On June 8th, 2019, I was honored to participate in the international conducting competition hosted by the National Association of Brass Band Conductors in the U.K.! Eccles Town Hall near Manchester, England to be precise.
I was lucky enough to work with the amazing members of the Rainford Band and the Eccles Borough Band throughout the process of the competition which was judged by Mark Heron and Paul Hindmarsh.
The other competitors and musicians were all of the highest level and the experience was humbling, awe-inspiring, and wonderful. There were contestants from all over the world: Britain, Norway, Italy, France, and I was happy to be representing the United States. Having never had the chance to work with a traditional Brass Band before, I was just excited to be there!
Imagine my shock when I won! It was truly the experience of a lifetime. I absolutely LOVED having the opportunity to participate and can’t thank the organizers enough for creating such a wonderful experience. Biggest thank you’s to Russell Gray, James Holt, and Mareika Gray.
Here are a couple of articles that came out about the competition:
Best of all, the opportunity has resulted in me coming back to San Jose and joining up with the Silver Creek Brass Band as a conductor for this brand new ensemble! We’re hoping to build this group into the first California-based competing brass band and we’re planning to participate in the 2020 NABBA competition in Fort Wayne, IN.