Sectional coaching team
Cornet
Richard Graves (Principal) studied trumpet at the Trinity College, London. Upon graduating he was invited to be principal cornet of the Luton Band, a position he has held ever since. He also studied conducting and has been the musical director at the Royston Town Band and Ware Brass and until recently was also musical director of the Rushden Windmill Band in Northamptonshire. A founder member of the Rod Blake Big Band and the Sovereign Brass Quintet, he now leads his very own Midnight Dance Orchestra & Jazz Band. Currently a partner in a small local business, Richard has previously worked in music retail specialising in brass instruments and mouthpieces. 'Arturo' (as he is affectionately known !!) is a trumpet/cornet/flugelhorn instrumentalist, playing at weddings, shows etc. and has numerous radio & television broadcasts to his credit. Richard is a fully qualified brass instrumental teacher with a wealth of teaching experience.
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Martyn Grisdale studied trumpet at the University of Wales, Cardiff and later at the Royal College of Music, supported by the Sir Philip Shelbourne Award for Brass, with Paul Archibald, Andy Crowley and Mike Lovatt. Whilst at the RCM, he played principal trumpet with the RCM Symphony Orchestra for the college's 125th Anniversary concerts under John Wilson, and for the BBC 3 recording of Helmut Lachenmann’s piano concerto, Ausklang, under Piere André Valade. He performed Richard Strauss’ Festliches Präludium at the first night of the Proms 2008 with the RCM Brass Ensemble and was also lead trumpet of the Royal College of Music Big Band and represented the college by performing lead trumpet with the Conservatoires' UK Big Band at the IAJE Conference in Toronto.
His West End and touring show experience includes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Phantom of the Opera, The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, The King and I, Mary Poppins and Oliver! to name but a few. He has played for the official Glenn Miller Orchestra UK, the London Telefilmonic Orchestra, the National Concert Orchestra of Great Britain and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, has worked for P&O and Royal Caribbean cruise lines and has even performed on Top of the Pops! Martyn is a qualified and experienced secondary music teacher and is currently trumpet teacher at the Bedford School and brass teacher at Impington, Comberton, Cambourne and Bottisham Village Colleges as well as the Saffron Centre for Young Musicians, a division of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has recently completed a postgraduate certificate in performance teaching from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. |
Laureen Hodge started playing the cornet aged 10 with her local brass band. In 2012, she began studying Music at the University of Bristol. In her second year she was appointed conductor of the University Brass Band. In her third year she was President of the University Composer’s Society, and also co-founded and conducted Bristol Symphonic Winds. After graduating from Bristol University, with first class honours, she commenced studying for a PGCE in Secondary Music at the University of Cambridge.
Laureen has just finished her first year as a newly-qualified teacher, working as Head of Music at North Cambridge Academy. Next year Laureen is looking forward to going back to Cambridge University to study for her Masters Degree in Arts, Creativity and Education, whilst continuing to teach music at North Cambridge Academy. Laureen plays trumpet in the Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra, Solo Cornet in the City of Cambridge Brass band and conducts the Duxford Workshop Orchestra. |
Soprano Cornet
James Stygall started playing the trumpet at the age of 10. Taught by Pete Wilkinson and Ian Smith he joined the Southampton Youth Orchestra, Wind Band and Brass Band, enjoying tours of Sweden, Netherlands and France. In 1985 as a member of the Youth Orchestra, he played the cornet solo in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in the Royal Albert Hall, broadcast on BBC2 TV. James continued playing throughout University while studying Chemistry and, under Mark Young in Nottingham, gained a Performance Recital Certificate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1996. After a long break he returned to brass banding in 2003 taking the principal cornet chair at Waterbeach Brass Band, before joining City of Cambridge Brass Band in 2012, first on solo cornet then on soprano. He also regularly “deps” for other local bands on Flugel, Bflat or Soprano cornets. James also plays for numerous local orchestras and has performed the Haydn and Hummel Trumpet Concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of St. Ives. He also plays in local shows, performing in the “pit” band for musicals such as “South Pacific”, “Sister Act”, “Legally Blonde”, “Sweet Charity”, “West Side Story” and more. In 2010 James founded the brass quintet “Corona Brass”, which has gone on to perform over 50 concerts in varied local venues to highly appreciative audiences. They recorded their first CD in 2012 and have just completed work on their second. During his ‘spare time’ he works as a senior scientist for a Cambridge biotech company and plays piano for the music group in his local Baptist church. He is married with two teenage children. He currently has 12 brass instruments, which is still not enough....
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Flugel Horn
David Sait has been a brass musician since the age of eight. He has played trumpet, cornet and flugel with a variety of brass bands, big bands, orchestras, quintets and other ensembles across Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and the West Midlands. His experience also includes piano, organ and choral music.
