THE award winning Smithills School Brass Band will soon be embarking on a two week tour of New Zealand where they will perform concerts and learn about traditional music of the country.

Forty four members of the internationally-acclaimed band, ranging from Year eight students to sixth formers, will jet off on a 36-hour flight on April 4, accompanied by eight members of staff and four parents.

During their first big tour in three years, they will visit Auckland, Rotorua which is in the Maori heartland and Taurana.

Smithills headteacher John Lawson said: "I have been arranging for the band to visit schools over there, as four years ago I went on a headteacher exchange to New Zealand so I know some schools.

"It's a wonderful country -- very cosmopolitan. The children will be able to learn about the musical traditions of the Maori and South Pacific island people."

The band will have a packed itinerary - performing three concerts at each place they visit. The largest venue where they will perform is the state of the art Baycourt Theatre in Taurana, which has an audience capacity of 2,000.

Head of Music Chris Wormald said: "We are going to some amazing places in New Zealand. In Rotorua, the whole place smells of sulphur as it has hot volcanic steaming spas."

The band has managed to raise £40,000 to pay for the trip through a large number of public performances and also through sponsorship.

Mr Wormald said: "We spent practically the whole of December freezing in the town centre performing to raise money. The people of Bolton have been very generous.

"Also I want to thank our sponsors Wallace Printers, Chamberlain Doors, Keoghs Solicitors, Fujitsu Services, Georgia Pacific and Jackson's Van Hire, as we could not have done it without them."

However, when they get back from the trip they will still have to raise a further £10,000 to re-pay money the school governors loaned them in advance.

Previously the band has toured Norway in 1996, Japan in 1999, America in July 2000 and Holland in 2001 where it won the world brass band championships.