Portsmouth's Royal Marines School of Music features on new TV documentary
The programme – Sea City Band School – follows the ups and downs of three musicians auditioning for a place at the prestigious musical institution, based at the Portsmouth Naval Base.
Major Jon Ridley, director of music (training) said the experience for all those at the music school had been an unforgettable one.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe said: ‘We were delighted to have the BBC join us and we hope the documentary will give a sense of the passion for music, the world-class training and the pursuit of excellence that lies at the heart of everything we do.
‘The Royal Marines School of Music is proud to have its home in Portsmouth, and on Sunday everyone will get the chance to see how young people apply for a place at the school, and the life they lead whilst training to be in one of the finest military bands in the world.’
To show off their skills, some of the talented musicians from the band performed a couple of tunes on BBC Radio Solent yesterday morning to thousands of listeners.
Maj Ridley said: ‘The guys (from Sea City) arrived and they couldn’t believe quite what we did at the Royal Marines School of Music and how fantastic a place and learning environment it is and what a great opportunity for the young people it is.’
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe documentary will take place at 4pm on Sunday on BBC One South.
The programme will then be repeated as part of a one-hour programme featuring Portsmouth as a sea city in a series of five hour-long documentaries, to be shown on BBC Two between February 1 and 5 from 7pm.
The five-part series, narrated by Rob Bell, will explore the lives of those who have jobs around shores and rivers.
Maj Ridley added: ‘We take people from all sorts of musical backgrounds, the brass band world, school band world and even graduates too.’
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMusicians and buglers can join the Royal Marines School of Music at the age of 16.
After the initial 15 weeks of military training, they start a specialist course which lasts two years and eight months for musicians and two years for buglers.