Throughout my formative years I always knew that Music would feature heavily in my life.  An increasing love of the Performing Arts in all its forms meant that studying at Music College in London was almost inevitable! 

Upon leaving College, I embarked upon a career combining both music and education, working initially as a Director of Music and culminating in twenty two years as a Prep School Headmistress.

As well as maintaining my own musical interests, I directed many musical performances and became well established as a Choral Conductor, leading young performers to numerous competitive titles, as well as performances at venues such as The Royal Festival Hall and many of our tremendous Cathedrals with strong choral traditions.  I also enjoyed adjudicating at Festivals which encouraged and promoted young musicians in all disciplines. 

In September 2019, I took the decision to take early retirement from the teaching profession, in order to find time to make music for my own pleasure.  I joined North Swindon Big Band in October of that year and became its Musical Director in October 2022.  Additionally, I play with Swindon Concert Band, Quattro Saxes and Wiltshire Saxophone Choir.

Upon my retirement, I was invited to become a Trustee of a charity established in memory of one of my former pupils.  I am very passionate about this and give as much time as possible to supporting the charity’s crucial work.

​

​

When I was growing up, there was a lot of music making in my family; mainly classical and light opera.  Attempts to learn the piano were not successful, so I took up the clarinet in my early teens.  After leaving home, I played in amateur orchestras wherever I happened to be living.  In the early 1980s we ended up in Swindon, where I discovered the Swindon Concert Band and played in it on and off for the best part of 30 years.  I bought my son an alto saxophone and when he left home I inherited it!  I discovered jazz and swing and never looked back.  On retirement I joined the U3A Dance Band, which morphed into North Swindon Big Band, and here I am!  I also played in a saxophone quartet for about 10 years.  I still play the clarinet in Swindon Community Concert Band and sometimes in ad hoc groupings of musicians.

Aside from music, I enjoy walking, orienteering and park-running.  I also belong to several U3A groups – currently Welsh language, Jazz appreciation, British History and Shakespeare reading.

My interest in music began at a very early age learning to play the recorder, followed by the violin, which I played in the school orchestra and also a local youth orchestra.  I also enjoy singing and along with my parents and sister I belonged to and performed with a local amateur operatic society.  As I subsequently moved areas I joined other groups and spent several years with the Swindon Gilbert and Sullivan Society; more recently I have been a member of a local choir.

​

In 2015 I took up the saxophone and joined the Five Valleys Wind Band (part of Gloucestershire Music) and in 2018 joined JJ’s Swing Band in Cirencester.  I was delighted to join NSBB in September 2024.

My other interests include golf, walking and frequent trips to the theatre.

I Joined NSBB in October 2019.

I took piano lessons at school 60 years ago and upon retirement, following a lifelong ambition to learn a musical instrument and play in a band, I went to a saxophone group in Bath, where I began to relearn to read music.  Whilst there, I met a qualified music teacher, who plays cornet and saxophone with the Malmesbury Concert Band (MCB). 

Following an invitation from the Deputy Musical director of MCB, I sat in on rehearsals for some three years, eventually becoming their 2nd alto sax player.  Fellow sax player, Eddie Woodgate, invited me to sit in with NSBB in the autumn of 2019 and I am now one of the three 2nd alto players; I continue to take regular lessons.

My other interests include playing 2nd alto sax with the Malmesbury Concert Band. I also am a playing member of Malmesbury Tennis Club and, as a former rugby player, a keen supporter of Bristol Bears.

I have been a member of North Swindon Big Band for about 10 years. 

I attended a Choir School aged 9 and took piano lessons for a while.  At the tender age of 55, I purchased a second-hand tenor sax.  I joined the Chippenham Town Band in 1996 and Malmesbury Concert Band in 1999.  Additionally, in 2000 I joined a guitarist, a drummer and a singer in forming a group called Blue Moon.  We played at various events including weddings, business breakfasts and local fetes.  I joined the U3A dance orchestra (now NSBB) on 2nd alto sax around 2008, subsequently swapping to 1st Tenor which I play currently.  I am also a member of the Midwest Big Band and the Delta West Sax Quartet.

​I enjoy playing soprano, alto & tenor Saxophones.  My other interests include song and children’s poetry writing, golf and cycling.

​At about 10 years old my mother and the church organist failed in a conspiracy to teach me to play the piano, but I did pick up rudimentary music theory.

In my early 30s I sold a half share in a ski-boat and bought a tenor saxophone with the proceeds. After learning the basics at home, work and family commitments relegated it to a cupboard.

