Concert band brings the Christmas cheer

THOSE travelling down Sturt Street may have noticed the sound of Christmas Carols in the air, with performances by the Ballarat Memorial Concert Band.

The group have two performances left on Sunday 17 November from 1pm and Sunday 23 December from 6pm at Santa’s sleigh.

“We’re always really grateful to the City for paying us to perform for them,” said president Vincent McDonald.

“We’re in the block where all the restaurants are so hopefully there are people out there dining and we can entertain them.

“We know we’ll get a bit of an audience there and we’re good for background music and passersby.”

Meanwhile, the full band is also set to play at Hop Temple on Wednesday 20 December from 6pm.

“Hop Temple has been one of regular band sponsors for a number of years now,” said Mr McDonald.

“We’ll be playing a mix of Christmas carols and some upbeat pieces from our normal repertoire including songs from well know musicals and things like that.”

Mr McDonald said he hopes the performances bring a sense of joy to listeners.

“Christmas is all about the kids so we love it when we can get some interaction with some kids,” he said.

“That’s great because you’ve made someone’s day and you’ll never know if it’s a future musician out there.”

He also encouraged passersby to support all bands playing over Christmas throughout Ballarat.

“I know the City has a number of bands playing so whichever band it is, stop for a second and support them.”