New conducting team to reign at Kingdom Brass

Kingdom Brass has announced the appointment of a new conducting team. Katrina Marzella-Wheeler will be the band’s new resident conductor and Thomas Wyss will take up the baton as the new musical director.

Band secretary John Todd said: “Following the departure of Paul Drury after seven years with the band, we advertised for applicants for the role and were very surprised about not only the number showing interest, but also the quality of applicants.

“We spent a few months going through an intense audition process and for us the standout applicant was Katrina (below), who brings with her not only a wealth of experience at the very highest level of banding, but a level of enthusiasm and ambition which really impressed us.”

“We would like to thank all the other applicants who applied for the post, especially those who were invited in to audition. We have had a very busy schedule recently, and everyone was very understanding of our need to continue with the day-to-day running of the band while also going through these auditions.”

As well as announcing Katrina as the band’s new resident, Kingdom has also officially appointed Thomas Wyss (below) as the band’s new MD.

John added: “We had a wonderful five-year spell with Ian Porthouse conducting the band and, when looking for a replacement, Tom was top of our list.

“We worked together at the Spring Festival this year and had no hesitation to offer him the role going forward. Tom brings an extremely high level of musicianship and experience to the band and, with the appointment of Katrina as well, we’re all very excited about the future with this new conducting team.”