The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Perth Provost Dennis Melloy chats with Corporal Joanne Ward ahead of the band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland’s charity concert in the city. Picture: Mark Owens.
Royal Regiment of Scotland in Walking with Heroes centenary fundraiser
It’s a genuine thrill to perform to crowds who clearly love our style of music as much as we do
Scotland’s best-known military band will play in Perth as part of its first national tour. Fresh from a month of performances at the annual Edinburgh Tattoo, the band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland kicked off its Walking with Heroes centenary tour, which aims to raise thousands of pounds for armed forces charity PoppyScotland. Before the performance at Perth Concert Hall on September 22, one of the band’s local musicians, Corporal Joanne Ward, met Perth and Kinross Provost Dennis Melloy to spread the word about the show. Cpl Ward, from Bankfoot, said: “This is the first time I will be performing in Perth since my school days in the Perth Youth Orchestra and I am really looking forward to it. “What’s more, I’ve never had the chance to play at Perth Concert Hall. My parents will be coming along and I’m sure they’ll bring half the village with them. “As a band, we are incredibly busy throughout the year and we do not often get time for concerts such as this, so it’s a genuine thrill to perform to crowds who clearly love our style of music as much as we do.” Cpl Ward, who met Provost Melloy at the 51st Highland Division Memorial in the city’s North Inch Park, began her musical career aged nine, playing the trumpet. Soon after, her teacher sensed a talent and introduced her to the French horn. The band has already played in Dunfermline, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Kilmarnock and will head north to Aberdeen and Inverness after Perth. Mr Melloy said: “It is an honour to welcome the band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland to Perth. We are very fortunate that the concert hall has been chosen as one of the venues for the band to play on its seven-date centenary tour. “I would also like to take this opportunity to wish them well in their fundraising for the very deserving charity PoppyScotland.” The band is one of the 22 regular Army bands and is based at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh. “Its main role is to support Army, state and ceremonial occasions in Scotland but they also perform all over the world and, in recent years, have travelled to Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany and Canada.