© 2006 Mark Venn

The Waites of Gloucester / Her Majestie’s Pleasure is formally constituted to promote education in and enjoyment of music from the medieval and renaissance periods.

Both the instrumentation and the music from this era is diverse. We know that there is much to appreciate on aural, visual and academic levels. But above all , music should be enjoyed.

We are enthusiasts for the music of the renaissance. Apart from the pleasure of playing together, we particularly enjoy introducing people to a range of instruments they may never otherwise have seen, and which sound distinctly different to modern ears. Between us we have well over 100 instruments of the period.

We appreciate opportunities  to visit new venues and bring some of the music of the Tudor and Jacobean periods to the attention of new audiences.

Our aim is always to promote the direct appeal of popular, rather than courtly music.

As (ex-)full-time teachers, two members of the band have a passion for introducing younger ears to the delights of the music from a bygone era.