On Saturday July 4th we performed our 2026 Summer Concert to an overflowing Bolton Parish Church audience, full to its capacity of 400 by 7.25pm and with an additional 25 people then allowed in to stand at the rear of the church throughout, with all pews and additional aisle seating having been taken up.

We were conducted and led for the final time by our MD Chris Wormald and Principal Cornet Lynsey Hayes respectively, and the public certainly turned out in record numbers for the concert. Our VIP guests included the Lord-Lieutenant For Greater Manchester and last year’s Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton, now in their new roles as current deputies. As always, our audience members were treated to free, 20 page, colour glossy programmes made for us by BHW Print, whose lead designer Anthony McGrath and his wife we were delighted to welcome.

The music Chris selected for his final evening as our MD was as diverse as ever, opening with the Dan Price Starburst for the first time following on from having opened our previous concert with the Alan Fernie Prismatic Light for the first time. We then included music ranging from Puccini to Rush, Andrew Lloyd-Webber to Keane, Mahler to Simon and Garfunkel, via John Williams, Dean Martin, Count Basie and Michael Buble. Our featured soloists were Janet Walsh playing the beautiful By Trevone Bay and Euphonium players Marcus Rowbotham and Eleanor Knowles performing the classic Peggy Lee hit The Folks Who Live On The Hill (famously conducted by Frank Sinatra on her 1957 recording) but a particular highlight of our concert on Saturday was a featured ensemble of soloist principals spread throughout the full length of the church at spacings of around 4 metres apart from each other to open the second half performing Nessun Dorma. Led superbly as ever by Lynsey from the centre aisle on the melody, the left aisle featured Harvey Crombleholme (Soprano Cornet), Solo Horn Deb Lyons, and Janet Walsh (Flugel Horn) and on the opposite aisle of the church, in the right aisle, Kay Brannon (Solo Baritone), Marcus Rowbotham (Solo Euphonium) and Principal Trombone Jo Fellowes . Seated within the band behind Lynsey were Principal Basses Dec Cullen (E Flat) and Adam John (B Flat) and the brass ensemble of principals was supported perfectly by our percussion section of Leo Turner-Patel (Wind Chimes/Cymbals), Dom Patel (Timpani) and Sophie Dunlevy (Glockenspiel) with the full band joining in for the final climactic bars. The ovation for Nessun Dorma was amazing. 

During the first half of the concert, the Community Choir led the audience in singing What A Wonderful World and, to honour it’s fiftieth anniversary, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina was performed superbly. The first half concluded with a performance of highlights from The Phantom of The Opera to mark it’s fortieth anniversary debut in London’s West End. 

Having opened the second half of the concert with the Nessun Dorma principals feature, the concert moved swiftly into a John Williams fanfare before featuring a brand new composition by Toby Waldram, one of our kit drummers from the Community Band. Now aged 17, Toby composed his piece Operation Blackout for his GCSE Music coursework at the age of just 15 and this was its first ever performance.

The players have loved rehearsing this piece over the past few weeks and the audience showed that they really liked it too, with Chris welcoming Toby to stand up and take a well-deserved bow.

Just prior to the final pieces of the evening, Band President Gerry Russell addressed the packed audience from up in the pulpit, reading out a citation he had prepared with regard to recognising Chris retiring as a Musical Director in Bolton after 43 years.

At the conclusion of Gerry’s speech, the whole of Eagley Band, Community Band and Community Choir gave Chris a standing ovation and Deb Lyons suggested to Chris he should turn round and look behind him, revealing the whole of the packed church was on its feet cheering and applauding. It was an emotional ovation and many of the performers behind him were clearly moved. 

Our Summer Concert concluded with Chris’s arrangement of the Finale from Mahler’s 3rd Symphony which featured the band’s quietest playing of the evening before its roof lifting climax which left everyone moved by the power and control of the band and its outstanding percussion section. Everyone at Eagley wishes Chris for whatever musical adventures lie ahead.