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I was introduced to the band through my daughter, Anna (flugel).

She started to play for the band as a junior player and I was

bringing her to practice, waiting in the car until she was ready

to go home. I realised that it would be a better use of my time

if I had a go at learning to play an instrument. So, I was

introduced to the cornet and tried my hand at playing brass,

having had no previous experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and with the excellent support, went from strength to strength, and am now playing horn. Soon after joining the senior band I took over as Band Secretary from Sheelagh Pearson.

In my other life I have two other children and am also a full time primary teacher, being responsible for a Foundation Unit in a primary school in Cullompton. With such a busy life, I find that playing with the band gives me a chance to do something for myself and, believe it or not, it helps me to relax and forget the trials and tribulations of the day.  

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I have been in the band on and off for over 20 years, I joined

with Esther (Flugel) when we were at school. I have had

breaks from the band for family and work commitments. I

have 3 children - all boys (4 if you include my husband Mark),

and I work as a teaching assistant.

I have now played in all sections of the band on different

instruments in the hope one day I will find one I can actually play! I haven't yet played in the percussion section...any openings on triangle?!!

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I have been involved with brass bands for as long as I can

remember.  My father, grandfather and great-grandfather have

played in bands all their life, and it seemed natural for me to

carry on the family tradition – if you can’t beat it, join it!  When I

was 9, I started to learn the cornet, and a year later joined

Ottery St. Mary Silver Band on 3rd cornet.  I gradually worked

my way up through the ranks until I was playing solo cornet.  

Several years of enjoyable music making followed, both with the main band and with quartets and other small ensembles.

I first became involved with Sidmouth Town Band about 9 years ago when I was asked to help out at a concert.  I really enjoyed it and continued attending rehearsals and playing at concerts when I could.  During this period, my quest to have a perfect smile meant that I was unable to get a note out of my cornet and rather than giving up playing altogether for a year, I dabbled with the tenor horn and realised that it was ‘my’ instrument.  In November 2005 I decided that it was time to broaden my horizons and give the band my full commitment.  By March 2006 I had switched to playing 1st horn, by the end of the year, solo horn when the position became vacant.

When I’m not playing in the band I enjoy arts and crafts, especially making wooden toys for my young nephew.

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I joined the Sidmouth Town Band in nineteen eighty-something

(with Karen Chambers – see tenor horn) and switched to cornet

after starting to learn the trumpet at school. I played third,

second, then repiano cornet for a few years, then an opportunity arose to play flugel. This was the ideal instrument for me; a flugel player doesn’t have to work as hard as solo cornets and gets the chance to show off with occasional solo parts on an instrument that naturally sounds warm and mellow! That’s the secret that flugel players don’t want people to know though, so I may have broken some unspoken rule there!

I left the band in 1994 to go to university as a mature(ish) student. During this time I didn’t play much at all due to the pressures of student life (!). I found myself back in Sidmouth after finishing my degree and back with the band on flugel alongside Colette. It was at this time that Adrian joined the band as conductor, and he had to split Colette and I up for being too mischievous.

I left the band again in 2001 and moved to Brighton to be with my partner (now my lovely Hubby). I joined a second section brass band there and played a great deal of music that was new and challenging to me (often too challenging!).

Towards the end of 2005 my husband and I embarked on a year’s ‘round-the-world’ trip. This was a fantastic experience that took us to Southern Africa, Madagascar, India, South East Asia and a few places in between. We came back to Sidmouth on our return, and I re-joined the band again. To break me in gently I played third cornet for a while. Anna then left to start university, and the band’s misfortune at losing an excellent flugel player resulted in my chance of moving back to flugel.

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Having started playing a Clarinet at school I soon saw the light and switched to a brass instrument at the age of 14. Torbay Brass Band gave me a baritone and a sheet of music with the fingering on it. Whilst I soon handed back the baritone and switched to tenor horn, I kept the sheet with the fingering on just in case !!!!

In 1989 I moved to Totnes Band where I spent a memorable 22 years, before joining Sidmouth Town Band with my husband Nick (see the trombone section) for the 2011 summer season. I  thought that after

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all these years I had mastered the art of ‘avoiding solos’. Wrong! Adrian (MD) can be very persuasive.

One great advantage of playing with Sidmouth is the player positioning.

Whilst no one wants to sit in front of a trombone section, it is one step better than having to look at them all the time – oops, sorry Nick! A former nurse and midwife, I’m now a full-time mum to Rachel and Adam.