FOUR Bolton musicians will create history when they become the first performers to play in the new multi-million pound home for the Halle Orchestra.

The Bridgewater International Concert Hall in Manchester opens its doors with the 1996 British Open Brass Band Championships on Saturday, September 7, and a Bolton quartet will be among the competitors.

In fact the group - all French Horn players - will be appearing on the Bridgewater stage even before the Halle Orchestra does. The host orchestra does not perform there until the following Thursday, September 11. The performance caps a memorable couple of weeks for the youngest member of the quartet, Mark Almond, who recently passed all 11 of his GCSE subjects with 'A' Grades - including an impressive nine with the highest A star grading.

Mark is a pupil at Bolton School who plays with the National Youth Orchestra. He will be joined by Lawrence Yates, head of instrumental teaching in Bury; Christopher Wormald, head of music at Smithills School and North Sixth Form College; and Chris's former student John Parkinson, now a music teacher at Canon Slade School. It will be the second time Chris has given a first performance in a major concert venue. In 1984 he was part of the fanfare team which officially re-opened the Albert Hall in Bolton following its devastating fire.

Prior to their date at the Bridgewater, the horn quartet will perform on Sunday, September 1 at the 1996 International Fire Conference held in Manchester for 500 delegates from Worldwide Fire Rescue organisations as far away as Australia and Malaysia.

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