BIS Hanoi students took part in the Nord Anglia Virtual Brass Band

Each year hundreds of brass bands descend upon small villages in the Nord of England to compete in the Whit Friday Brass Competitions. 

The hills are alive with the sound of music 

"The greatest free show on earth" is described as taking place in the North of England when hundreds of brass bands from across the world descend on several tiny villages in the Pennines (Greater Manchester) to compete for trophies galore. Made famous in the films Yanks and Brassed Off, Whit Friday sees bands in brightly coloured uniforms marching through the streets before competing on podiums late into the night. Ms. Howarth and Mr. Scott both grew up as part of this tradition and are really pleased to be able to introduce it to the students of Nord Anglia. 

During the pandemic, the competition went online, and bands were asked to send in videos of their performances. This inspired Ms. Howarth and Mr. Scott to invite students to record and send in a video, and with it being virtual, they were able to open it out to the entire Nord Anglia family!  

Brass players of Nord Anglia unite  

Many of our students from across the globe took part in the Virtual Brass Band! They were invited to submit a recording of themselves playing the traditional march "Slaidburn" by William Rimmer, and over 100 videos from 35 of our schools across 21 countries were submitted. We are very pleased with the completed video and hope it inspires more students to take up brass instruments. 

This recording is now being sent to the North of England to be played at one of the world's biggest brass band festivals this weekend: Whit Friday.  

All of the competitions in the UK have been emailed our video and will show it on their screens during the evening. It will also be on the contest Twitter and Facebook pages. You can follow the events in the UK as they unfold if you search for Whit Friday on any social media platform or use the hashtag #greatestfreeshowonearth.