Senior Band
Conductor: Michael Fowles
Rehearses: Sundays (6-8pm) & Wednesdays (8-10pm)
The Senior Band is the organisation's premiere ensemble and competes in the Championship Section.
The Band was founded in its present form in 1906, although records suggest that a band existed in the village many years before that date. Intense change and improvement took place in the early 60's under the guidance of then conductor John Bancroft, and the Band began to teach more and more local children, this gave added imputes to the bands progress to such an extent that from the fourth section in 1967 they began to rise steadily through the sections until reaching their goal which was the Championship section in 1978.
During this period under the baton of Miss Betty Anderson, the Band competed at the British Open Championships whilst still graded in the Second section. Ratby are the only band to ever take the stage at the British Open with a female conductor. They have travelled extensively on the continent and have represented Great Britain eight times at the World Music Contest held every four years in Kerkrade, Holland. On each occasion the Band has been awarded the Gold Medal, a record for the Festival and on the last three occasions in 1997, 2001 and 2005, they were crowned World Champions of their section attaining the Champions banner and medal of distinction.
| CURRENT PLAYERS | |
|---|---|
| Soprano | Will O'Brien |
| Principal Cornet | Ian Dickman |
| Solo Cornets | Geoff Wood |
| Adrian Fletcher | |
| Harvey Rogers | |
| David Purkiss | |
| Repiano Cornet | Phil Hall |
| Second Cornets | Julie Taylor |
| Demi-Leigh Hurst | |
| Third Cornets | Kate Woodward |
| Sheralyn Newman | |
| Flugelhorn | Guido Damore |
| Solo Horn | Matthew Taylor |
| First Horn | Julie Kenney |
| Second Horn | Julia Hendry |
| Solo Baritone | Kaye Root |
| Second Baritone | Neil Kenney |
| Solo Euphonium | Rob Hunt |
| Second Euphonium | Chris Jelly |
| Solo Trombone | Becky Moss |
| Tony Bryan | |
| Second Trombone | Rachel Horsewood |
| Bass Trombone | Steven Greenall |
| Eb Bass | Laura White |
| Steve North | |
| Nathan Simms | |
| Bb Bass | Graeme Foulds |
| Greg Webber | |
| Percussion | Steve Plant |
| Ellie Wingett | |
| Lee Gilbert | |
Recent Contest Results
| Year | Contest | Conductor | Pos | Draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Inter-County Challenge (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 1 | 3 |
| 2009 | Kerkrade World Music Contest (1st Division) | Michael Fowles | 2 | - |
| 2009 | Spring Festival (Senior Cup) | Michael Fowles | 10 | 14 |
| 2009 | Midlands Area (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 11 | 7 |
| 2008 | Leicester BBA Contest (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 1 | 6 |
| 2008 | Inter-County Challenge (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 2 | 1 |
| 2008 | Spring Festival (Senior Cup) | Brett Baker | 6 | 6 |
| 2008 | Midlands Area (Ch section) | Brett Baker | 8 | 3 |
| 2007 | Leicester BBA Contest (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 3 | |
| 2007 | Spring Festival (Senior Cup) | Steve Sykes | 17 | 12 |
| 2007 | Midlands Area (Ch section) | Brett Baker | 4 | 7 |
| 2006 | Spring Festival (Senior Trophy) | Brett Baker | 4 | 17 |
| 2006 | Midlands Area (Ch section) | Martin Winter | 8 | 6 |
| 2005 | Leicester BBA Contest (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 2 | 3 |
| 2005 | Kerkrade World Music Contest (1st Division) | Michael Fowles | 1 | - |
| 2005 | Spring Festival (Senior Trophy) | Dr Roy Newsome | 11 | 8 |
| 2005 | Midlands Area (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 9 | 12 |
| 2004 | Pontins (Mortimer Championship) | Stanley Lippeatt | 15 | 18 |
| 2004 | Leicester BBA Contest (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 2 | 1 |
| 2004 | Spring Festival (Senior Cup) | David Maplestone | 18 | 7 |
| 2004 | Midlands Area (Ch section) | Michael Fowles | 5 | 10 |
| 2003 | West Midlands BBA | Jeremy Wise | 4 | 4 |
| 2003 | Leicester BBA Contest (Ch section) | Jeremy Wise | 2 | 3 |
| 2003 | Wychavon Festival of Brass | Kevin Steward | 8 | 11 |