Jedforest Instrumental Band celebrate to the tune to £63,000 cash boost

Practice night for JIB. David Lightbody, Kirsty McRae, John Mabon, Gordon Melrose, fr: Ben Murray and Molly Noble

Cash to upgrade Jedforest Instrumental Band’s state-of-the-art music hall and practice venue has been secured and the Jedburgh building will soon benefit from a new roof and repairs to its library.

That’s being funded by a £48,631 handout from the Suez Community Trust and a further £15,000 from the Jedburgh CARS scheme.

The urgent repairs, costing around £75,000, are being hailed vital for maintaining the safety and condition of the various ranges of instruments, equipment and music held within the Mission Hall, in the town’s Friars.

“We are delighted to have received this funding from the SUEZ Communities Trust and the CARS fund,” band and committee member Kirsty McRae said. “We are fortunate to have such a spacious rehearsal facility for our senior band and Abbey Brass Jedforest, our junior band.

“As we prepare for the Scottish Brass Band Championships in March it is comforting to know that work will soon be commencing on the repairs that we need to ensure the future of our band hall.”

The custom-designed band hall, where both the senior and junior bands practice twice-weekly, was bought by the band in 2000.

After a year of refurbishment, to create sound-proofed facilities, tuition and practice areas, toilets, and a kitchen, the band hall was opened in March 2001 by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

“This is the first major work we’ve had to carry out and will hopefully take two to three months to complete, weather and unforeseen circumstance permitting,” Kirsty added. “The library room where we store our catalogue of music, which is fairly extensive, is completely out of use at the moment due to the state of repair it is in, but we aim to get it restored to full working order.

“We’re very proud of our band. It’s a great team and family and we love being able to contribute to the Jedburgh community through our musical input.

“Hopefully the investment we can make in the repairs to the hall will ensure we have a good rehearsal space as well as being able to continue to allow members of the community to make use of the facility.”

The band, one of the country’s oldest continuously-run brass bands, formed in 1854 and boasts around 55 members across its junior and senior sections.

SUEZ Communities Trust chairman Marek Gordon added: “We provide funding through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund and are delighted to be able to offer funding to Jedforest Instrumental Band.”

Jedforest Instrumental and Abbey Brass Jedforest are always keen to welcome new members of any ability. Visit: www.jedforestinstrumentalband.org.uk for further information.