Cornwall Youth Brass Band

The Tutors

Alan Pope

Alan was born in Redruth and began learning to play the cornet at the age of 5 with Tommy Martin at Lanner. He joined Carharrack and St Day Band and then moved to St Austell Town Band, competing with them in the National Finals.

In 1974 he joined Camborne Town Band, remaining there until 1977 when he joined the Army, spending two years training at the Band of the RAC Junior Leaders Regiment in Bovington, Dorset, and was posted to Germany in 1979 with the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. Study at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall under Professor Ian McKintosh followed and he was awarded the prestigious Cousins Memorial Parchment for exceptional proficiency on the cornet.

Following his Army career he accepted the position of Musical Director of The Camborne Youth Band in January 1999. In May 2002, he was awarded the Camborne Town Council Plaque for services to music with the youth of Camborne Youth Band. Since 2003 Alan has also been a Tutor with The Cornwall Youth Brass Band.

In 2004 he was awarded the Cornish Gorseth Trevada Shield for the encouragement of music making by young people and was also named 'Cornwall's Best Contributor to Music' in 2007 by St Austell Brewery and Pirate FM.

Aaron Harvey

Aaron began playing the Cornet with the Mount Charles band in 1974. After four years he joined the famous St.Dennis band, moving through the ranks of the youth and senior bands to attain the position of principal cornet, a highlight of which was a performance at the National Finals in the Royal Albert Hall in 1985.

After a short spell in the Midlands, playing with a number of Championship section bands in the area, Aaron returned to his native Cornwall, subsequently taking up the principal cornet position with the Bodmin Town band in 1988. Thus began the most successful period of his banding career to date as the band grew in status gaining a reputation as one of the UK’s foremost combinations. The band competed at most of the major contests in the country, including five appearances at the National Finals in the Royal Albert Hall. Interspersed with these competitions, the band made many broadcasts and recordings as well as performing at prestigious concerts throughout the country.

Personal successes in that time have included being named best cornet (5 times) and best player (3 times) at the WEBF (Bugle) contest; best cornet at the CBBA contest (3 times); and best cornet in 3 venues at the Whit Friday March contests, in and around Manchester.

During his time with Bodmin Town Band he also accepted the position of bandmaster, deputising in the absence of the Resident conductor. It was through this and work as a tutor with the Cornwall Youth Brass Band, that he caught the conducting ‘bug’.

As well as a tutor of the Cornwall Youth Brass Band, Aaron also is the Musical Director of the St Austell Band.

Jeremy Willcock F.L.C.M, L.L.C.M, A.L.C.M, Dip Orch Studies (Uni Lon), MMus

Jeremy started learning the cornet with the late Eddie Williams and became a member of St.Dennis Band.

He left Cornwall to study music at London College of Music, Royal College of Music and the University of London. He then worked in London for many years playing and teaching trumpet/cornet including Junior Guildhall and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Having returned to Cornwall Jeremy is currently Musical Director of the Bugle Silver Band and Mount Charles Youth Band.

Simon Dobson

Simon Dobson grew up in a brass banding family in Cornwall. He began his musical career at the age of eight he joined Lostwithiel Brass '88 moving on to Bodmin Town Band in 1993.

Whilst at school Simon began to compose and after gaining an 'A' for his A-level music he won a scholarship to study composition under Timothy Salter at the Royal College of Music in London. During his time at the RCM Simon worked as a freelance conductor and wrote for some of the country's leading ensembles, including the RCM Symphony Orchestra, Brass10 and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, this led to his works being performed to critical acclaim on BBC Radio 3.

In 2002 he won the title of European Young Composer of the Year for his work entitled 'Four Sketches: A Homage to Britten'. Simon has also written test pieces for the 2003 Regional Brass Band Championships, the 2005 National Youth Championships and the 2007 European Brass Band Championships.

After Graduating to the sounds of his own especially composed fanfare in 2004, Simon moved back to his native Cornwall and began working as a teacher, conductor and composer.

Simon has been the resident conductor of the Mount Charles Youth Brass Band since the beginning of this year and is also a Tutor with The Cornwall Youth Brass Band.

Darren Hawken

Darren started playing the trombone at the age of twelve and quickly established himself as principal trombonist of the Mount Charles Youth Band, the position he held for six years. During this time, he was also principal trombone with the Cornwall Youth Brass Band winning no less than four awards, the most prestigious being the Albert Chappell shield for player of the year 2001-2002.

