A New Year and a new look for Hepworth Band. This busy and highly successful group of musicians has a packed schedule ahead and at the helm will be a new musical director, Mark Peacock.

The band opens its new season of concerts next month with one of its popular appearances at St Paul’s Hall in Huddersfield and the Yorkshire Regional Championships at St George’s but it will also be focusing on its competition work in the Yorkshire Regional Championships in Bradford this spring.

On Sunday, February 9, the band returns to St Paul’s for an evening of Brass and Young Voices.

While the band’s musicians provide the brass, the vocal element of the concert will be provided by Mantabile and the Major Minors.

These are two groups of young singers from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) and Wakefield Girls High School.

In March, it will be contest time as Hepworth’s musicians join more than 60 bands to compete for the honour of representing Yorkshire at the finals of the National Brass Band.

The bands will take to the stage at St George’s Hall stage over the first weekend in March.

Hepworth will compete with 12 other Championship section bands, including the famous names of Black Dyke, Brighouse and Rastrick, Grimethorpe Colliery and defending Yorkshire champions Carlton Main Frickley Colliery.

They will play the set work St Magnus (Kenneth Downie) as they seek qualification to the national finals at the Royal Albert Hall in October.

With them all the way will be new musical director Mark who until recently was associate MD with the Fairey band, having worked previously with Wingates and Pemberton Old.

Prior to that, Mark had a successful playing career with Faireys and the Yorkshire Building Society band.

Mark picked up the cornet at a very early age, coming as he does from a large brass banding family.

Mark Peacock, new Musical Director of Hepworth Band.
Mark Peacock, new Musical Director of Hepworth Band.
He began playing in the local Salvation Army band before moving onto flugelhorn to join the Tyldesley Band.

Mark studied music at Salford University and became the first “brass bander” to graduate with a 1st class honours degree and would later return to complete his Masters.

Whilst studying for his degree he was invited by David King to join the newly formed Yorkshire Building Society Band.

In 1996, Mark fulfilled a lifelong ambition by joining the ranks of the Williams Fairey Band cornet section, enjoying many memorable concert and contest successes.

Mark’s conducting career began more than a decade ago when he was appointed Musical Director of the Pemberton Old Band.

Here he had a string of successful concert and contest outings, before moving on to Wingates in 2009.

His adjudication career began in 2010 when he officiated at the National Youth Championships held at the RNCM in Manchester.

For that concert at St Paul’s, tickets are £8, with family tickets (2 adults, 2 children) £16 and concessions £6.

They are available from Kirklees Box Offices (01484 223200), Wm Sykes and Sons Estate Agents, Holmfirth or online at www.kirklees.gov.uk/townhalls .