The Band

Redland Wind Band has over 40 members who hail from across Bristol and beyond.  We have a good mix of players from those who have just joined, to those that were there when it all started, in Redland Library, back in 1996.  Nowadays rehearsals take place every Monday at 7.30pm throughout the year, with the exception of public holidays and a few weeks around Christmas.  

 

We rehearse in Redland Parish Hall, a modern building with level access and relatively easy, free on-street parking nearby.  There are bike stands by the door.   

 

Our standard year tends to include putting on concerts in the Spring and before Christmas in Bristol and performing at two or three bandstands, usually outside of Bristol, over the summer.  There is then often at least one more performance each year.

 

In addition to our weekly rehearsals we sometimes have day workshops in Bristol and every few years we go away together for a full weekend of music making. For these events we sometimes bring in guest conductors which have included Alex Arkwright, Sean O’Niell, Paul Hornsby and Colin Touchin, amongst others.  In addition the band has undertaken tours of Devon, Budapest, Bruges and Salzburg.  

 

The band is a charity and as such aims to maintain or increase involvement in music-making and music education and further the appreciation of music in society. 

 

A small group from the band regularly performs in Bristol primary schools to introduce the instruments of the wind band to pupils and share the fun that can be had as an amateur musician. We can also sometimes be found out and about busking in Bristol before Christmas.  

 

Musical Director

Our current musical director is Chris Gibbons.  Chris is a clarinettist, conductor and educator based in Cardiff. He was appointed Musical Director of Redland Wind Band in 2018 and has since enjoyed a busy schedule of concert performances, rehearsals and workshops with the band. Chris began conducting at the age of 16 and has since worked with orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs and a variety of smaller groups and chamber ensembles. Alongside Redland, Chris is the Musical Director for CoMA Bristol where he combines his interests in contemporary music and musical direction.

 

Chris studied music at Cardiff University, before moving to Manchester to pursue clarinet performance at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). He graduated with a distinction in his MMus from the RNCM, before moving back to Cardiff to establish himself as a freelance musician. Chris was awarded a scholarship to undertake further study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) where he gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Professional Practice, also with distinction. As a clarinettist, Chris has worked with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and London Sinfonietta, among others. His freelance work has included concert performances and recording sessions for film and television. As a soloist he has played concertos with the Royal Forest of Dean Orchestra and Capriol Chamber Orchestra. Chris is keenly interested in contemporary music, and played clarinet and saxophone for the touring production and filming of Robert Fokkens’ monodrama Bhekizizwe in 2022.

 

Chris is the Visiting Music Tutor for saxophone at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, and also teaches the clarinet and saxophone at QEH in Bristol and Wycliffe College in  Gloucestershire. Chris devotes a lot of his free time to music, but also enjoys cycling, hiking and photography. He lives with his partner and their cat, Twenty-Two.