In 2001, Darren had great pleasure in accepting a position with the Bodmin Town Band. During his four year spell with the band, he had the great privilege to play under some of the finest brass band conductors such as Dr Nicholas Childs, Dr Roy Newsome and Russell Gray to name but a few.

It is with Bodmin that Darren achieved a great ambition of his and that was to play at the National Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2003, Darren left Cornwall to take up a performance degree course at the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff, under the tutorship of the then Head of Brass and Percussion Christopher Mowat and Head of Brass Band Studies Dr Robert Childs.

During his time at the college, he has been involved with the college Brass Band, Symphony Orchestra and Trombone Choir as well as a founder member of the quintet 'Castle Brass'. Darren will from September, be completing his four year BMus course and hoping to make a career in music teaching or conducting. As well as a brass player and conductor, Darren is a core member of the BBC National Chorus of Wales where he has just recently appeared alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the 2006 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and also still remains an active pianist and accompanist for many brass players and vocalists.

It is back in November 2005 that Darren's conducting took a serious step forward. He was invited by the St.Breward band in Cornwall to conduct them at the South West Annual Championship held in Torquay.

On this his contest debut at the age of twenty one, they were victorious. Soon after, Darren became involved with the Burry Port Town Band in which he helped prepare the band for the Welsh Regional Championships where they qualified to take part in the National Finals in London later in October.

Darren has now become a well known freelance conductor, not just in Wales but the South West and is delighted to be conducting St.Pinnock at the National Finals at Harrogate in September.

David Loukes MEd GGSM

David Loukes received his early musical training in the Salvation Army becoming Solo Trombonist with the Chalk Farm Band. He was awarded a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music where he studied trombone playing with Denis Wick and brass band scoring with Frank Wright.
 
In 1967 he was appointed Assistant Principal Trombone in the Halle Orchestra. After seven years with the orchestra, during which time he also free-lanced with many of the country's leading orchestras he turned to the world of education joining the staff of the (then) Salford College of Technology. He played a major role in the establishment of the ground breaking courses in Band Musicianship. During this time he also started his career in brass band conducting which would lead to appointments with such bands as Black Dyke, combining full-time positions with professional conductorships and adjudication throughout Britain.
 
David moved to Cornwall in 1990 for his first spell as Musical Director of the St Austell Band. Prior to returning to St Austell Town band in 2003 he had held regular positions with Redruth, St Keverne and JAG Mount Charles. He has always enjoyed teaching and conducting young musicians so was delighted to be asked, in 2003, to be Senior Tutor to the Cornwall Youth Brass Band, subsequently leading the band for eleven courses.
 
Currently he works as a private brass tutor to many pupils of all ages and abilities, from young players who are enjoying their first meeting with a brass instrument to players "of mature years" and young adults on the verge of a career in music. He is Senior Tutor at the St Austell School of Brass and Director of Training for Porthleven Town Band.
 
Away from education and brass bands David enjoys cooking, using ingredients and recipes from all over the world.

John Mitchell GTCL, LTCL, PGCE

John first began performing with brass bands at the age of 10, beginning his career with the Carharrack & St Day Silver Band and later performing with Camborne Town Band, Cornwall Youth Brass Band & the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.

After leaving Cornwall to study Percussion and Timpani at Trinity College of Music, John performed with the Averly & Newham, Britannia Building Society & Black Dyke Mills brass bands.  After graduating from TCM, John performed professionally with the English National Ballet Orchestra, Royal National Theatre, Bournemouth Sinfionetta, various West End musicals and pop artists such as Bjork and Faithless. Whilst performing within London John also held teaching positions with the Kent Music School and Kent College , Canterbury.

In 2008 John was appointed by the London College of Music to work as a specialist Drum Kit and Orchestral Percussion examiner for LCM graded music examinations.  His compositions for percussion have been selected and published by the London College of Music for their new 2009 percussion and drum kit syllabus.

Since returning to Cornwall to live John divides his full time teaching commitments between teaching Drums & Percussion within county secondary schools and lecturing on the BTEC and A Level music courses at Cornwall College.  John is currently the course manager for the BTEC National Award in Band Musicianship at Cornwall College , a course he specifically designed for Brass Band musicians. As part of his teaching professional development John is currently studying for a Masters Degree in music education.

John still performs regularly as a professional percussionist within theatre productions, symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles and function bands throughout the South West and is a reserve percussionist with the Mount Charles Band.