Musicians hit the right note at Ramsbottom Music Festival

Ramsbottom was alive with the sound of music as Ttalented musicians braved torrential rain, flooding, and closed motorways to compete at the annual festival, one of the biggest highlight's in the town's calender.

Staged at Woodhey High School, Greenmount Primary School and Greenmount United Reformed Church, almost 600 children and adults competed for trophies donated by local businesses, societies and friends of the festival.

The age range of entrants was from five to 75 years young.

The Primary School event was held at Woodhey High School on the Friday.

And visitors were entertained by a brass band, orchestras, recorder groups and choirs from primary schools from Bury, Bolton and South Manchester.

Hazlehurst Primary School Brass Band, Ramsbottom, directed by Mike Golding, tied for 1st Place with Moorlands Junior School from Sale to win the Rotary Trophy.

This trophy was presented by Kevin Winch, President of Ramsbottom Rotary Club.

St Bernadette’s RC School, in Whitefield, directed by Catherine Flemming, took first prize in the Primary School Recorder Ensemble winning the Bill Allpress Trophy.

St Thomas of Canterbury Primary School in Bolton, directed by Cecelia Tandy, won the Ronald Frost Memorial Trophy for Unison Singing, and Bury Grammar Boys Chamber Choir, directed by Sian Norman, tied with Hesketh House School from Bolton, directed by Helen Holt, to win the Marshalls Mono Trophy which was presented by Nicola Upton, Manager at Marshalls Mono.

On Saturday, Greenmount United Reformed Church was filled with the beautiful voices of solo vocalists in the morning. This was followed with performances by a large number of electric and acoustic guitarists in the afternoon.

Students of local guitar teacher Karl Taylor, from Bury Music Service, won 10 of the 12 guitar trophies on offer.

Piano, strings, woodwind, brass and electronic keyboard were well attended and took place at Greenmount Primary School where adjudicators from the British and International Federation of Festivals commented on the high standard of playing by musicians in the Bury area.

A Gala Concert featuring a selection of the prize winners will take place on Saturday, March 30 at Greenmount United Reformed Church from 6.30pm.

A spokesman for the festival said: "Special Award trophies will be presented to the Most Promising entrants in each discipline, and the overall Most Promising Performer will be selected. This is an event not to be missed, if you love good music!"