Key People for the Band.
Any organisation of the size of Tutbury Band requires leading and organising to enable it to function. This page is dedicated to some of the key people responsible for the quality of what the band can produce. Before getting into detail though, it should be acknowledged that the band is a collection of people, all of whom contribute the whole. The whole band contributes to the playing, setting up for concerts and clearing up after concerts. This is done with a spirit of willingness and good humour which make the band such a pleasant organisation to be a part of.
Kevin Orton
Tutbury Band is directed by Kevin Orton who is our Principal Conductor. He is dedicated to his role and leads us all with good humour and incredible patience. He is extremely positive, welcoming and encouraging to all players and, without doubt, gets the best out of all the players.
Kevin has been a member of Tutbury Band for many years, having previously conducted the Junior Band, as well as playing the trumpet in main band. Kevin took over the baton from the founder of Tutbury Band Malcom Heywood in 2003. He has previously played in a number of bands and orchestras, including: The National Youth Brass Ensemble of Great Britain, CLB National Band, Derbyshire County Youth Orchestra, Wind Band and Brass Ensemble.
He has an amazing feel for the music we play and can translate this in a way that gets the players improving their performance. He is always ready for a laugh and has a signature piece which is El Cumbanchero during which he pays tribute to the Yorkshire accent, not to say, murders it, but we have to forgive him for his courage……..come and listen, you’ll understand what this is reference to! Sorry Kevin! It has to be said!
Chris Perfitt
Chris has played Trombone on the band for many years. He could probably play a lot of the music without having to read it! He also conducts the band to take some of the burden off Kevin. Kevin can then take a weekend off in a while and can have a holiday. Chris’s knowledge of the music is as excellent as Kevin’s but his style is slightly different which makes for some good variety for the band and the benefit of two, equally good, approaches to the music.
He has different tastes in music to Kevin which again provides variety and makes for interesting chellenges for the band. He is, however, responsible for encouraging a piece called Party Mix which has very MIXed support from the band. It came out of the conductor’s box in a cloud of dust and, sadly, was played! Aargh!
On a serious note both Kevin and Chris are very much appreciated by the band for their dedication to the band and enabling us all to enjoy playing each week.
Our membership consists of players aged from 9 to nearly 90 – we believe that it’s never to late to learn – indeed many of our new members join us after spending time as a member of our Junior Band! Whilst many of members learnt their musical skills at school, a fair number of them started playing later in life – something we actively encourage!
A good number of our members have been playing in the band for many years. Our membership contains people from many walks of life, including members who are: teachers, doctors, students, retired, engineers and business people to name but a few – all have a common love of making music. Tutbury Band welcomes enquiries from musicians of Grade 4 standard upwards wishing to join, please see our Membership pages for details.
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