Military musicians past and present will throw a special Celebration Concert in the historic former Royal Naval Dockyard.

The Royal Bermuda Regiment Band & Corps of Drums will take centre stage at the free event, organised as part of Heritage Month and designed to highlight its contribution to the RBR and public life.

Major Dwight Robinson, the RBR’s director of music, said: “We entertain people in a way that makes them feel good about the regiment.”

He added: “Music moves the human spirit and contributes to developing the whole person.”

The event, which is expected to feature more than 40 musicians, will include a performance by the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, born from an amalgamation of the former Bermuda Cadets Pipe band and the Bermuda Pipe Band, made up of police and prison officers.

Major Robinson said: “The music will include well-known pieces, tunes from the silver screen and a little bit of soca – there will be something for everyone.”

He added that the event would also be used to attract young musicians into the Band & Corps of Drums.

Major Robinson said: “Whenever we perform, we also view it as a recruitment effort for the band and the wider regiment.

“It’s a way to perform at home and overseas with highly skilled musicians and serve the country too.”

The event, in the Victualling Yard in Dockyard, will be held between 3pm and 4.30pm on Sunday, May 29.

Major Robinson told the public: “It’s free and it’s in the open air – bring a blanket, bring a beach chair and a basket lunch. Come out and enjoy an afternoon of music.”

He added that the RBR musicians had fitted in rehearsals for the concert around preparation for next month’s Queen’s Birthday Parade, which this year will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee as well, and for the annual Peppercorn Ceremony in St George, which was postponed last month.

Major Robinson said: “A service band’s primary responsibility is to move troops from point A to point B – if they have music or a cadence to accompany that, it makes the going that much more enjoyable for them and anyone else who is in earshot.

“But we also have a critical role to play as part of the public face of the RBR and we are always delighted to perform for people, whether they are from Bermuda or from overseas.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Beasley, the RBR’s commanding officer, added that the band had performed all over the world, as far afield as Australia and Hong Kong and the prestigious Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland.

He said: “Bermuda’s best band has represented the regiment and our country with distinction.

“At home, generations of schoolchildren have seen the band on display and adults have enjoyed them at tattoos and at Beatings of the Retreat.”

Lieutenant Colonel Beasley added: “The concert also intends to attract talent from all the island’s schools with a view to sustaining the firm foundation set by the service to Bermuda of band members past and present.”

The RBR is accepting applications for the July Recruit Camp. For more information or to apply, visit bermudaregiment.bm The deadline for applications is the end of this month.