Peter Haigh wins the 2013 Alder Valley Brass Player of the Year award
Published in Band News on 2014-01-02 by Empty Chairs
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Peter Haigh has been awarded the 2013 Alder Valley Brass Player of the Year Award which was presented by Roger Burke. Peter has been playing the cornet for over 40 years, having started in the school brass band in Glossop, Derbyshire - he was the only one who could make a sound out of the cornet when it was handed around the classroom and so he was allowed to join the band.
After taking lessons from a number of local brass players, Peter then joined Tintwistle Band when the band was conducted by the composer, the late John Golland (he tried out some of his more avant garde compositions on the band), and the late Norman Ashcroft (ex-principal cornet of the Fairey Band in its heyday, who could make a cornet sing even when he was out of practice, much to the frustration of the cornet section).
He relocated from North Derbyshire to the Aldershot area because of work and joined Aldershot Brass Ensemble as it then was, in 1984 and, with a couple of breaks, has been a member since then,playing solo cornet, repiano cornet, flugel horn, briefly solo horn, and principal cornet since 2003.
Peter's claim to fame;
When I was principal cornet in the Glossop School Band, my deputy was a certain Gary Cutt - now the famous conductor of Grimethorpe, Fodens etc. So at the time I was in the position of being able to tell little Gary to "leave this bit out, I'll do it". And he would. But not any more…
The Best improved Player Award which was voted for by Band Members went to Peter Blake, percussionist.