About South Berks Concert Band

South Berks Concert Band is a community woodwind, brass and percussion music group which has performed in and around the Reading and West Berkshire area for over 40 years since our formation in 1976. We are based in Mortimer, Berkshire, rehearsing every Friday evening at Mortimer Methodist Church Hall.
 
We currently have over fifty members from the local area who have a mix of ages, experience and abilities, but all pride ourselves on our commitment to improving the band and helping build each other’s musicianship in order to bring great quality live music to our audiences.
 
Whatever your tastes in music, whether film scores to musicals, jazz to classical, traditional or contemporary wind band music, original compositions or arrangements of your favourite pop or classical music, it is all there waiting for you to hear and enjoy at our concerts. Why not discover the delight of listening to a live performance for yourself?  The band includes 16 different types of wind instrument: woodwind such as flutes, clarinets and saxophones, and brass such as trumpets, trombones and French horns. There are also many different percussion instruments, ranging from the tiny triangle to huge timpani. The different combinations of instruments in a windband can create some wonderful sounds that you may not expect!
 
We perform several concerts each year, including evening concerts, afternoon family events, and at local fayres and bandstands, as well as going on tour abroad and performing at local charitable events. The band has already performed this year at Kennet Valley Free Church in Calcot with a “Best of British” concert in March, and been on tour to the Rhineland area of Germany in May. Our latest performance was an afternoon picnic event in Mortimer on 2nd July where we brought “Heroes and Villains” to the village! We will be finishing the year with an evening Winter Concert in St John’s Church, Mortimer on 9th December.
 
We are a self-supporting group, and over the years have helped raise thousands of pounds for charity. For 2017 the band is delighted to be partnering with the Kennet Branch of Save the Children. This is with the aim of creating further awareness of the important work Save the Children do locally and nationally as well as bringing more people together to enjoy live music and raise funds for this charitable cause.