When my son was about 10 and learning the clarinet, we shared lessons and Tim Crouter from Hungerford Town Band managed to get me through my Grade 6 exam.

After taking (slightly) early retirement, I discovered the Marlborough Big Band and with a lot of tuition (and patience) from David Baker, I now play passingly acceptable 2nd Tenor.  My membership of North Swindon Big Band is a message to all those honkers and squawkers out there who, like me, have more enthusiasm than musical talent!

​I started reading music and learning to play the saxophone when I was 51, after hearing a couple of saxophonists playing in a restaurant. I went along for some lessons and decided that the only way to improve my playing was to join some musical groups after I retired. I played in the U3A band for 15 years, the Swindon Concert Band for 20 years and currently deputise in the Mid-West Big Band on Alto, Tenor or Baritone Saxophone. I also play in the Delta West Saxophone Quartet, and recently rejoined North Swindon Big Band.

​

When war broke out in the Ukraine my wife and I became volunteers for a charity in Swindon, initially helping to sort and pack clothes for Ukrainian people. This led us to packing food donations to be sent to the Ukraine. We now also pack food donations to be sent to other parts of the world which are experiencing wars or famine.

​

We also enjoy walking, and this helped us keep sane during lockdown! I also like cycling and enjoy riding around the lanes and villages around Wootton Bassett (avoiding the potholes!)

​

​

I started playing in late 1975, when I was very lucky to be taken on by Graham Whiting, the then Principal Trumpet of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom I gained a Performance Diploma from the Royal College of Music.  Following on, I recorded various TV theme tunes and featured in several performances, such as ‘That’s Life’ with Esther Rantzen and ‘Oh Happy Band’ with Harry Worth.  At the same time I had the great privilege of playing alongside the great Linda Nicholson and Elaine Wolf ( Brass Young Musician of the Year), with the Hanwell band, where we regularly took part in live BBC Radio 2 performances, Including Friday Night is Music Night.

In 1984 I left the brass band scene and worked as a semi-professional trumpeter throughout South and West London; playing shows and Big Band gigs.

I took a break from playing in 1996 but returned again in the 2000s, joining the newly formed Runnymede Jazz Orchestra on Lead Trumpet.  I also supported Yiewsley and West Drayton Band on Soprano, as they progressed from 2nd to 1st Section.  In 2016 I joined The Supertonics – a big band based in Bracknell, with whom I still play Lead Trumpet and in early 2024 I became the Lead Trumpet player in North Swindon Big Band.  I also play with the Big Colours Big Band, based in Oxford and continue to play semi-professionally in and around London, when time allows! 

​

​

I started playing the trumpet aged 10, performing in the school orchestra, brass band and dance band.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a brass band at University, so gave up playing until 2001.  Since then I’ve played cornet with Cirencester Band and I also played trumpet with a Wiltshire Swing Band several years ago, although I gave that up when I joined North Swindon Big Band in early 2020.  

Outside of brass playing, my main hobby is road running, where I race at county level for my age group.

I took up the trumpet at the age of 17, after being inspired by the music of Chris Barber, Ken Coyer and Acker Bilk.

In 1960 I signed on in the Army for six years, as a musician with The Royal Artillery Mounted Band. I attended Kneller Hall (The Royal Military School of Music) for a year during 1960/61.

I left the army in 1966 and worked for the Co-op as an insurance agent.  I played with various brass bands and dance bands in the Aldershot area and eventually formed a six piece traditional jazz band.

I retired from the Co-op in 1995 and moved to France for twelve years.  On my return to the UK in 2007, I settled in the Cotswolds and joined Cirencester Band and the JJ Swing Band.  I joined NSBB in 2017, replacing Bob Field who had sadly passed away.

My other interests include travelling around in our Motorhome and playing flugelhorn with The Camping and Caravanning Club Brass Band, as well as playing flugelhorn with Cirencester Band

I originally learnt to play the trumpet when I was at school, but didn’t pick it up again until much later. 

My early years were spent more on stage and screen as an actor, with such greats as Ginger Rogers and Anthony Hopkins (no name dropping here!).  While I was living in Australia, I joined the local community and brass bands and when I returned to the UK, I became a member of the British Airways Brass Band in Isleworth. 

Upon moving to Swindon in 2024, I was delighted to be accepted as a member of North Swindon Big Band.​

I started playing in a brass band at the age of 10, learning through the tenor horn, cornet and euphonium.  I was perhaps inspired by George Chisholm, who I used to see carrying his trombone case regularly, as he lived nearby in North London.  However, I was not allowed to take up the trombone until my arms grew long enough!

