December proved to be an exceptionally busy and heart-warming month for the Corsham Windband Association, whose musicians filled the town and surrounding area with festive music, community spirit and unforgettable performances.
The season began on 5 December, when 15 of the association’s older Youth Concert Band players braved wind and rain to perform at the Corsham Christmas Lights. Despite challenging weather, hundreds gathered to enjoy what many described as an “outstanding”, “brilliant” and truly “magical” performance. The event, sponsored by Corsham Town Council, set the tone for a month full of musical highlights.
During the same evening, 15 young Youth Concert Band players brought “wonderful live music” to the St Bartholomew’s Church, Corsham, Christmas Tree Festival. Audience members praised the performance as “beautiful” and “moving”, underlining the emotional impact these young musicians had on the event.
Between 29 November and 13 December, the Association’s Spectrum Band took festive music directly to the public with four busking events in Corsham and Melksham. Performing to hundreds of shoppers, the musicians raised an impressive £1,000 to fund the purchase of music and hire of rehearsal space. Listeners described the performances as “Christmassy”, “joyful” and “moving”.
One of the most ambitious events took place on 16 December at St Bartholomew’s Church, where 170 primary school children from Corsham Regis Association, Churchfields, The Manor, St Mary’s, St Patrick’s and St Peter’s came together for a Christmas Celebration concert. Performing ten festive pieces on brass, woodwind, string and percussion instruments, the children exceeded expectations. Teachers commented that “the children loved playing”, “they all went beyond our expectations”, and that parents were “surprised” by the high standard — describing the event as “music-making at its best”.
The festive programme culminated on 19 December with the association’s 45th Christmas Celebration Concert, again at St Bartholomew’s Church. A remarkable 130 performers from the Beginner Group, Training Band, Spectrum Band, Youth Concert Band and String Group were joined by guest singers Harmonics. Playing Christmas melodies and carols to an audience of 250, the concert received glowing feedback: “lovely concert”, “great to hear such good playing” and “CWA were magic”. The retiring collection raised £500, with raffle prizes kindly sponsored by Hartbeeps and Asda.
In addition, five whole school classes — around 120 children — performed in Christmas services, assemblies and concerts across local schools, reaching audiences of over 1,000 pupils, parents and teachers. Performances were described as “amazing”, “engaging” and praised for showcasing “such a range of instruments”.
Over the Christmas period, more than 420 Corsham Windband Association musicians took part in performances enjoyed by hundreds across the community. The association expressed heartfelt thanks to its supporters and sponsors, including Corsham Town Council, Wiltshire Council Area Board (Melksham), The Late Lord Methuen Trust, Wiltshire Music Connect, Wiltshire Community Fund and Ronnie Scott’s Foundation, whose generosity continues to support music education for more than 1,000 children and young people in 12 schools across the region.
