I was born in 1985 in Reading, so I’m not officially Cornish at all! That said, I have no memory of my life prior to Cornwall – we moved to St Austell when I was four-years-old – so I do consider myself Cornish by nurture if not by birth!

Neither of my parents played in a brass band, although my mum did take to playing the euphonium at a more mature age, having been a cellist when she was younger. I tried to teach her but, just as it’s never a good idea to teach your own children to drive, it’s equally challenging teaching your parent to play a musical instrument! There is a distant brass band connection in the family as my paternal great-grandfather was a cornetist in a colliery band in Kent. I have his cornet – made in 1908 and supplied with crooks for adjusting the instrument between B-flat, B and C – in my study at home.

I started on cornet, aged 11, at St Austell Junior Band. By the time I was 14 I was playing BBb Bass and a member of the senior band. Changing to Eb Bass at sixteen, on the advice of my amazingly patient and nurturing brass teacher, John Greaves, enabled me to spread my musical wings and experience orchestral, wind band and traditional jazz band playing. As well as playing at St Austell in the senior and youth bands, I was a member of Cornwall Youth Brass Band, Cornwall Youth Orchestra, City of Truro Wind Orchestra, Carrick Winds and the Fascinating Rhythm Dance Orchestra. I stayed a loyal member of St Austell until, aged 18, I moved away to study music at the University of Salford.

Whilst at Salford, and after an 18-month spell at EYMS Band, I joined Leyland where I spent the next ten years. For the latter two years I was chairman and band manager. During that time, we were National Champions in 2005 and represented England at the European Championships the following year and again in 2013. We were also Brass in Concert Champions in 2011; closing our programme with an arrangement of the finale to Francesca da Rimini by Tchaikovsky I had written for the band, was a special moment for me.

After a short break and a spell at VBS Poynton as player and assistant MD, I joined Foden’s – in 2017. We were National Champions in 2018 and 2021 and, in 2022, I competed at my third European’s. Between Foden’s and Leyland, I’m lucky to have won six North West Regional titles, two – 2012/13 with Leyland and 2018/19/20/22 with Foden’s (an undefeated run of four years, taking out the “COVID year” of course).

I developed an interest in conducting from an early age – there is, somewhere, a cassette tape recording (yes, it was that long ago!) of me conducting St Austell Youth Band, aged about 15 – and this was one of my “major” studies at university. I have held positions as MD at Lostock Hall and Flixton Bands as well as the position of Senior MD at Stockport Schools’ Brass Band. Additionally, I’ve appeared as guest conductor with a number of bands, but most proudly with St Austell Town Band in 2019 and 2020.

I began writing and arranging at a young age and have gone on to study for a Masters’ degree in composition; whilst I definitely don’t get as much time as I’d like to write music, it’s always been something that I enjoy. I’ve been lucky enough to have music recorded by a number of leading bands and featured on national radio and television. Music with a Cornish connection includes my arrangement of twelve carols by Thomas Merritt (recorded by St Austell Town Band in 2013) and the brass arrangements I made for Cornish folk musician Richard Trethewey, which have been performed at the Lowender Peran festival and recorded on his album, Dig Where You Stand.

 

Some of Iain’s other compositions:

The Conquerors, which won the 2001 NABBC under 18 Composer’s Contest.

I arranged the music, Sentinels of Britain, which was a song/anthem/march written in honour of the Royal Observer Corps. There is information about it here:

https://cyclopstv.co.uk/productions/sentinels-of-britain/

https://cyclopstv.co.uk/productions/sentinels-of-britain/sentinels-of-britain-credits/

The project came about when I was approached by Jeff Richards, former chairperson of Cornwall Youth Brass Band, a producer on the project. If I remember correctly, the music was recorded in the same session as the Merritt carols, August Bank Holiday weekend 2003 (it was sweltering!)

As I write this, it is the Queen’s platinum jubilee weekend, and I remember her Golden Jubilee in 2002 particularly well. I was approached to compose music to welcome Her Majesty to Cornwall where she was starting her jubilee tour, at Trelissick Gardens near Truro. Setting words from a poetry competition to music for string orchestra, choir and percussion was a bit of a challenge for a lowly brass bander such as myself, but she seemed to enjoy it!

My arrangement of music from Chicago (Pennine Music Publishing) has proven very popular with bands since being recorded by Leyland back in 2013 and another of my arrangements featured in Foden’s BIC set in 2018 (Seaside Rendezvous – Prima Vista Musikk).

In 2021, Foden’s opened their BIC programme (theme: Into the Dark) with my arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain.

Most of the writing I have done lately is on request. I’ve recently arranged a version of Mozart’s Queen of the Night’s aria for Soprano Cornet and 10-piece ensemble, which Richard Poole has recorded for his forthcoming solo CD with Foden’s.

I was also asked to arrange Goff Richards’ Rangitoto – previously only published for euphonium and piano – for baritone and band for Kristy Rowe’s 2011 CD, Center Stage. Goff was very unwell when we initially contacted him to see if he would approve of the piece being reworked and, sadly, passed away before production was completed. Goff was a huge influence on my musical growth and I was so sad that he never got the chance to hear the finished article as planned.

I often get away with not buying gifts for my friends’ weddings these days but writing music for them instead! This happens quite a lot, and one of them, Blaenwern (Love Divine) – written for my good friends Rob and Hayley Faro in 2012 – is now published by Timbercroft Publishing.

I seem to spend a bit of time these days setting and publishing other people’s music; I am the manager of Foden’s Band Publishing, launched in 2021. We are the only band to have a fully-fledged ‘in-house’ publishing company, and I’m lucky to have a few pieces in the catalogue as well… editor’s privilege I suppose!