In June 2017, David was appointed as conductor for CSD Brass. He is also deputy musical director for Waterbeach Band and a sectional coach for the City of Cambridge Brass Band Youth Academy. Outside of music, David is an digital editor at the Royal Society of Chemistry and a regular volunteer of the Cambridge Beer Festival. |
Tenor Horn
Jeremy West (FRWCMD). Trained at Durham University and the Guildhall School of Music, since the mid 1970s Jeremy has been a passionate advocate for the 17th century cornett (the much-overlooked wind instrument held in highest esteem during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries). He has played a leading role in re-establishing this instrument as a recognised virtuoso and ensemble instrument and now has forty years of top-class playing and recording experience. Often regarded as a 'pioneer' of the cornett, he is a founder member of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts – the leading ensemble of its kind. He has over 60 recordings to his credit and concert performances have taken him to 33 countries across 4 continents.
His most recent challenge and interest lies in playing music of the 19th and early 20th centuries on original brass. To this end, equipped with an Eb horn from France dated1855, he plays for the Queen Victoria's Consort. Jeremy is on the teaching staff at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama; and he is a Musician in Residence at Girton College, University of Cambridge. He plays solo horn for the City of Cambridge Brass Band which he joined in 2010. |
Bex Lewis has a Music Degree (first instrument tenor horn), a Masters Degree and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from the University of Cambridge. A highlight during her time at the University of Cambridge was the opportunity to play in a brass quintet for HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh during his visit to the Faculty of Education. Since the completion of her PGCE in 2004, Bex taught Music in a Federation of secondary schools in central Cambridge. Two of Bex's teaching highlights include being awarded the 'Classic FM Secondary Music Teacher of the Year' in 2013 and leading a school ensemble in the Music for Youth National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall in 2017. Bex holds a keen interest in Music Education and has had research / work published in a number of books and journals.
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Euphonium
Cliff Wilkinson holds the Principal Euphonium seat at the City of Cambridge Brass Band and has played with the band on Baritone and Euphonium for over 25 years. Cliff started playing in brass bands at the age of eight at the Daventry Brass youth band and is therefore keen to pass on his experience and enthusiasm. Whilst studying Engineering at Loughborough University he enjoyed three years playing with Desford Colliery Band under Howard Snell, one of the UK’s finest brass bands gaining a valuable insight in the dedication and commitment required to play at the highest level. Having lived in Cambridge for 30 years or so, Cliff has also played with various orchestras, small brass ensembles and wind bands where the Euphonium is required.
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Baritone Horn
Adam Waterson started learning the trombone at the age of ten, when he joined the Hade Edge Training Band, up at home in West Yorkshire. He quickly progressed through to the Senior Band in time for the 1st Section National Finals, at the age of 14. A few years later he moved up to the principal trombone chair, a position he also held with the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band, and Grimethorpe Youth Band. He also became involved in teaching beginner brass players as part of the Hade Edge Academy of Music and conducted their beginner brass band. Upon commencing his studies at Cambridge University, Adam took up the Euphonium as well, playing in the University brass band (CUBB), then as Solo Euphonium with Waterbeach Brass before joining City of Cambridge on 1st Baritone in December 2015. He is also principal trombone in the university wind orchestra and symphony orchestra, and has conducted the university brass band for the last two years alongside his twin brother, Matthew.
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Tuba
Andrew Kershaw started playing the Tuba aged nine within Bedfordshire Music Service. His formal music training was at the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College of Music. After Graduating he was appointed principal Tuba of the Opera House in Santiago, Chile, and then returned to the UK in 2007 to build a freelance career.
Andy has played with many of the country's top orchestras including The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, The Halle and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He also regularly plays for the West End production of Chicago. Andrew has a keen interest in historical performance and plays for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, appearing on the BBC documentary The Symphony, and with the Gabrieli Consort, including the BBC Proms. He also enjoys the lighter side of music performance having toured the UK and USA with pop legend Elton John and even dressing up to perform in the 2011 production of Much Ado about Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe. |
Jennifer Wills started playing the Tuba at nine years of age at school. Growing up in a former mining area she started playing in local brass bands from the age of 10. By 12 years old she had become a member of the West Lothian Schools Brass Band with whom she participated in numerous foreign tours, most notably playing in the Sydney Opera House, and won many British and European Youth Brass Band titles. As was traditional in West Lothian, Jennifer also played for local bands (Broxburn Silver Band, Unison Kinneil Band and Livingston Brass Band) before heading south to Cambridge. Jennifer was a member of the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland. She has been a member of the City of Cambridge Brass Band since 2003. Music has always remained a hobby for Jennifer who studied Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, and worked as a field archaeologist in Cambridge for several years. From September 2016 Jennifer will start a PGCE in Primary Education at the University of Cambridge.
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