The Grampians Youth Brass Band put on a well-received performance in Ararat’s Alexandra Gardens on Thursday afternoon despite 40-degree temperatures.
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Luckily, the outdoor pool was nearby for a cool off after the performance.
Ararat City Band hosted musicians aged six to 21 from the nearby areas, Horsham and Ballarat on a camp last week to rehearse for the performance.
Ararat City Band musical director Wally Pope said the 40 young players put on a great performance.
“We rehearsed Monday to Thursday, 9.30 in the morning to 4.30 in the afternoon rehearsal,” he said
“On the Thursday we went and performed in front of the swimming pool, from about 2-3.30pm and we all went for a swim after that.
“The performance went really well; it was really hot and windy so conditions were not ideal for playing but under the shade of the trees down there it was actually quite nice.
“We set up marquees to keep the kids out of the sun and the audience sat under the trees.”
Mr Pope said the young musicians powers of concentration under the conditions was “amazing”.
“It was a good-sized audience, a nice turn-out,” he said.
“Kids in the group, come of them were feature soloists and another boy in the group did an arrangement for one of the pieces in the performance.
“All of the pieces were pretty popular; we did Pirates of the Caribbean, which is a major work.
“It’s a medley of songs from the film, which is pretty tricky.”
They also performed pieces from the Rolling Stones.