MUSICIANS at Hereford Cathedral School have seen very significant achievements in recent weeks.

They were thrilled to receive a gold award for the Concert Band's performance in the regional finals of the National Concert Band Festival at Chepstow and have since been practising hard for their concert at the national finals at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in April.

They were also delighted to be five of the finalists at the Courtyard theatre last month in the BBC Hereford and Worcester Young Musicians Showcase.

This worked out as an extraordinary high percentage of Herefordshire musical talent and four of them were asked to play at Madley Festival in July as a result of the evening's performances: Eleanor Briggs (oboe), Michael Brown (violoncello), John Robinson (piano) and Rosalyn Hart (violin).

The third achievement was a much more practical one.

It was the news that the Old Herefordian Trust, in recognition of the musical excellence at HCS, is making a significant sum of money available, specifically for potential sixth-formers who are at present in Herefordshire schools and who would like to take the opportunity of studying music at the cathedral school in the sixth form.

Opportunity

This will in some ways compensate for the loss of the assisted places that used to be available at the school.

Anyone wishing to take up this opportunity should talk to the director of music, John Williams, who is available at any time to tell people about the scheme.