On 16th May Middleton Arena, Middleton band were delighted to be presenting the Houghton Weavers as part of a series events in preparation for the Middleton Band’s 140th Anniversary in 2016.
The evening opened with the amazing Middleton youth band who are also celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year. Expertly led by their musical director Louise Crane, the band treated the audience to a varied selection of toe tappers from the classic ‘William Tell’ to the modern “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
A clip of our fantastic young musicians playing ‘Tico Tico’:
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The evening continued with the fantastic world famous Houghton Weavers who indeed lived up to their motto of ‘keep folk smiling’ with their fantastic repertoire of “popular” folk songs from raucous traditional songs to beautiful ballads done in their own inimitable style. 2015 marks a very special year for the band as they celebrate 40 years together with a landmark tour throughout the land.
Next to the stage, the Middleton Band conducted by Martyn Evans, played a spectacular programme including Horizons, Toccata in D minor and River Dance. A surprise was in store for the audience during ‘Highland Cathedral’ which featured 3 pipers from Manchester Community Pipe band who joined the stage in true highland style.
The evening was rounded off with a sensational joint performance from the Houghton Weavers accompanied by the Middleton Band for 3 numbers; ‘Rochdale Mashers,’ ‘Swanee,’ and ‘Any Dream Will Do.’
A fantastic evening was had by all!