Appeal for volunteers at Marsden Jazz Festival

director Barney Stevenson. “The volunteers do jobs that are both visible and hidden from view.

“These include liaising with bands, stewarding gigs, moving equipment, collecting donations and marshalling our street parade.”

Every year there’s a real sense of camaraderie in the festival hub – Marsden Mechanics Hall – as the volunteers muck in and help the event go like clockwork.

Barney said: “Volunteering at the festival is a fantastic opportunity to get an inside view of the workings of one of the largest and longest running UK jazz festivals, and to rub shoulders with an exceptional range of talented UK and international artists.”

This year’s festival highlights include 21-year-old Jonny Mansfield’s Elftet performing the world premiere of On Marsden Moor, a festival commission setting poems by Marsden-born poet Simon Armitage.

British-Iraqi composer and vocalist Alya Al Sultani will perform with two groups, SAWA and Collective X, featuring poet, novelist, musician and lecturer Anthony Joseph.

The festival also features the soul-tinged vocals of Polly Gibbons and a rare chance to hear Keith Tippett performing a two-piano duet with Matthew Bourne in the sumptuous acoustics of St Bartholomew’s Church.

To find out more about volunteering at the festival visit www.marsdenjazzfestival.com/ support-us/volunteering.