Band of Brothers was commissioned by the Southport School in 2010 to honour the school’s respectful tradition of remembering the ‘old boys’ who served in WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War. The school has a close affiliation to the 39th Batallion. Sally Lockett, Head of Choral and Rob Cooke, Head of Music were both involved in Paul’s research.
More than 75% of the school enlisted in the Great War and 52 boys out of 300 never came home. The St Albans Church was erected in their honour and the names of these fallen soldiers line the entrance. A candle is lit every day in their memory. There is a memorial room in the school, where also every day the school captain opens the pages from a large book, each page the story of an old boy who sacrificed his life for freedom and country.
Band of Brothers is a stirring and emotional dedication to the Anzacs and is well suited to male choirs. It has been sung at various Anzac Day events in Australia and was the Southport School’s festival piece for their tour of Europe in 2012, chosen as the Finale to the Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna.
The piece is also scored for strings, percussion and brass. Contact Paul directly for any parts. The SATB version is essentially a TB version with treble.
An early performance of ‘Band of Brothers’ at the Southport School