The WELB Music Service recently welcomed euphonium star David Thornton to Omagh and Enniskillen.

The event, sponsored by John Packer Instruments, Reynolds Music and supported by Sterling Instruments, included a series of masterclasses and workshops involving around 160 WELB Music Service brass pupils.

Intensive

The first day of the mini-educational tour was hosted by Omagh Academy Grammar school, where thirty Year 7 brass players from local schools were invited to join the 30 — strong Academy Junior Band for a mixed day of rehearsals.

Meanwhile, the Omagh Academy Senior Band enjoyed an intensive workshop with Brighouse & Rastrick star on varied repertoire, including the beautiful arrangement of the traditional Irish tune ‘Carrickfergus’ which featured David as soloist.

Enjoyed

David certainly enjoyed the experience as he told 4BR: "The group were fantastic. You can tell there’s a lot of talent here and a lot of very hard work going on. It was a real pleasure to work with a set-up like this."

Tribute

Paying tribute to the WELB Music Service and the Omagh Academy Music Department, he added: "To have this many brass players in one school is a credit to all involved.

I thoroughly enjoy this type of work: The pupils were very responsive and obviously enjoyed the workshops."

Strabane Concert Brass completed the line-up in the concert that evening, where they also accompanied David in a number of featured solos.

Luxury

The second day’s workshops took place in Enniskillen, with the St. Michael’s College Brass Band and Portora Royal School Brass Band.

Simon O’Hare, WELB Area manager and Brass tutor told 4BR: "David was superb. He really engaged with the students, demonstrating on a level that they could easily understand.

To have someone as knowledgeable and articulate as David explaining detailed breathing techniques to the three school bands was a real luxury."

Grateful

He added: "We are very grateful for the sponsorship and support from Mike Reynolds, John Packer Ltd and Sterling instruments.

To have a musician of David’s calibre working with so many of our brass pupils will be something that they will remember for a long time."