Letter to the Editor

BAND IN TUNE
Hugh Davies, bandmaster, Sale City Band

THIS year the Sale City Band is celebrating its 140th year of providing brass music and tuition to the people of Sale and the surrounding districts.

On Anzac Day this year the band provided a bugler at both the Sale and Stratford dawn services to play the Last Post. The band also participated in the Anzac Dav services at Stratford, Sale and Rosedale, providing the marching music, the hymn tunes, the buglers to play the Last Post and the national anthem at all three services.

The members of the Sale City Band give their time and skills voluntarily to the band so that events such as Anzac Day can be celebrated with great success.

How disappointed were the band members when they read the Gippsland Times reports of the events of Anzac Day to see that they did not even receive one mention, or photograph.

The band is finding it very difficult to attract people who would like to learn to play the brass instruments, so some support from the press would help the image of the band and maybe encourage some people to participate in the band's activities.

Future Anzac Day marches will be very dull events if there is no live music and the Last Post is played by a recording over a loud speaker. The bugler at the Sale Service was Ray Jago, who has just turned 80 and has decided to retire from playing the Last Post after playing it for more than 60 years. Well done Ray, and I hope there are people in the community that are inspired by your effort and that they too will want to learn to play a brass instrument and to join the Sale City Band in the future.

Let's keep the music on Anzac Day live and not broadcast over a loud speaker for the next 140 years.

Editor's note: Anzac Day services across the shire were covered by Gippsland Times, but not every photograph or participating organisation could be represented in the limited 5pace available in a paper printed only two hours after the Sale 5ervice. If the newspaper had been made aware that Mr Jago was to play his last performance efforts would have been made to ensure coverage of such a notable achievement. The Gippsland Times supports and endorses Mr Davies' sentiments regarding live music at Anzac Day services and wishes the band a long and productive future.