The band enjoyed a busy lead up to Christmas and were delighted to see an audience filling St. Leonard's Church for our Christmas concert on the 17th December. We also enjoyed playing at the Christmas Fair and of course, under the Town Hall for the annual Carols on Christmas Eve.
At our first rehearsal back this week, we were pleased to welcome our new Conductor Ben Halstead, who got the band working immediately preparing for our next Concert. Ben Halstead grew up in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester and started to learn the cornet at the age of 9 through Oldham Borough Music Service. He studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD), under Dr Robert Childs, Chris Turner and Tom Hutchinson, and gained a BMus (Hons) in 2015.
Ben has been part of the brass band scene for many years and has been a member of Flowers Band, Desford Colliery Band and currently plays soprano cornet with Brunel Brass. After music college, Ben toured Australia with Grimethorpe Colliery Band and also performed at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in Canada. His instrumental exploits have seen him perform in some of the greatest concert halls in the World including; Symphony Hall, The Sage, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, St David’s Hall, The Wales Millennium and The Royal Albert Hall.
At our first rehearsal back this week, we were pleased to welcome our new Conductor Ben Halstead, who got the band working immediately preparing for our next Concert. Ben Halstead grew up in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester and started to learn the cornet at the age of 9 through Oldham Borough Music Service. He studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD), under Dr Robert Childs, Chris Turner and Tom Hutchinson, and gained a BMus (Hons) in 2015.
Ben has been part of the brass band scene for many years and has been a member of Flowers Band, Desford Colliery Band and currently plays soprano cornet with Brunel Brass. After music college, Ben toured Australia with Grimethorpe Colliery Band and also performed at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in Canada. His instrumental exploits have seen him perform in some of the greatest concert halls in the World including; Symphony Hall, The Sage, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, St David’s Hall, The Wales Millennium and The Royal Albert Hall.