A COLLECTION of young musicians had the opportunity of a lifetime as they were asked to play on stage to thousands of people at the Eurovision Village in Liverpool.
After the stop-start difficulties of the pandemic forced a lot of distanced and online practicing, St Helens Youth Brass Band has been slowly building its confidence back on stage in recent months.
With a host of events planned prior in Liverpool prior to the Eurovision song contest, a cohort of the special St Helens performers were asked by the BBC and Blue Peter to share the stage at the Pier Head on Saturday, May 6.
Despite being one of their first performances on stage for a while and having only one full rehearsal beforehand, around 50 musicians from St Helens Youth Brass Band joined up with players from Sefton and Liverpool to perform a once-in-a-lifetime half an hour show.
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Suzanne Matthews, chair of the St Helens Youth Brass Band, said: "It was an amazing experience for them all to play at the Eurovision Village, and they all loved it.
"The pandemic really shut everything down for the band and when we started up again last year, half the band got covid.
"So this year is really being seen as the 'comeback year' and a lot of them hadn't even played on stage yet.
"It was incredible really, they only practiced the Blue Peter theme tune the night before and all of the parents were so proud."
With the volunteer-run band operating in St Helens for around 40 years, Suzanne said it has been great to see the young members grow in confidence and have these experiences on stage.
Following the Eurovision gig, the players (aged from 4 to 19) have lots more competitions and concerts to look forward to across the country.
Practicing on Saturdays at the United Reform Church on Ormskirk Street, Suzanne said the group is constantly fundraising to fund these sessions, competitions, and trips that they organise.
To find out more about St Helens Youth Brass Band, follow this link.
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