© S Hill 2011
Chris’ banding career began in the West Country with Frome Town Band, based in Somerset, where he learnt to play trombone. After a while he started to help training the youngsters and conducting the junior band, aged 18. Earliest banding recollections are of long days at the Colston Hall in Bristol to attend the Regional Finals, when all 4 sections played in the same hall. In those days the best bands in the area were Cornish
bands, such as St Austell, St Dennis, St Keverne, Camborne and the like, which you could listen to (free) at that contest.
There were then spells at Corsham Band, Wiltshire, as Principle Trombone and Sun Life (Stanshawe) Band of Bristol, where he sat next to Steve Walkley. His banking career then brought Chris to Bedfordshire and whilst at Reading Contest for the last time with Corsham he ran into some players from the Heath Band. As luck would have it, Heath were based 4 miles from his new home and he was invited to join them.
Chris spent the next 29 years with Heath Band, both as Principle Trombone and Musical Director. After redundancy and retraining in 1993 Chris secured a job in the local area as a lecturer and it was also at this time that he first became Musical Director of the Ampthill Town Band. In 1995 Chris conducted Corsham Band to 2nd place at the Regional Finals in Plymouth, with the test piece Snowdon Fantasy. Unfortunately their performance of Suite Gothique, at the Wembley Arena in London in the National Finals, was not as pleasing to the adjudicators, but the experience was a high point.
In order to conduct Heath, Chris reluctantly relinquished the MD position at Ampthill in 2005. He left Heath in 2009 and renewed his association with Ampthill again later that year, when the current MD was injured. He has recently taken over the position again on a full-time basis.
There were then spells at Corsham Band, Wiltshire, as Principle Trombone and Sun Life (Stanshawe) Band of Bristol, where he sat next to Steve Walkley. His banking career then brought Chris to Bedfordshire and whilst at Reading Contest for the last time with Corsham he ran into some players from the Heath Band. As luck would have it, Heath were based 4 miles from his new home and he was invited to join them.
Chris spent the next 29 years with Heath Band, both as Principle Trombone and Musical Director. After redundancy and retraining in 1993 Chris secured a job in the local area as a lecturer and it was also at this time that he first became Musical Director of the Ampthill Town Band. In 1995 Chris conducted Corsham Band to 2nd place at the Regional Finals in Plymouth, with the test piece Snowdon Fantasy. Unfortunately their performance of Suite Gothique, at the Wembley Arena in London in the National Finals, was not as pleasing to the adjudicators, but the experience was a high point.
In order to conduct Heath, Chris reluctantly relinquished the MD position at Ampthill in 2005. He left Heath in 2009 and renewed his association with Ampthill again later that year, when the current MD was injured. He has recently taken over the position again on a full-time basis.
Band Chairman Stephen Channon
Secretary Paul Miller
Bandmaster Steve Hill
Junior Band MD Louis Sherry
Secretary Paul Miller
Bandmaster Steve Hill
Junior Band MD Louis Sherry