Polished brass producing golden notes lured hundreds of cheerful listeners to Dunedin’s Octagon yesterday.
For the first time since 2006, as part of the New Zealand National Brass Band Championships, brass bands from across the country marched down George St yesterday at 1pm.
Hosting committee chairman Ben Rickerby said it was a great chance to advertise what brass bands were all about.
"Bands get to march at Anzac Day and that sort of thing, so it was a good opportunity to get together and showcase what they can do in one go."
The bands were judged on appearance, dress, the music and how they executed a left turn from George St to Moray Pl.
Each band was separated by two minutes so their music would not bleed into each others.
They had to salute the official party, which included a representative from the National Brass Band Association and Dunedin deputy mayor Sophie Barker.There were also bonus points for being entertaining.
Rolleston Brass Band solo cornet player Zoe Fenton (18) said it was her first time marching and she enjoyed being among the public.
"When everyone applauded it made me feel really appreciated, you know, like we were playing and people were actually enjoying what we were playing."
She said the band had been practising for the last six months.
"The turn for us took a bit of practice to get in the right time but we managed to do it and I think we did it pretty well today and I’m pretty happy with how I personally did it."
