Back in February, at the request of Stewart Findlay, who was acting as the local co-ordinator for the Scottish Boys' Brigade Bands Contest, I did an update about this excellent event on www.dundeewestend.com. Stewart has now advised me of another concert - here's the details from Stewart :
The weekend of the 18th/19th June 2011 will see the band of the Ypres-Surrey Pipes & Drums from Belgium visit Dundee for a long weekend. The highlight of this weekend will be a concert to be held in the Central Baptist Church in Ward Road, Dundee on Saturday 18th June from 7:30 pm. The concert will feature our own band and the Belgian band along with the Dundee Strathspey & Reel Society and other acts to be announced. The music will be a mix of both traditional and more contemporary pieces, included will be our medley which saw us win the Boys' Brigade’s Scottish Bands Contest in March this year.
We have fostered good links the Ypres-Surrey band who hail from the West Flanders region of Belgium. Last year we were invited to take part in the 1st Ypres Memorial Tattoo which culminated in a massed band performance under the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate is a memorial to the Commonwealth soldiers who fell in the 1st World War but whose bodies were never found. We're very fortunate to have been invited back again in September of this year to what looks to become an annual event.
The welcome and hospitality in Ypres was excellent and we’ve invited them to come to Dundee so we can hopefully show them the same level of friendship and fellowship. This involves us providing their accommodation and meals whilst they are here, something which I'm sure you will appreciate does not come cheap. Whilst the concert will not only be a great night of entertainment, the proceeds will go directly to defraying the costs of their visit.
The photo below is from a previous concert in the Caird Hall :