With longer arms, my musical adventures on trombone have included playing in most of the central London park bandstands as a dep, as well as providing the entertainment at West Ham football matches, whilst Bobby Moore and Francis Lee dribbled around the band!  I also supported a WHO gig in the basement of a warehouse in Covent Garden and played in various orchestras in Reading, Huddersfield, Settle and Ashton Keynes.

I enjoy playing trad jazz and over the years, bands have included the Hatherley Street Hotshots, TigerRagBag Band and Jazzboat; I also played in ATRIX, a Blues Brothers style party band.  Most recently, my focus has been upon Big Bands and, as well as NSBB, I have played in the Swindon Big Band, JJ Swing Band, the Big Brunch Band and 41° Big Band.  I especially enjoyed touring with 41° and visited Barcelona in 2019 and Saarbrucken in 2024.

I started playing the trombone in my early teens and also sang in school productions.  I played trombone and sang most Saturday nights with a Big Band in the Southampton Guildhall.  Additionally, I played in the Southampton Youth Orchestra and later at Nottingham University orchestra, whilst studying there.   After University came singing.  I joined The London Choral Society and The Windsor and Eton Operatic Society, as well as playing bass guitar and singing in a four piece band playing general dance music.   After the small band I started to perform as a barbershop quartet singer; a hobby that lasted more than 25 years.  A post-retirement yearning to go back to the teenage years led me to North Swindon Big Band, returning to trombone playing and also to Big Band singing.   As well as music, I try to keep myself fit.  I’m an avid armchair supporter of Southampton FC and a regular walker of the family dog! 

Music has always been important in my life.  As a child I was always listening to my parents’ Jazz and Swing records.  I was given my grandmother’s piano at a young age and had lessons for many years, but I wasn’t a natural.

​

When I was at secondary school in Newbury, I was introduced to all the instruments of the orchestra.  I made a beeline for the brass section as it was the brightest and loudest and I chose the trombone as it looked the most fun!  I joined the school orchestra and we performed many concerts and also musicals with the Drama department.  My favourite was West Side Story, but I also remember lots of Gilbert and Sullivan.  I decided to do Music ‘A’ Level so I had to pass my Grade 6 exam.  Having previously chosen not to sit any exams, it was hard work but I managed to just scrape through.

​

I went to study Art after school and my trombone got put back in the cupboard.  However, my love for Jazz continued many years later when I joined a Jazz club in Marlborough which was run by Pete Allen.  I enjoyed helping out at many Jazz weekends around the country. Occasionally people were invited to join the band with their instruments.  Even though I wasn’t up to their standard, I can say I have played with Pete Allen and George Chisholm!

I started playing the trombone properly again in 2016 when I joined the Marlborough Big Band.  I joined the North Swindon Big Band in 2021; it is great to be back playing my favourite music. 

​

Since the age of 9, when I first joined the Manchester Schools Big Band as their Bass Trombone player, and later as the Bass Trombone for the National Youth Brass Band, I knew what part I wanted to play.  Over 60 years later I have played in virtually every type of music group from early music to avant-garde, from trombone ensembles to large orchestras.  My playing has reduced significantly since retirement but I continue my love of big band music as the Bass Trombone for NSBB and, when opportunities arise, other small jazz ensembles.

Outside of music, I spend time tinkering with computers - occasionally writing useful software for family and friends, electronics, and enjoying regular walks in the glorious countryside around Stroud, usually to and from a watering hole of some kind!

I'm Ken Emerson, guitar player in the band.

I've been playing the guitar for as long as I can remember, which is over 65 years. I also sometimes play bass, if the band is desperate. I play guitar in another big band, too but play bass in a couple of "groups", one of which I set up ten years ago, so my music interests keep me quite busy. Because of my wider involvement in music performances I have acquired various PA systems which are used by the band.

I have a fine collection of instruments, not only guitars and basses but also banjos (which I play rarely and not very well), ukuleles, and mandolins.

My other main interest is rugby and I support London Irish. I have travelled the world to watch England and the Lions play.

My interest in music began with my mother, who arranged piano lessons for me when I was five. In my teenage years I learned to play guitar and started a local band with friends called The Stormbeats.  A particular highlight was playing at the St. Pancras Mayor’s Charity Ball with Jerry Dorsey - later known as Englebert Humperdinck.  I learned all his numbers while traveling to London in his van.

I became Musical Director at Baileys in Hull, where I formed a band called Sweet Illusion.  We backed three cabaret artists each week while also playing for dancing.  During this time, I married my wife Lorraine and we settled in the village of Aldbrough near Hull.  At Baileys, I met singer Helen Day and together we formed Helen Day and Catch.  We auditioned for New Faces, won our heat, recorded with Tony Hatch, toured across Britain and Scotland, and even enjoyed a week of power playing on Radio Luxembourg, with our single You Can Do It Better with Me.

