The origins of Tredegar Town Band can be traced back to 1849, although it wasn’t until 1876 following victory at the Welsh National Eisteddfod that they were formally constituted. History shows that early contesting victories were sporadic, although they did compete extensively - from local competitions to the famous Crystal Palace in London. 

However, over the last 40 years they have become one of the world’s elite performers - as well as multiple winners of major competitions; claiming the British Open title in 2010 and again in 2013.

Voted 4Barsest ‘Band of the Year’ with MD Ian Porthouse ‘Conductor of the Year’ in 2010, they continue to represent the town that bears their name with pride.

This was literally so with the 2014 BAFTA Award winning film, ‘Pride’ where they provided a major part of the musical score and made a cameo appearance. 

Further significant artistic achievements, include providing the accompanying score, by composer Gavin Higgins, to Rambert Ballet’s critically acclaimed production, ‘Dark Arteries’, which was subsequently shortlisted for a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award. 

In contrast, in 2015 they also became the first band to perform in concert at the famous Old Vic Theatre in London alongside songwriter Tim Minchin, and in May this year were invited to perform on the ITV show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

However, the band continues to enhance its reputation for innovative artistic collaborations - performing at the ‘Changing Britain’ retrospective at the Southbank in London, whilst their ‘Dark Arteries’ recording was awarded 2015 ‘CD of the Year’ from every leading brass band publication - a feat repeated in 2016 with the critically acclaimed ‘War Memorials’ release. 

2016 saw further success - winning both the televised Band Cymru title and becoming Champion Band of Wales for the eleventh time. In May, 2017 they came 5th at the European Championship in Ostende.

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Heritage Lottery Project

In 2017 they received a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund award to develop a multi-media project to celebrate their 140 year musical history.

Here you can follow a time line from 1849 to date, view images and find out more about the artefacts and memorabilia in the band’s possession, as well as listen to some of the works that have a significant link to the band’s heritage that are being recorded for the project.