A well known musical director has moved from one successful brass band to lead another. 

Camborne Town Band have said they are “delighted” to announce that they have secured the services of Gareth Churcher as their new musical director, who comes from St Keverne Band. 

The band shared a post on its Facebook page on Thursday to reveal their new musical director.

The post reads: “Gareth has spent many years conducting a wide range of ensembles including the Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestra, and Cornwall Youth Brass Ensemble, as well as a long tenure developing both the youth and senior bands at St Keverne Brass Band.

Falmouth Packet: Camborne Town Band's new musical director, Gareth Churcher Camborne Town Band's new musical director, Gareth Churcher (Image: Camborne Town Band)

“Gareth will be working with the band for the foreseeable future including taking them to the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall, London in October.”

He will also be working closely with the band’s professional conductor, Ian Porthouse.

Now that Gareth has started his musical direction for Camborne Town Band, St Keverne Band has welcomed its new musical director Karl Long.

With the finals now only a month away, Gareth told the Packet how he feels about taking the band to London. He said: “It’s an exciting opportunity for me as an individual.

“I do a lot of composing full-stop but a lot of competitions for brass bands.

“It’s nice to have a fresh set of musicians to work with to throw new material at. But that privilege that honour to take the brass band to the finals is amazing.”

However, the band also holds a special memory for Gareth. He said: “The first time I heard of a brass band was when I was at the Princess Pavilions.

"I was young and remember walking with my dad and on the stage were people in really smart red tunics, they started playing and they were amazing, and I really wanted to get involved. That’s when I found out it was Camborne Town Band.”

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In March, Camborne Town Band were named the winner of the West of England Champions in the West of England Regional Brass Band Championships 2023.

They will travel to London this October to compete against other UK bands including the Porthleven Town Band who was awarded the top spot in the third round of the championships in March 2023.