It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of our musical director, Nick Dawson, on the 21st February 2025 after a short illness.
Nick has conducted the band for the past 32 years with a dedication that is second to none. He has performed beyond the call of duty for what would be expected of any musical director. He spent many hours of his free time preparing for concerts, making sure that we had enough players for each band engagement and liaising with the organisers of those events to make sure they got what they required from the band.
In the last 20 years, with the exception of the last 3 weeks, we don’t believe he ever missed a band rehearsal, even choosing to take his holidays from a Tuesday to a Sunday to avoid missing rehearsal on a Monday night.
Nick is irreplaceable, but we know he would want the band to continue in his absence. To that end, we are intending to go ahead with our Spring Concert on the 22nd March at St. James Road Methodist Church, Shirley. Details for that concert and how to get tickets can be found by clicking on the Latest News page of this website or viewing our Facebook page. The concert is a TV Themes concert based on a concept that Nick designed and we will be dedicating the concert in his memory.
Further reflections and stories about Nick will appear in due course on this website.