St David's Brass invites everyone to pitch up and play at its restored Vogrie Hall in Gorebridge

If you have ever wanted to blow your own trumpet, this is your chance. St David's Brass, an award-winning charity brass band based in Midlothian, is inviting everyone from five to 95 to its free Pitch Up and Play sessions at Vogrie Hall in Gorebridge.

Complete beginners who have never held an instrument are welcome, as are lapsed players looking to get back into the groove. The band says no experience or musical knowledge is required, just a curiosity to give it a go, and it provides all the instruments. The next session takes place on Sunday 25 October from 2pm to 4pm.

The sessions take place in a building the band has brought back to life. Vogrie Hall had been closed by Midlothian Council in 2020 for safety reasons. The band, which had leased it as a rehearsal base for more than a decade, paid the council £100,000 to buy it and raised more than £800,000 to restore it. Today it is a modernised 100-capacity venue with sprung floors, a kitchen and solar power, available for community and private hire.

St David's Brass has been bringing music to Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Lothians for more than 45 years. Its 25-piece contesting band performs at concerts, community events and competitions across the country, most recently featuring at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. The band can also be booked for weddings and events, as a full band, in ensembles or with soloists.

For those who catch the bug, the St David's Training Band offers free music lessons and instrument loan for beginners of all ages, and players can also drop into senior band rehearsals.

The band's diary stays busy into the winter, with the Scottish Challenge contest at the Scottish Festival of Brass in November.

It is a heartening story of a community band that saved its own home and now opens its doors to anyone who wants to play.

Details of Pitch Up and Play, the Training Band and hall hire are on the St David's Brass website.