4BR has been informed that Alan Hope has decided, after five and a half years at the helm, to take a back seat from conducting duties at NASUWT Riverside Concert Band.

Talented youngsters

The band was started with just seven players in 2005 as a junior band and Alan was initially asked to stay for a year to see how it went.

This year the talented youngsters qualified under Brian Tait for Harrogate Finals as Fourth Section North of England Regional Champions – a result that brought tears of joy from Alan as he announced the result at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington.

Pass on duties

Alan has not been in a position to conduct in contests due to his commitment as Regional Secretary and as an administrator with the Nationals, so the result was a wonderful way to be able to officially pass on the conducting duties.

Alan told 4BR: "I’ve enjoyed every week of the last five years watching the children start to play and develop over time into cracking young players. It confirms my belief that it's the only way the movement can survive."

He added: "At Chester-le-Street we saw a problem and with a lot of help, we tackled the shortage of new players ourselves. We have an excellent mix of young and old, with the more mature players helping to drag along the youngsters!"

Things are looking good for the future of this young band. I can’t be any happierAlan Hope

Proud

Alan is also immensely proud of the band’s achievement – with hopefully more to come. "We have achieved more than we could ever have hoped and are looking forward to Cheltenham immensely."

Always involved

Alan has not severed his connections with the band, and is still secretly delighted when he asked to fill in when Brian Tait’s busy commitments means he is away.

"I will always be involved in some way with the band," he added, "..even if its just writing down what we have draw at the next contest!"

Entertainment

The Concert Band recently gave a brilliant evening's entertainment in St. Andrew's Church in Washington under Brian’s direction, to a packed house.

As Alan concluded: "Things are looking good for the future of this young band. I can’t be any happier."