Easington Colliery Band has announced that Daniel Brooks and Ray Farr will lead their contest appearances at the North of England Regional Championships and British Open Spring Festival this year.

Daniel will once again lead the charge for Albert Hall qualification at Durham in March, whilst Ray has accepted the invitation to lead the quest for promotion from the Senior Trophy in Blackpool.

Excited

Daniel told 4BR: "Easington have improved so much over the last 18 months and' A Tale as Yet Untold' suits the players and our soloists in particular. I'm really excited for this contest because if we get it right, a qualification spot is not out of the question."

A band spokesperson also confirmed that Ray was "looking forward"to conducting the band once more — some 11 years after his last appearance with them on the contest stage.

We're delighted to welcome back both Daniel and Ray. Daniel is a rising star whilst Ray's expertise is so respectedEasington Colliery Band

Expertise

They added: "We're delighted to welcome back both Daniel and Ray. Daniel is a rising star whilst Ray's expertise is so respected. His wealth of experience and musical knowledge will surely benefit us on Percy Fletcher's 'Life Divine' at the Winter Gardens."

The band also revealed that they have received a great boost of confidence with the arrival of new signings, Sean Moran (euphonium), Hayley O'Connelley (trombone), Tom Lampard (tuba) and Steven Moore and Michael Mather (percussion).