The Border Concert Band entertained High Sheriff Marcia Reid Fotheringham on Saturday night with a programme of music specially chosen to reflect her American upbringing.
With music by Sousa, Gershwin and Bernstein, among others, the band took the audience on an energetic musical journey through selections from Broadway shows such as West Side Story and My Fair Lady, and films including Star Trek, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West, rounding off the programme with Stars and Stripes Forever, the official march of the United States of America.
Marcia said of the concert: “I want to thank the band and their conductor Tom Howe for their fantastic performance and for playing such wonderful music. Each each piece they played had particular memories for me – I can recall where I was and what I was doing when I first heard it. Finishing up with Stars and Stripes Forever was a master touch, and then when I requested just one more number, the band obliged with Puttin’ on the Ritz!”
The free concert, at St Aidan’s Church, was held to raise funds for both the High Sheriff’s chosen charity, Cumbria Community Foundation, and for the band, and the audience showed their appreciation with a very generous retiring collection.
The band can next be heard in concert at Christ Church in Silloth on Saturday 2nd November, and they will also be performing at the Festival of Remembrance in St Cuthbert’s Church, Carlisle on Friday 8th November.
