Hammonds Saltaire Band has announced the appointment of its new principal cornet player JJ Lees.

Rise to success

JJ started his playing career with the Dobcross Youth Band and moved on to lead Pennine Brass through its rise to success. He is originally from Saddleworth and is currently studying for a Masters degree in Bio Mechanics at Manchester University.

We are all absolutely delighted with the appointment of JJ. He is a fantastic player and has all the qualities we are looking forMD, Morgan Griffiths

Fantastic player

MD Morgan Griffiths told 4BR: "We are all absolutely delighted with the appointment of JJ. He is a fantastic player and has all the qualities we are looking for. I have personally watched his development with great interest over a number of years and for me he was the only choice. JJ has all the right attributes to lead Hammonds Saltaire into our next exciting chapter."

JJ will make his debut for Hammonds Saltaire in May at the Buxton Opera House.