AN unusual afternoon of entertainment is being hosted next week in St John’s Parish Church, Wellington.

An afternoon of concertina music will be performed by the band J25 on Sunday, October 12, at 3 pm.

J25 is a group of concertina enthusiasts from different parts of the country who periodically travel to junction 25 of the M5 motorway and meet in Taunton to spend a day making music with other performers.

As part of ongoing efforts to raise money toward the cost of fabric maintenance for Wellington’s largest church, St John’s invited J25 to give a concert for the benefit of church funds.

The musical entertainment, lasting no more than 60 minutes, will be followed by an invitation to tea and cake.

Admission is by individual donation using cash or card and all ages are welcome.

Churchwarden Andrew Maddocks said: “Concertina bands are rare, certainly in this country, if not in the world.

“They were once numerous, especially in the north of England in the early 1900s.

“However, by the 1950s they had all but died out.

“J25 is at the forefront of the concertina band revival.

“If you thought the concertina played mostly folk music or accompanied Morris dancing, think again.

“The concertina is incredibly adaptable.”

J25’s repertoire includes classical masterpieces by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Prokofiev, and Vaughan Williams, to more contemporary works with many pieces written especially for the band.

The band was formed by Claire Wren in 2008 and from those early days has strived constantly to ‘raise its game’.

It is now well respected not only within the concertina world but by high-ranking mainstream musicians who come to work with its members.

Mr Maddocks said: “Do come to our concert for St John’s Wellington to find out more about this amazing little squeezebox.”