New Conductor Appointed

The Dereham Band is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Tony Hampton as its new conductor following the departure of Mr Ian Clarke at the end of the summer last year.

Tony began learning music at School in Swaffham, beginning on Cornet as many people do and then moving on to the Tuba.  Joining the Army straight after school he had further training then joined the band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. During this time his tours of duty included Germany, Northern Ireland, Berlin and the Falklands.

Studying at Kneller Hall, the Royal Military School of Music Tony continued with his Tuba studies and also theory of music.  After leaving the army he joined Dereham Band in 1986, playing with the band until 1991 when he took a 6 year break before rejoining the Band in 1997, during his time at Dereham Tony has played a variety of instruments from Tuba up to Baritone.  He currently continues his playing with other bands in the county. 

When asked what his hopes for the future of Dereham Band were Tony replied that he hoped to be able to bring a sense of stability to the Band and to make music enjoyable for both the players and the audience, building on the success of the 75^th anniversary year in 2006 the Band hopes to take part in the East Anglian Brass Band Association contest in May.  This will be the Bands first attempt at contesting for many years.