When the band split, I returned to Oxford and formed a 10-piece dance band, again under the name Sweet Illusion and this is where Paul and Pauline of the North Swindon Big Band first met.  This later became The Alan Cobb Band, specializing in black-tie events and military functions.  Alongside this, I spent three decades as Musical Director for the local amateur dramatics society, KADS, arranging all their music; I also contributed arrangements for the local County Gang Show.

I joined North Swindon Big Band in August 25 and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing for Gigs and having new opportunities for arranging.  I also perform with the Bob Cutting Big Band, who regularly play my arrangements too.

​

I started music at the age of nine, playing the cornet in the City of Oxford Silver band, later transferring to the trombone and then the Eb Bass.  I joined the North Berks Youth Orchestra at 13 and by my late teens was performing with the Oxford Big Band and Blue Velvet.

Contacts within the Oxford music scene led to me joining a nine-piece band, called Sweet Illusion.  The band gigged extensively throughout the late 70s and early 80s and involved backing and supporting other artists of the day.  I married the singer Pauline in 1980 and we settled in Newbury, where I joined the Shaw Brass Band on trombone, as well as bass guitar in the Gold Stars Big Band, run by Dennis Kemp.  I later joined a big band Simon Currie was putting together in Newbury.  When this band folded, the rhythm section continued with some local brass and reed players and formed the Apollo Big Band, under MD, Andy Lowe.

My wife and I also ran a successful functions band called Catch 22, from 1990 to 2020.  I now mainly concentrate on big band jazz and as well as NSBB, I play bass in Joe Carey’s Radio Days big band based in Hanney, nr Wantage, and a rock band called Raw Deal, where I can act half my age and play loud. 

I joined North Swindon Big Band in July 2025, replacing my original drum teacher from the 1970s, Dave Prosser.  With big boots to fill, this was some challenge!

Like most musicians, I started in school bands and orchestras, having drum lessons with Dave from the age of nine.  Eventually, in my teens in the late 70s, I joined one of the last existing dance bands in the Swindon area; ‘The Matadors’.  This gave me some basic understanding of working with small bands, then moving on to Country, Rock, Pop, Jazz-Funk and anything I could find to gain experience.

I ended up playing with a well-known Rolling Stones tribute band, which was very successful, touring the UK, Europe and the Middle East for nearly 10 years; this was an amazing experience of playing to 1000s in festivals, on national TV and Radio.  However, just like Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones’ drummer), Jazz was in my heart and it was always there, even though I wasn’t playing it.

Some years later I formed a Pink Floyd Tribute Band with friends, which was great fun.  And now at last, NSBB, which is a thrill to play with, finally fulfilling my need for Jazz and that ‘Big Band’ sound, giving me a whole new outlook on my playing style.

At the age of 13, I sang in front of an audience with my local Youth Centre Band - the year is unknown as calendars hadn’t been invented at the time!  This started a love of swing and big band music that has stayed with me throughout my life.

​

I have sung with practically every big band in Swindon, the most recent being Swindon Big Band, Midwest Big Band and the U3A Dance Orchestra, which ultimately became the North Swindon Big Band.  

​

During my singing career I have also had the pleasure of performing in and around Swindon with a wide variety of groups and various size bands.  My first love is the music of the ‘Chairman of the Board’ Mr Frank Sinatra.  Whenever I attend any of the big band events I receive lots of requests - but I sing anyway!

My love of singing started in the school choir and a church group where I sang and played guitar.   My parents’ record collection also left an enduring love for rock n roll, which led to me auditioning for my first band at fourteen.  By sixteen, I was lucky enough to be performing with the band Tudor Quorum in London hotels.  Through a recommendation, I joined an Oxford band called Sweet Illusion in 1977 and four years of intense gigging followed.

​I married Paul the trombonist from the band and we moved with his work to Reading, where I joined a Camberley based band called Cockney Jock.  After a move to Newbury, I got the bug again and auditioned locally for a band called Catch 22.  A line-up change saw me take over the running of the band and bringing my husband Paul in on bass guitar.

I ran Catch 22 for the next 30 years and we worked hard, with long sets and few breaks, to ensure the dance floor was always full.   As well as singing pop and rock covers, I have enjoyed the opportunity to sing jazz standards with big bands and local jazz ensembles over the years.  I look forward to sharing some of these wonderful numbers with you and the band on future occasions.