Malcolm Harper
Playing in a brass band was a fairly unlikely outcome given that none of my family members played musical instruments or had any particular interest in brass bands.
My Dad enjoyed listening to opera and popular singers from his youth such as Al Jolson, Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza and my Uncle liked listening to a range of orchestral music. My playing experience started on the descant recorder teaching myself to play TV theme tunes and some pop songs. However, in the early years of secondary school I became captivated by the sound of the french horn listening to some of the great players of the mid 20th century such as Dennis Brain and Barry Tuckwell and this started my journey into playing brass music.
Music teaching in my school was well resourced in those days and my expression of interest in playing french horn was responded to immediately. Once I’d got past the basics and as the opportunity arose, I began playing in various school, and local authority music centre, ensembles eventually joining the school band playing tenor horn parts on French horn – I used to be able to transpose pretty well then. We had an excellent music teacher who was conducting, composing and arranging for the School band as well as Dobcross Band and we delivered some good performances. Eventually, I was playing solo tenor horn in the brass band (using an actual tenor horn) and vividly remember how nervous I was coming in at the start of the 2nd movement (Siciliano) of Malcolm Arnold’s Little Suite for brass (No.1) owing to the exposed horn part.
By the end of secondary school I’d decided to become a music teacher but found the College I attended a bit disappointing as they had few ensembles to play in. On leaving college and becoming a music teacher in secondary school (for a relatively short time), I was more interested in composing/arranging and conducting than in playing. I was offered the opportunity to conduct a local 4th section church band (that no longer exists) and whilst I had plenty of drive and ambition for the band to succeed and pushed myself and the band hard, I lacked the range and depth of brass band experience to solidify the progress we made, often losing players at critical points around contest time. So, inevitably, a conductor with such experience was sought and I moved on not only from this band but from music teaching and playing in general, apart from occasionally helping out on basic keyboard for charity work with my brother.
I would likely have never returned to playing had it not been for three fairly contiguous events: firstly, I met my old principal euphonium player, while shopping, who enquired whether I’d done anything in brass bands the 30 odd years since I’d last seen him (the answers was ‘No”); secondly I heard various brass and other instruments being played by the family who lived to the rear of my wife and I’s house in Denton (who I later discovered were playing for Hawk Green band) and thirdly, on meeting some of my ex- work colleagues for a coffee in Manchester (shortly after we’d taken early retirement), I visited Dawson’s music shop and noticed an inexpensive tenor horn for sale and thought, “Why not?”
After a few weeks of playing I decided to give banding a go again (after a break of about 35 years!) and initially checked out Denton Band (who had enough tenor horns) and then found out (via the internet I think) that Stockport Silver band needed a horn player, soon realising that they actually wanted someone on solo horn to replace their previous solo horn player who had joined Marple but was still contributing a lot of time and energy to Stockport Silver Band. I enjoyed playing with Stockport Silver band and being thrown into the deep end of playing Solo horn encouraged me to practice as much as feasible to get on top of the parts. After about a year with Stockport Silver band we were joined by another Solo Horn player (a four horn section – luxury) with a vacancy at Marple arising at more or less the same time. I played for a few months with both bands and then joined Marple band with which I’ve been ever since.
Never having previously played in any band above 4th section, I was very impressed with the playing ability of Marple band members and challenged by some of the pieces chosen for performance and contest. This also stimulated me to practice and play as well as I could, not wishing to let the band down. At Marple, I’ve been fortunate enough to play all three tenor horn roles at different times and work with other excellent and dedicated horn players. Covid was a real pain in terms of interrupting regular practice, but the band came up with a methodology for rehearsing via zoom which kept us going and we now have a spacious rehearsal room and good parking at our band room at Arden Dies whilst also having access to our old Charles Ingham band room as and when we need it.
To use a football expression, my time in brass banding has been a “game of two halves” punctuated by a half time break of about 35 years! Both halves have been challenging and a learning process in their own ways and I’m happy to note that, even at my age, I’m still making progress with my playing and enjoying making music with my friendly and very musically skilful comrades in Marple Band and our loyal and hardworking committee members and supporters.
