Prelude to a Pageant was commissioned by Woodley Concert Band to celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2014. Celebratory in nature, Prelude to a Pageant includes a famous musical link to The Reading Rota (Sumer is icumen in), a manuscript dating from around 1240, discovered nearby Reading Abbey. This lively tune appears early in the work, after an arresting, rhythmic opening and expressive slower section, and also forms the final climax.