AUDIENCES for the All England Masters Brass Band Festival look set to reach record levels now it has become an international event. This year s festival, at Cambridge Corn Exchange on Sunday, May 27, will see a tradition that was started in 1989 expand

AUDIENCES for the All England Masters Brass Band Festival look set to reach record levels now it has become an international event.

This year's festival, at Cambridge Corn Exchange on Sunday, May 27, will see a tradition that was started in 1989 expand to take in bands from the USA, Belgium, Holland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as England.

And the competition will be followed by a spectacular gala concert, featuring European champions Brass Band Willebroek. They will be joined by the well-known Fairey Band from Manchester, with Rex Richardson from the USA as Guest Trumpet Soloist.

The event's organisers, local musicians Philip Biggs and Richard Franklin, have put together a bumper musical package, including 20 of the most famous brass bands in the world.

Mr Biggs said: "We take great pride in presenting an international brass band music festival every year and the 2007 event promises to be the most spectacular yet. It is a wonderful opportunity for band enthusiasts to see the finest brass playing anywhere in the world."

Each band will perform a set work, In Memoriam RK by Elgar Howarth.

The victorious band will receive a cheque for £4,000.