THE Barnsley Metropolitan Band have high hopes for the upcoming Yorkshire Brass Band Championships.

The band will be competing in the upcoming regional competition, that will take place this weekend at Huddersfield Town Hall.

Competing in the third section, they will be up against other bands from across Yorkshire who will all be tasked to play the same piece for a panel of judges.

Musical director, Alex Francis, told the Chronicle: “There’s a competitive nature to brass bands.

“It’s a little bit like football leagues - we’re in section three of five, the top level is the championship section where big names like Grimethorpe play.

“That’s essentially the Premier League for us.

“But we mainly do it as a nice experience, because we’ve got lots of young people in the band.

“If this is something they want to carry on doing in the future then this gives them the foundation and some of the experience.

The top two bands of each section are chosen to represent Yorkshire at a national level, and in the past nine years Barnsley Metropolitan have qualified four times.

Members are looking to receive that honour again, but are still pleased at simply being able to take part in this tradition.

“This year, it depends on the day whether we qualify,” Alex added.

“But as much as it’s a competition, we want to see all the bands succeeding and keep the brass band ecosystem going.

“It’s definitely a different world for most people, but it’s a nice tradition to keep going.

“In Yorkshire, brass is part of all our heritage, so it’s good to be able to keep this competition alive.”