Richard Evans (Conductor)

Without doubt, Richard Evans is one of the most colourful, flamboyant, charismatic and dynamic characters on the British, and indeed international, brass band scene today.
Born in Aldershot, the son of a regular soldier, it was in Leyland, Lancashire that he was introduced to the comet with the British Legion Band. Within three years Richard had become a founder member and then principal cornet of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain under the direction of the late, great Harry Mortimer.

After graduating from the Royal Northern School of Music, he began full-time teaching and also worked as a freelance trumpet player with, amongst others, the BBC Northern Symphony, the Manchester Mozart and the Syd Lawrence Orchestras.

It was in the art of conducting, however, that Richard was to carve a brilliant career; most memorably with the various incarnations of the Leyland Band - generally accepted to have been, under Richard's direction, one of the finest bands in the world.

He has worked with bands across the globe, most memorably in Japan, New Zealand, USA, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and Denmark and his prowess as a conductor, teacher and movement leader was recognised in 1986 when he was awarded the J Henry lies Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians of the City of London.

He has proudly held the post of Principal Conductor of the NYBBS since 1992 and remains in great demand throughout the world as a conductor, adviser, teacher and adjudicator.  In 2005 his long-awaited autobiography ‘Dick the Stick’ was published.

Tutors & House Staff

The National Youth Brass Band of Scotland makes a policy of only usual the most highly qualified staff available. 

House staff are all school teachers who are best placed to deal with any pastoral work required during the courses.  Tutorial staff are selected for their proven record as players, conductors, motivators and trainers.  The current tutorial staff includes Lesley Howie (the first ever female player with the famous Black Dyke Band and one of the top horn players in the country), Lyndon Baglin (voted amongst the finest euphonium players of all time), Brian Taylor (a legendary member of the Fairey band with whom he notched up 21 years as Principal Cornet) and Craig Anderson (one of Scotland’s most sought-after tuba players and a rising star in the conducting world).

It is essential that the young members of the NYBBS experience as many different styles of music as well as different musical opinions and talents.  It is now common practice for the band to have a guest conductor to share the rostrum with Richard Evans.  In recent years these have included Frank Renton (from BBC Radio 2’s ‘Listen to the Band’) and Bob Ross (a former NYBBS member who runs the phenomenon in Germany that is ‘Blechshaden’).  On some occasions we have guest soloists or simply visitors who spend time with the young players and help to inspire them to greater heights.  One recent visitor in 2006 was the legendary Maurice Murphy.  Maurice is a former Principal Cornet with Black Dyke Mills and the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.  He is currently Principal Trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra and has played on countless film soundtracks.  Maurice is the man responsible for the ‘Star Wars’ sound!

The 2006 NYBBS Tutorial Staff with guests Geoffrey Whitham (3rd from left)
and Maurice Murphy (4th from left).

More staff have been appointed in the past couple of years as student numbers have risen.  One of the most gratifying features of this is that several ex-members have now become tutors.  Phillippa Dyet, Cara Sullivan and Charlie Farren all joined the staff in 2006 to work with the Reserve Band.  All, despite Charlie’s singing, are now highly valued contributors to the course.  Paul Judge (formerly of Black Dyke) joined the staff in 2007 to work with our young percussionists.  This group, working alongside the stalwart that is Mike Robertson, have helped bring the quality of the Reserve Band to a level quite unthinkable just a few years ago.

Gordon Evans and John Boax are, of course, the men who we have to thank for putting our Reserve Section on the map and for making entry into the main NYBBS band harder and harder as years go on.  Their contribution in many different capacities has been phenomenal over the years and SAMA recognised their input with a presentation at the 2006 Reserve Band concert in St Andrews.

This informal shot of some of the NYBBS Reserve Section in 2002 shows John and Gordon with many young players who are now established instrumentalists, indeed some are now principal players with the NYBBS.

 Another man whose contribution has been both immense and unique is Geoffrey Brand who was the NYBBS conductor for an incredible 21 years before retiring in 1991.  It was a delight to welcome him back in 2007 as guest conductor.  As well as taking the band through its paces on Suite Gothique (Boelmann) and Little Suite for Brass (Arnold), he adjudicated our solo competition awarding Ailsa Russell (tenor horn) the Richard Evans Trophy for her performance of Napoli.

The NYBBS tutorial staff is constantly changing as other professional commitments mean that, from year to year, some members of the team become unavailable.  This is a mixed blessing as, although we are sorry to lose valued members of staff, it gives us the chance to welcome new faces.  John Hudson moving to Norway, Russell Gray touring Australia and Simon Johnson playing at the BBC Proms in London are just three of the catalysts which have forced change upon us in recent years.  Finding suitable replacements has been remarkably easy, however, as top quality players and teachers are only too happy to join what they recognise as a top-class outfit.

Recently we have welcomed two players from Foden’s who have made a huge impact on their sections: Mark Landon (http://www.fodensband.co.uk/profiles/p-perc.htm) and John Barber (http://www.fodensband.co.uk/profiles/p-tromb.htm) are both highly regarded musicians and are in great demand as players and teachers across the country.

The high quality, the professionalism, the dedication and the commitment of the entire tutorial staff can be summed up in two words: Archie Hutchison.  Need I say more?

Neil Cross (Course Director)

Neil joined the tenor horn section of the NYBBS in 1980 and was a member of the band that toured Switzerland in 1982 under Geoffrey Brand.  He joined the House Staff in 1984, became Course Director in 1994 and now probably holds the record of attending more NYBBS courses than anyone else in history!

Neil’s banding career began in the mid-1970s with Newmains Band.  This was a hugely successful period for Newmains which was rarely out of the prizes at any contest in Scotland.  Neil frequently performed as soloist in contests and concerts and was also a member of the Junior Scottish Champion Quartet of 1977.  In 1978 he was runner-up in the Scottish Schools Solo Championship.

A spell on french horn playing for local amateur operas and nine years with the TA Band of the Royal Highland Fusiliers (with whom he reached the giddy heights of corporal) followed but, unfortunately, work commitments resulted in him having to reduce his musical activities.

Although he no longer plays any instrument (his french horn required a hefty dose of WD-40 when it last saw the light of day and now seems to be idly content in its corner of the spare bedroom wardrobe), Neil has maintained his interest in banding - the NYBBS in particular.

He strives to improve the quality of experience of all young brass and percussion players in the country by offering them the chance to be tutored, along with their peers, by some of the finest teachers in the country and to perform in what is surely one of the finest youth bands in the world.

In his spare time, Neil is Depute Head Teacher at Clyde Valley High School in Wishaw.

Neil Cross with Richard Evans prior to the tour of Germany in 2002