Scotland’s best-known military band – The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland – is in the middle of its first-ever nationwide tour which is aiming to raise thousands of pounds for Armed Forces charity Poppyscotland…
Scotland’s State Band, as it is also known, embarked on its tour – entitled “Walking with Heroes” – in April and they have already performed to delighted crowds in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Kilmarnock and Dunfermline. Next up, the Band will perform in Perth’s Concert Hall before two further concerts in Aberdeen and Inverness.
The Band’s Director of Music, Major James R Marshall CAMUS, said: “For the SCOTS Band, this tour is a massive thing. We have enjoyed going out further afield to a number of different venues as that is something that the Band has not done for a very long time. It has been great music in great venues and all to support the Poppyscotland cause, and we are really looking forward to the concerts in Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness.”
To accompany the centenary tour, a CD – also entitled Walking with Heroes – has been produced, with the aim to commemorate 100 years since the end of The Great War, and to honour those that served our nation so valiantly. Major Marshall added: “To have produced the CD is a great and fitting legacy that we as a Band will be proud to leave in this poignant centenary year.”
The programme includes works by such iconic composers as Holst, Shostakovich, John Williams and Karl Jenkins alongside new compositions and arrangements. These include traditional Scottish fayre and feature a whole host of soloists; in particular the unmistakable skirl of the pipes.
Tickets are available by visiting the Poppyscotland website here.
As well as the tour itself, the Band is undertaking another fundraising effort in the form of The 1918 Poppy Pledge. Not only is this a lasting tribute to those who fell in the First World War, but, importantly, will also allow Poppyscotland to make a step change in the scale of support it is able to provide those in the Armed Forces community who rely on the charity’s support today.
Gordon Michie, Head of Fundraising, said: “It is a privilege for Poppyscotland to be in partnership with such a talented group of musicians. The tour is providing a great opportunity for music-lovers across Scotland to experience the unmistakable and memorable sound of Scotland’s State Band. We urge the public to get their hands on tickets for the final three performances as soon as possible as they are already selling out fast!”
