join a band but maybe lacks experience. We provide instrument hire, lessons and uniform which is completely free of charge. We work hard to improve technical skills and build confidence. Age isn’t a barrier, we’ve had people join us who have reached retirement age who want to learn an instrument but also children in primary school that are keen to develop their musical skills.

“Our bands play a wide range of music. If an event has a theme we try and perform music in line with that, but we play everything from pieces of music we’ve written ourselves to classical music and even contemporary pop music songs.”

“There’s just over 60 members in total, that’s in our senior band, our intermediate band and our training band. Our senior band gets together every Wednesday and Sunday and our training band meets for lessons on a Friday and a get together on a Sunday, we like to keep busy!”

After many years of involvement in the Tewkesbury Town Band, Helen has many fond memories of performances alongside her fellow band members. She continued: “Every performance is special, it’s a real thrill to play alongside so many friends and talented musicians. We’ve been lucky to have performed in Bavaria a couple of times which has been one of the best memories I have of my time involved with the band. The scenery out there was so beautiful. Another memorable trip came when we travelled over to Ireland. Both the foreign trips were great, we got to spend a lot of time with each other and played at some incredible venues. We’re not just about the music though, we’re a close-knit group who like to have fun, whether that’s at rehearsal sessions or on social events.”