Nigel Horne

E-mail njh@bandsman.co.uk

Nigel Horne M. Phil., B.Sc., B.A.(Open), PgDipCCI, B.A.(Sheffield), LDBBA, was born in 1959 in Minster, Thanet, Kent, though when young he moved across the island to Margate, eventually settling in the Garlinge area. He taught himself to read music and by the age of 7 was dabbling in composing at the piano. When he was 8 he joined a learners class at the local band, Margate Silver Band, where he learnt the cornet. When he joined the full band he changed to the tenor horn as 1st horn.

At Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate his love of music was expanded to new horizons, covering both the history and theory of music in his O and A level studies, and by joining the school choir. The choir numbered around 100 boys and teachers and was able to tackle music such as Haydn's Creation, the Messiah and, joint with other schools, Carmina Burana.

He went to Westfield College in the University of London to read Computer Science. At University he was unable to find a local band to join so he gave up the horn to concentrate on choral music. By joining the college choir of around 20 musicians his musical tastes were further broadened to cover small scale choir works.

After graduating he carried on working in the Computer Science Department and singing in the college choir. At that time he started studying for his degree in Music and Physics with The Open University. Taking up the horn again, he joined the Faversham Mission Band, but was unable to settle again as a player. He eventually took up the stick with Ashford Brass Band at around the same time he joined Root Computers Ltd. where he became a divisional director. It was during this time he had his first exposure Eunet, later to become part of the Internet. He was pivotal in helping to move the net from a purely academic group in the UK to the commercial environment.

In the mid '80s he moved to Hampstead and took up what has to date been his final brass playing position, as 1st horn at the Hendon Band (latterly the John Laing Hendon Band), he also joined the Crouch End Festival Choir. He left when he moved to Reading where he took over the baton at Pangbourne and District Silver Band and was invited to join the board of a company selling software to the public relations industry.

In the late '80s he moved to Barnsley where he joined Global Security One as head of development.

He was unable to find a choral group that he felt comfortable with so he no longer sings, but has often thought of the idea of forming a madrigal group.

He learnt percussion under John Wallace, who had been the kit drummer with Grimethorpe Colliery Band. He joined the Yorkshire Imperial Metals Band then Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band on percussion. Currently he is helping bands in the U.S. as a composer and a conductor, and has been adjudicating at a number of contests including the Roundthorne Whit Friday March Contest, the Easingwold March Contest, Oxford BBA Entertainments Contest and Solo and Quartet Contests.

His march Y2K was used by Advent Brass to win the Grade C of the Victoria State Championship in Australia and the Cyberband at the Whit Friday march contest of 2000. His setting of various versions of While Shepherds Watched has been recorded by the New England Brass Band on their CD, Christmas Joy, and more recently O Worship The King! was recorded on the CD Honour and Glory. Clips from his setting of The Ash Grove were used on the Channel 4 programme River Cottage Specials.

He has enjoyed success at composition competitions. Two of his compositions, Phoenix and Smaoinich, were runners up at the Maritime Brass Ensemble composition contest. He has twice reached the finals of NABBC composition competitions. In 2000, Ilkeston Sonata was a finalist, and in 2001 Unity reached the finals for a concert march.

He graduated in 2003 from the Accrington and Rossendale College with a B.A. degree in Band Studies and in 2010 completed his M. Phil. research degree in composition at The University of Leeds. In 2007 he graduated from the University of Salford with a Licentiate Diploma in Brass Band Adjudication. He works as a teacher of composition and arranging especially for brass bands by one-to-one tutoring students from across the world. If you are interested in becoming a student, drop him a line.

Nigel is in demand around the world as a conductor and clinician, especially in North America where he works as an ambassador for the movement. He has worked with a number of bands especially in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, below he is shown rehearsing Benfield Brass. He has been a musical adviser to the Spires Band, where he helped to steer them to victory in the Challenge Section at NABBA in Kentucky and a clinician for the Chesapeake Silver Cornet Band and most recently the Atlantic Brass Band who he helped to become the NABBA champion band for 2012 and 3rd place in 2013. He serviced on the board of directors of NABBA from 2012 to 2019.

He is also often contacted to help national and local broadcast and printed media across the UK and in the US, both on and off the record, for information about brass bands, the history of the moment and its current state. He is currently the musical director of the Rockville Brass Band based just north of Washington DC and the Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra.

Recently he has branched out from brass to wind bands working with the Wakefield Orchestral Winds and has published Hymn Without Words, his first serious composition for symphonic band.

During 1995 he was able to bring together his two great loves by forming the brass band group of the Internet (the Cyberband) and conducting the first (as far a we know) live Internet brass band performance. The group now numbers about 400 worldwide. It has met twice to broadcast live and has taken part in the Millennium Whit Friday Marches. Nigel Horne

His Internet brass band related work includes the brass band mailing list, forum, vacancy list and portal. He ran as the Events Editor at the now defunct Onlinebrass, opened the Brass Band Forum on Delphi, the Cycle of Fifths Webring, and was the Editor of the Brass Band, Brass Publishers, Brass and Brass Ensemble groups of the Open Directory Project.

He runs the music publishing group NJH Music, which publishes music from a number of composers and arrangers.

His other interests include Amateur Radio, his call-sign is G0LOV, he is a campaigner for human rights through Amnesty International and has recently begin working on The Gedgrave Project.

He has also published his family tree.

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