GAVIN PRITCHARD
Gavin Pritchard was born in Yorkshire into a very musical environment. At the time, his father Gareth, was Principal Cornet with the Brodsworth Colliery Band and then GUS/Rigid Containers Band. As a toddler, Gavin would regularly attend rehearsals with his father often sitting under his seat listening to the band. He even learned how to follow (the percussion line at least) a score before he could read and write. It was also not unusual to find Gavin in the kitchen with pots, pans and wooden spoons playing his own “drum kit”!
At the end of 1990, the whole family moved to Norway and Gavin immediately became involved with music on a more serious level. His first band was Tomrefjord Skulekorps from the small village of Tomrefjord (2,000 inhabitants) in the North West of Norway. His father was the conductor at the time and when he was given a list of players, he noticed that there was a vacancy on percussion. Bearing in mind events with Gavin up to that point and also initially seeing it as a way to meet new friends, he suggested that Gavin take the vacant spot in the percussion group. Thus began his career as a Percussionist.
Gavin’s progress as a percussionist was quite startling and during his very successful time in Norway, he played with: Tomrefjord Skulekorps, Molde Brass Band, Molde Symphony Orchestra, Haukaas Musikklag, Radoy Brass, Sandefjord Brass Symposium, Vestfold Symphony Orchestra, Nanset Wind Band and as an invited guest player with the Royal Norwegian Navy Band. He won every major Competition in Norway (including the Norwegian National Championships with 2 different bands in 3 different Divisions). The highlights being his time at Sandefjord, where the band won SIDDIS Brass (the Norwegian National Entertainment Contest) in 1996 and the Norwegian National Brass Band Championships 1st Section 1996 and Championship Section in 1998. He also won the Norwegian National Wind Band Championships with Nanset Wind Band in 1996.
In April 1998, the family moved back to England and Gavin immediately joined the JJB Sports Leyland Band where he spent a short, but happy 5 months before being offered the position of Principal Percussionist with the Yorkshire Building Society Band. During his time at YBS, in addition to the Band’s many contest successes (every major Championship at least once – except the National Brass Band Championships) Gavin was regularly featured as a soloist with the band. Gavin has since joined the Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band, winning the title of Yorkshire Regional Champions, at his first competition with the band.
He studied from 1998 until 2002 at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester under his main tutor Ian Wright, supported by Liz Gilliver, Dave Hassell, Graham Johns and Paul Patrick. In 2001 he took part in the International Timpani Competition at the Conservatoire Superieur in Paris, getting to the semi-final stage and in October 2002 attended the Percussive Arts Society Conference in Ohio, funded in part by the Lady Groves Award.
From 2002 until 2003 he studied at Salford University, gaining a First Class Honors Degree with Distinction. During his time at Salford University, he also won the Mortimer Award for Performance. He now teaches Percussion there and also teaches at the Kingsway School in Cheadle.
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