Under the spotlight: Blackburn and Darwen

BLACKBURN and Darwen Band is the latest band to go under the spotlight ahead of the 2015 Scottish Open, supported by Besson.

The band, which is in the midst of its 175th anniversary celebrations, enjoyed a French tour earlier in the year - and is preparing to travel north in an effort to round the year off in style.

Here's what the band has to say...

Soprano cornet: Rob Speakman

Principal cornet: Sean Houlton

Solo horn: Rhiannon Grant

Solo baritone: Martin Bridges

Solo euphonium: Boonyarit Kittaweepitak (From Malaysia - we call him Tee for short!)

Solo trombone: Jeremy Fonseca

Solo Eb bass: Richard Cookson

Solo Bb bass: Gareth Henderson

Principal percussionist: Jenny Moore

We go back to 1840 for the origin of this Lancashire band. Known then as the Darwen Temperance Band, it appeared at Crystal Palace in the National Championships in 1856. 

In the intervening years up to 1970, following two name changes after amalgamating with other local bands, the band became the Darwen Band. In 1979 the band became the national fourth section champions and after winning through to the finals in London for five successive years resulted in the band being promoted to the championship section for the first time in 1984.

Following these successes the band was offered sponsorship in 1986 from Blackburn Council and became the Blackburn and Darwen Band

In 1987 the band received the most coveted award as the Grand Shield winners which also qualified the band to the British Open a contest for the top 20 bands in the country. In 2009, then back in the first section, the band won both the Butlins and Pontins First Section Championships which resulted in them being promoted back into the Championship Section in 2010.

The band is still well established in the North West Area Championship section and also the Senior Cup within the British Open Spring Festival. This year the band celebrated its 175th anniversary with a series of concerts, following a very successful tour to France in April 2015.

Born in Cardiff, Huw Thomas took up the cornet at the age of 11 and joined the Tongwynlais Band. In 1992, having taken up the trumpet he was awarded a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales under Elgar Howarth. Study at Birmingham Conservatoire followed and upon completing the BMus (Hons) course Huw took a job playing Co-Principal Trumpet with the Orquestra Do Norte in Portugal. During this time he performed extensively around Spain and Portugal and also toured with Andrea Bocelli.

On returning to the UK, Huw accepted an invitation to conduct Melton Town Band and after 18 months was appointed Resident Conductor of the Kibworth Band where he enjoyed working closely with John Berryman. During this time Huw also conducted the CD debut of the Foresters Brass Ensemble entitled 'Dexterity'.

Soon afterwards, Huw embarked on a PGDip course in conducting at the University of Salford under Professor David King, which led to work with the Thoresby Band and many guest appearances with Championship Section bands. In 2004 he was awarded the Denis and Maud Wright Conducting Award in which he conducted the Fairey Band and was also runner-up in the North West Brass Band Conductor of the Year event.

Huw was appointed Musical Director of the Enderby Band in 2005, and during his tenure the band had numerous successes, including first prize in the Open Section of the West Midlands Association Contest where Huw received the J R Memorial Cup as winning conductor. He has also worked extensively with orchestras and made his conducting debut with the Sinfonia Tamesa in London performing works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.

During 2008, Huw made his BBC Radio 2 debut on 'Listen to the Band' with Pennine Brass from Yorkshire. Also, Huw was announced as runner up in the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britian's search for an Assistant Conductor to Bramwell Tovey.

In 2009, Huw completed an MA in Music Performance at Durham University studying with Ray Farr. This close association nurtured a keen interest in contemporary music and for several years he was the conductor of the professional Komposit Ensemble, frequently premiering new works by some of the UK's top composers.

Most recently, Huw has been Musical Director of the Fishburn Band in the North East of England with notable appearances at the Sage in Gateshead and Perth Concert Hall.