I am a Farm & Conservation Manager on an Estate in Lower wensleydale north Yorkshire. I was born in Belper Derbyshire in 1972, and I know a lot of people will find that hard to believe with my youthful good looks!! I started playing cornet at the age of 6 with Heage Band and I can thank Tom Street (check him out in the Guinness book of records)for my early introduction to brass bands, miners’ welfares and royal British Legion clubs, home brew in the band room and the opportunity to learn to march, a skill as many of my fellow bandsman will testify, I have never come close to mastering!! I went on to play in South East Derbyshire music college brass band on a Saturday morning under Steven Shimwell, later progressing with him to Orion airways Brass then Brittania airways Brass, Steven sadly is no longer with us but I still carry things he said to me when I was a young lad such as when preparing the band for a contest “they only remember who comes first “that instilled a very competitive spirit in me. I left home at 17 to become a Gamekeeper and didn’t play for 20 years, moving around the country until I took a position nr Ripon. I then joined Ripon city Band and have Malcolm Dibb to thank for properly getting me back into banding who I played for I think for 14 enjoyable years. I made the move to Cockerton band late 2024 and love the band and the crack in the band room, good fun and a hard-working band with great team spirit. Oh, and wining the areas has made my start with Cockerton all that much sweeter, sorry but I think you’re stuck with me!! Bring on the Nationals!!

Solo Cornet

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Kevin Birch