*
banner

Parker hangs up Fairey wings

Stalwart cornet player Gary Parker has hung up his Fairey (Geneva) wings after 21 years of great service.

Fairey
 

The Fairey (Geneva) Band has announced the resignation of cornet player Gary Parker prior to their last engagement before their summer break.

Servant

Gary has been a loyal servant to Fairey since his debut in 1989, sitting in most of the cornet seats over the intervening years, including many memorable apperances as soprano cornet at their Acid Brass gigs.

Memorable

He has enjoyed many memorable contest wins, high profile concerts and foreign tours, but with increased work and family responsibilities he informed the band he could no longer give the required commitment to the band that has just won the English National Championship title.

The band presented Gary with a commemorative watch at the concert as a mark of their appreciation for all his efforts over 21 years4BR

Given time

The band presented Gary with a commemorative watch at the concert as a mark of their appreciation for all his efforts over 21 years.

However the band hope that 'given time' he may in the future make a welcome comeback. "We sincerely hope that some time in the future he can return when his commitments ease ... returning the watch will not be a pre-requisite!" said Press Officer, Paul Warder.

Become a supporter and help make our future secure.

4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice. There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world. Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month.

Support us    


British Open

Result: 2026 Spring Festival — Senior Cup

May 2 • Kirkintilloch claims the Senior Cup honours as Rainford, Tongwynlais Temperance and East London Brass join them in the Grand Shield in 2027.


2026 Spring Festival

Result: 2026 Spring Festival — Senior Trophy

May 2 • Sandhurst Silver claims the Senior Trophy honours as Sovereign Brass, Unite Scotland Kinneil and Yorkshire Imperial are also promoted to the Senior Cup.


Fleetwood

Fleetwood back on demand

May 1 • You can enjoy all 32 performances from the recent Fleetwood Contest on demand


British Open

Live stream broadcast from Spring Festival

May 1 • All the action from the 104th British Open Spring Festival is to be live-stream broadcast this weekend.


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Sunday 3 May • St Alfege Church. Greenwich Church Street SE10 9BJ


Regent Hall Concerts - FiveBy5 Trumpet Quintet

Tuesday 5 May • Charlton House and Gardens. Charlton Road, . London. . SE7 8RE


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Friday 8 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Wardle Anderson Brass Band - Wardle Junior Blast

Friday 8 May • Milnrow Parish Church, 16 Westward Ho, Milnrow, Rochdale OL16 3JX


Regent Brass - Woodbridge Excelsior Band and Russell Gray

Saturday 9 May • The Salvation Army (Regent Hall), Oxford Street, London W1C 2DJ


Wellington Silver Band (Somerset)

May 2 • Bb Basses. With Colin Dance now appointed as our MD and our other Bb Bass leaving due to work commitments, we have openings for two Bb basses. We are a friendly community (4th section?) band with a variety of gigs including our own Proms in the Park.


Wellington Silver Band (Somerset)

May 2 • Tuned Percussionist. We are looking for a tuned percussionist to join our friendly community (4th section?) band. We have a variety of gigs including our own Proms in the park, charity concerts, fetes, (maybe contesting). Other brass players welcome.


Tintwistle Band

April 28 • Tintwistle Band are looking for a Soprano and front row cornet players to help complete our team.. We rehearse Monday and Thursday 8-10pm at our own bandroom on Old Road in Tintwistle, and perform a variety of concerts all year round.


Martin Heartfield

GGSM, ARCM, PGCE
Conductor, Adjudicator, Educationalist


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd