A concert band has received a letter of reply from Buckingham Palace after putting on a postponed coronation performance.

“It’s absolutely fabulous. When the letter came in with the Buckingham Palace stamp on it, I was so excited,” said Ann Smith, a drumkit player and committee member of Bicester Concert Band.

The devoted drummer sent a letter to the King and Queen Consort after the band and Bicester’s OYAP youth theatre group postponed their coronation performance in July, and received the letter of reply in October.

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She said: “We know the King is very much pro art, pro music and pro theatre. Because the rain meant we had to move our coronation concert back to July, I sent a letter to the King and Queen letting them know they are still being thought of throughout the year.

“Everybody in the band and in the theatre group was really pleased they had been mentioned by Buckingham Palace.”

The letter, written by the correspondence secretary, included the words: “The King has asked me to thank you for your kind message on the occasion of Their Majesties Coronation.

“It was most kind of you to write as you did, and The King was most heartened to hear about the summer coronation concert held by the Bicester Concert Band and the Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership Youth Theatre in celebration of Their Majesties’ Coronation.”

The concert band’s next performance will be its winter concert on December 17, for which it is looking for brass players, primarily trumpeters.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1