Harborough brass band reach the finals of a tough national competition – as it celebrates its 125th anniversary

A Market Harborough brass band have stormed into the finals of a tough national competition – as it celebrates its 125th anniversary.

Harborough Band hit all the right notes and pulled out all the stops as they came second in the Midland Regional brass band contest at the Corby Cube over the weekend.

Set up way back in 1897 when Queen Victoria still sat on the throne, the band fought off stiff competition from 12 other bands to finish runners-up.

“That means we have qualified for the national finals which take place in Cheltenham in September.

“We are absolutely chuffed to bits that all of the band’s hard work and dedication has paid off,” said the band’s Maisie Lee.

“Particular thanks go to our musical director Brad Turnbull, who makes the music truly come alive.

“He is absolutely brilliant.

“Mark Stamp, our president, also deserves all of our thanks for being our rock.

“And we also want to salute the ongoing support of the band members’ fantastic families without whom we would not be able to do what we love doing!

“Celebrating our 125th anniversary, our band will now prepare for some new projects and upcoming jubilee celebrations before getting down to the 'nitty-gritty' of preparing for the Nationals,” said Maisie.

If you would like to sponsor high-flying Harborough Band you can contact Maisie at: [email protected]

And you can find out a lot more about the band on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harborough.band/