Before an audience of some 300 people, Boscombe Band of the Salvation Army were guests in their own building at a 'Gala Concert' arranged by Woodfalls Band who joined them for an extravaganza evening of high quality brass band musicianship.

Guest soloists, arguably two of the world's finest instrumentalists, were Richard Marshall (cornet) and David Thornton (euphonium) both of Black Dyke Band, whose Principal Conductor and Director of Music, Dr Nicholas Childs, conducted the Woodfalls Band in Horizons by Paul Lovatt-Cooper and Cornet Carillon by Ronald Binge. They also featured Dean Price's arrangement of Louis Prima's Sing, Sing, Sing and concluded with the exciting Toccata from Peter Graham's Cat's Tails.

Boscombe Band followed their opening march, Cairo Red Shield, with a sympathetic performance of Wonder of it all, which Bandmaster Dr Howard J Evans dedicated to the band's flugel horn player, Ged Whittingham, who was seated in the congregation unable to play following brain surgery. Their section of the programme concluded with a moving presentation of a Salvation Army 'classic', Leslie Condon's The Present Age, into which the bandmaster had cleverly interwoven a passage of Scripture related to the music.

Rapturous applause greeted the breathtaking performances by Richard Marshall of Willow Echoes (Frank Simon) and Kenny Baker's Virtuosity and David Thornton's playing of Rossini's Theme and Variations and another of Paul Lovatt-Cooper's technically demanding numbers - 'neath the Dublin Skies.

This outstanding evening concluded with the united bands playing another Salvation Army 'oldie', but one which is ever new, Gullidge's Emblem of the Army. This was followed by a superb performance of Vitae Aeternum, another Paul Lovatt-Cooper number which has become very popular, and sent the crowd home simply wanting more. There was in fact a non-programmed final item - a setting by Peter Graham of How Great Thou Art.