What a showpiece - Grenadier Guards capture everyone's hearts with another stunning Uppermill performance
The Regimental Band of the Grenadier Guards performed in Uppermill, captivating the community with a vibrant parade and a concert at Saddleworth School, featuring collaborations with local students and ending with traditional marches.
Royal red tunics and towering bearskins swept through Uppermill on Saturday as the Regimental Band of the Grenadier Guards marched to thunderous applause along the High Street.
The 45 musicians, hand-picked from the King’s elite ceremonial regiment, made their third visit to Saddleworth at the invitation of Saddleworth School’s head of music Garrath Beckwith, who counts both the band and their conductor Captain Andrew Porter as personal friends.
After parading through the village with uplifting marches, the Guards joined forces with the school’s own musicians for a special teatime concert featuring the Saddleworth anthem ‘Hail Smiling Morn’ and finishing with the regimental march ‘The British Grenadiers’.
“Conducting the Grenadiers Band was like driving a Ferrari,” Beckwith told the packed audience. “It was an out-of-body experience. It was fantastic.”
The event organizer, who has built strong links between the school and top musical ensembles, said: “The spectacular Regimental Band’s elite military ensemble gave talented young school musicians a chance to perform at a teatime concert at the school. It was a wonderful community event and Saddleworth really shone on the day.”
Oldham’s mayor Cllr Zahid Chauhan attended the performance, praising the “world-class military ensemble” for delivering “an outstanding performance” and thanking the school for “bringing music, tradition and community spirit together.”
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