Shepton Mallet's Collett Park is once again one of the chosen venues for the Bandstand marathon taking place around the country next month.

And Ansford School's band from Castle Cary will be taking to the stage.

On September 26 bands will be hitting the right note and entertaining crowds at more than 70 locations nationwide.

The aim of the marathon is to ensure the popularity of big band sounds and preserve their survival for the future.

The national event will showcase the huge number of talented bands and musicians in Britain and bring free music and performance to the beautiful bandstands which in some places have stood silent for too long in hundreds of parks across the country.

The event run by Somerset-based Superact! aims to re-unite communities while re-introducing people to fantastic bandstands on their doorstep and the great local bands who just want to get up and play. The emphasis is always on promoting young musical talent and inspiring any potential talent.

This is the third year that Shepton's famous bandstand has been chosen as a venue for the event.

Less than a century ago brass band music filled the air of towns and villages across the land as young men and women marched down high streets with horns, cornets, trombones, tubas and euphoniums in hand.

And in Victorian parks huge crowds thronged to hear their latest tunes. There were more than 20,000 brass bands in Britain by 1900, playing popular and classical music.

But now academics are warning that brass bands could die out because they are so rarely heard on the radio, television or internet.

Professor Sue Hallam and Dr Andrea Creech, of the Institute of Education at the University of London, say that though digital radio and iPods open up more and more types of music, most people only listen to rock, pop and rap.

Professor Hallam said: "The more you hear particular types of music, the more you like them. If young people don't get to listen to brass bands and folk music at an early age they will build in a resistance to it. Radio stations don't play a wide range of music."

Ray Farr, former conductor of the world famous Grimethorpe Colliery Band, which inspired the 1996 Ewan McGregor film Brassed Off, believes brass bands are a vital part of the community.

He said: "It dates back to 1830, when brass instruments were first being developed with valves. Then communities wanted to create their own music and amateur music took root. They brought communities together."

Pippa Glanvill from Superact! said: "The Bandstand Marathon is an opportunity for every town, city, and village in the country to come together all at the same time for the soul purpose of enjoyment.

"It promotes local musical talent with a chance to reclaim the bandstand, which was once the social hub of a town."