*
banner

The longest trombone solo in the world...

Despite having stage 4 terminal bowel cancer, Nathaniel Dye will run the London Marathon playing a trombone to help in the fight to give others hope.

Nathaniel
  Nathaniel is the MD of the Pavilion Brass Band in East London

Nathaniel Dye, the conductor of the Pavilion Brass Band based in East London will be running he London Marathon later next month.

However, he aims to complete the 26.2 mile course whilst playing the trombone, fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Care in the process.

Nathaniel is also doing all of this whilst battling stage 4 terminal bowel cancer.

Plastic trombone

Over £12,000 has been raised so far, whilst he has been delighted that he is being assisted in his attempt by playing on a green plastic trombone (the Macmillan colour), donated by Warwick Music.

He told 4BR: "The run is going to be a fantastic experience — although very tiring on the feet and lips, I'm sure!"

Nathaniel was diagnosed with his condition aged 36, and is hoping in his words,"…to survive at least a year, although my chances of making it past five are under 10%"

The aim is to raise awareness along the way in the hope that others — unlike me — can maybe catch cancer early enough to give them a hopeful prognosisNathaniel Dye

Requests

Now he hopes that his 26.2 mile trombone solo (requests shouted from the side of the road will be considered!) will help others.

He adds: "I may be dying but, for now, I choose to live and show the world through words and deeds that it's possible to live a full life post-diagnosis.

I owe it to everyone I love and who is supporting me along the way to keep going, keep running and stay as fit and active as possible in the hope that I can live that little bit longer.

The aim is to raise awareness along the way in the hope that others — unlike me — can maybe catch cancer early enough to give them a hopeful prognosis..."

To donate

To help and donate go to:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Bowelcancerbucketlist

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.


Andreas Kratz

Mus.B (hons)
Conductor, Adjudicator, Teacher


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd