Dr Robert Childs will conduct the current Welsh, European and World Champions, Cory at the British Open this year. He has conducted the band to wins at the contest in 2000, 2002 and 2007.

Highlight

"The highlight is an easy one really – Cory’s first win in 2000.

I had only taken over at the band earlier in the year and this was our third contest together. We had won the Ebbw Vale contest and the Eisteddfod, but this was on an entirely different level.

We put in a great amount of work and came off stage knowing that we had played really well. People were coming up to me to tell me how well they thought the band had played and that we would be in with a real chance come the results, but it still came as a bit of a surprise that we won.

The celebrations that followed were amazing. It took me days to come down from cloud nine."

I ploughed straight in with the opening bars of the movement from ‘Fusions’ that should have been left out!Robert Childs

Flip side?

"The 1986 Open was the year in which ‘Fusions’ was paired with ‘Epic Symphony’.

I was with Brighouse at the time on solo euphonium and the band was struggling a bit with the piece. On the day though things seemed to be going really well and when our flugel player hit the top A for the first time since we started playing ‘Fusions’ I had a huge surge of excitement that we could be in with a chance of victory.

Unfortunately my enthusiasm meant I completely lost concentration and instead of starting the next movement of ‘Epic Symphony’, I ploughed straight in with the opening bars of the movement from ‘Fusions’ that should have been left out!

I’ve never felt worse on stage! That we came sixth didn’t make me feel any better."