Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain under the direction of Guest Conductor Colonel Barringer MVO MBE and The British Army Brass Band joint concert.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, we honour the courage and sacrifice of those who secured our freedom. We also recognise all those who have gone before us, to make The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain the best youth brass band in the world.
This concert also marks a significant milestone in our three-year partnership with The Royal Corps of Army Music, the UK’s largest employer of professional brass band musicians. This collaboration offers the young musicians of The NYBBGB unparalleled opportunities to learn from and perform with British Army musicians. Tonight’s performance embodies our shared commitment to musical excellence and remembrance.
The NYBBGB is extremely grateful to British Army Music for their generous support.
Guest Conductor
Colonel David Barringer MVO MBE has had an incredible journey in the world of music. He joined the Army in 1989 and studied at the Army Junior School of Music in Pirbright and the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall. In 1993, he became a part of the Coldstream Guards Band as a tuba player.
David’s passion for conducting started early. In 1998, he won the London heat of the Young Conductor of the Year Competition and was the runner-up in the National final. In 2000, he went on to represent Great Britain at the first European Conductor of the Year competition.
David’s talent and dedication led him to many prestigious roles. He progressed to become a British Army Bandmaster and was later commissioned as an officer. He became the Director of Music for the Band of the Royal Corps of Signals, the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Band of the Welsh Guards. In 2018, he was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his hard work and contribution to the Army and Army Music.
In 2019, David became the youngest ever Principal Director of Music (Army) and oversaw the Military Music Optimisation programme. He was appointed as Commanding Officer of the Household Division Bands and was the musical director for the State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Coronation Procession and Concert for HM King Charles III, and was the project lead for significant national events such as the Festival of Remembrance. In recognition of his service to the Monarch, he was invested as a Member of the Victorian Order (MVO) in June 2023.
David’s musical journey is a testament to his dedication and talent. He is also a devoted family man, married to Emma, with two children, William and Evie.
Maj Brenden Wheeler hails from Cairns, Australia where his passion for brass playing began in the tropical climate of Far North Queensland. With strong encouragement from his parents, he began playing the trombone and euphonium at the age of 9. At the age of 15, Brenden was selected to perform at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney and later that year was appointed Principal Trombone of the North Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra.
Brenden began his tertiary education at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane in 2003. During this time, he established his musical links with the Brisbane Excelsior Band and was part of the band’s first historic victory at the Australian National Championships in which he went on to retain for three consecutive years. In September 2004, Brenden won a scholarship and moved to the UK to continue his studies at the University of Salford with leading brass educationalist and fellow Australian, Professor David King. He quickly established himself in the UK brass music scene and only six months after his arrival, won the prestigious 2005 BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist title.
As a soloist, Brenden has won many awards; including the Grenland International Best Soloist Award in Norway; and has performed at the UK’s premiere venues and toured extensively throughout Europe and Asia and featured as a soloist on many recordings.
Brenden joined the British Army in 2009 to become a professional musician within the Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM). After completing training, he was posted to his first military band The Heavy Cavalry & Cambrai Band in Catterick, North Yorkshire. Three years later, Brenden attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned into RCAM. On completion of the Young Officers’ Course at the Royal Military School of Music in Twickenham, 2Lt Wheeler was assigned as the Assistant Director of Music at The Band and Bugles of the Rifles. He was then subsequently assigned to the Army Foundation College in Harrogate as Officer Commanding 2 Platoon, where his platoon won the prestigious Mallon Trophy award for the best platoon in Waterloo Company. In 2017, Captain Wheeler was appointed as Director of Music at The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps and managed the transition to British Army Band Catterick under the Military Music Optimisation programme in 2019. In 2020, Major Wheeler attended the staff course in Shrivenham before being assigned as SO2 J35 within Permanent Joint Headquarters as part of the team responsible for the acceleration of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. In 2021, Major Wheeler was assigned to a J5 appointment at Joint Force Command Naples, Italy before returning to the UK as the Director of Music for the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in August 2023.
SSgt (BM) Greg Waters was born in Bournemouth and spent much of his adolescence in the Welsh valley of Rhondda Cynon Taff. At age 17, he was handed his late grandfather’s cornet, igniting his love of brass band music and subsequently classical and military music.
SSgt (BM) Waters founded and musically directed the University of Sheffield Brass Band in 2014, recently returning as Guest Conductor for their ten-year anniversary.
In 2018, he attended the world-famous Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall, and in September of that year was assigned to the Band of the Coldstream Guards. Just three years later, SSgt (BM) Waters was selected for the British Army Bandmasters Course, and as a member of the Bramwell Tovey Class, he achieved Best Conductor, Best Academic and Best Overall Student Bandmaster.
SSgt (BM) Waters is currently the Bandmaster of Band Catterick, The Royal Corps of Army Music’s brass band in North Yorkshire. Outside of military music he enjoys conducting orchestras, taking inspiration from conducting maestro Carlos Kleiber. He cites Mahler, R Strauss and Wilfred Heaton among his favourite composers and is obsessed with Strauss’ ‘An Alpine Symphony’ and Heaton’s ‘Toccata, Oh the Blessed Lord’.
About British Army Music
The Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) was formed in 1994 by unifying all regular Army bands under one Corps. In January 2021, The Countess of Wessex (now The Duchess of Edinburgh), Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps, bestowed the Royal Title to the Corps, renaming the Corps to The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM).
All regular Army bands are now part of The Royal Corps of Army Music. The Corps’ former headquarters, Kneller Hall, was opened by HRH Field Marshal the Duke of Cambridge in 1857, and had since been the home of Army music. In 1887, Her Majesty Queen Victoria retitled the establishment to the Royal Military School of Music (RMSM), where for over a century, Army musicians receive their training. In 2021, the Corps’ headquarters and RMSM were moved to Minley and Portsmouth respectively.
Externally known as British Army Music, RCAM’s musicians deliver musical support to the Army and the wider Defence community. Through music, our musicians sustain and develop the moral component of fighting power, support state ceremonial events, and achieve influence both domestically and on the international stage. Having just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the organisation’s establishment, British Army Music continues to deliver world-class performances to further Defence’s and national interests.