I
have been married to Chris since 1989 and have a step-son and a step-daughter, Barry and
Cheryl.
Cheryl
is married to Roy and they have a son, Matthew, and his new sister Stephanie.
My
forte has always been music since I began piano lessons at the
age of seven, along with training in classical singing.
On
leaving school my parents suggested that I audition for one
of the military bands and so I went to the Royal Navy recruiting
office in Brighton where I applied to join the Band
of H.M. Royal Marines..
At
the age of fifteen and a half having successfully passed the
Royal Marines audition, I was accepted into the Royal Marines
School of Music based in Deal, Kent; where I studied orchestral
percussion for two and a half years. On completion of training
I had the good fortune to be posted to the Staff Band of H.M.
Royal Marines, also based in Deal.
Having
served in the band up to 1979, I took up a percussion teaching
post in the Sultan of Oman's Royal Army Band, followed by seventeen
years in the Central Band
of the Royal Air Force and the Band of the Royal Air Force
Regiment.
During
this period I worked for a while in the orchestra for the world
famous London West End hit show Les
Miserables at the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, on
drums. I have also appeared on many recordings, tv shows, and
television with various bands and ensembles..
A
lot of my spare time was also spent working with various brass
bands including Luton Brass
Band, Hangleton
Band, Patcham Brass Band, Welwyn
Garden City Band, Handcross Band, Ware Brass Band, Betteshanger
Brass Band, Tilmanstone Colliery Band, Margate Silver, and
Birchington
Silver Band.
As
if I didn't have enough on my plate I worked for eleven years
on most afternoons in various schools as a percussion teacher
for Croydon Music Teaching Agency. Weekends were given over
to gigging with the trio "First Choice" working the
West London clubs.
Having
travelled the world with the British Forces, I left the Central
Band of the RAF in 1999 when I was once more offered a post
in the Middle East as a Warrant Officer in the Sultan of Oman's
Forces teaching percussion in the Band of the Royal Air Force
of Oman based near Muscat. I am still resident here in Oman,
visiting the UK three times a year.
The
Staff Band of H.M. Royal Marines
(Royal
Marines School of Music, Deal, Kent. 1972 -1978)
Royal Marines Band Website
The
Royal Marines Band, HMS Fearless
(Mediterranean
1977)
-16-09-2003%5Draleigh.gif)
The
Royal Marines Band, Flag Officer Plymouth
(HMS
Raleigh. 1978 - 1979)
The
Band of the Sultans Royal Army of Oman
(Percussion
Instructor at Muaskar Al Mutafa'a, Oman. 1980.)
The
Central Band of the Royal Air Force
(RAF
Uxbridge. 1982 - 1995 and 1997 - 1999)
The
Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment
(RAF
Northolt. 1995 - 1997)
The
Band of the Royal Air Force of Oman
(WO1
Senior Percussion Instructor at RAFO Ghalla, Sultanate of Oman. 1999 to the
present day)
Kindly
report any dead links to me at ghart@blueyonder.co.uk
