A LYDBROOK man, whose family have been involved with brass bands in the village for well over a century, will see his 60-year-long contribution celebrated in a series of theatre performances beginning at Dean Heritage Centre on Sunday, August 20.
Robert Morgan, 69, is such an accomplished cornet player that he was named champion of Great Britain at the age of 16.
Robert said: “I began playing the cornet at 10 years of age. I wanted to play with the Grenadier Guards, but I did an electrical apprenticeship instead.
“There used to be three brass bands in Lydbrook. My grandfather, Augustus Morgan, who was killed in a roof fall at Trafalgar Colliery in 1917, founded one of them in 1899.
“My father Albert played the trumpet and my uncle Raymond played the cornet. My aunt, Vera Morgan ran a dance band called Vera and her Victorians, so music was in my blood.”
It’s the rich musical tradition of the village’s brass bands that is being explored in Passing the Baton, by Wyldwood Arts, based in Lydbrook.
Creative producer Rachel Adams said; “I was talking to Robert one evening and the more I discovered about him, and about the history of the bands, the more I realised it was something we should explore.”
The play was written by renowned playwright Mike Akers, who created the script from interviews with the local community and Lydbrook Brass Band, including with Robert who has been band secretary for 37 years and also conductor of the training band.
It will be performed in arts spaces, community centres, schools and care homes, with proceeds going to local charities The Orchard Trust, Sling Bandstand renovation fund and Age Concern.
“The performance is based in a brass band hut,” Rachel added. “It has been inspired by stories and memories from Lydbrook brass band, an important part of the fabric of the Forest community for many years.
“Robert Morgan’s family have been in the band for generations and the band we know and love today was brought together from several local bands in 1923.”
Robert added: “It’s brilliant to have someone do a play about this in my 60th year of playing with the band.
“I’m very proud of the band which plays in the championship section - only the best brass bands in the country play at this level.
“A number of our members have gone on to musical careers, including Brett Baker from Bream who played the trombone with us. He’s professor of music at Salford University in Manchester now.
“We’re always recruiting new members and we work with Lydbrook Primary School. We loan them instruments and offer teaching free of charge.”
Passing the Baton is at Dean Heritage Centre at 2pm on August 20 for the first of 10 performances. For more information, visit www.wyld
woodarts.co.uk/passing-the-baton.html