Musical Directors

GARETH PRITCHARD – LTCL, FTCL

Gareth Pritchard

Gareth has been the Musical Director of The Lewis Merthyr Band since May 2007.

Born in the mining village of Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales, he began playing Cornet in the local Colliery Band in 1964 and by 1966 was the “under 12” Solo Champion of Wales.

He studied Cornet with David Thomas (ex Principal Cornet of the Stanshawe Band) and Ieuan Morgan MBE, OBE (ex Conductor of Parc & Dare and Upper Rhondda School Bands).

He entered Trinity College of Music, London in 1974 to study Trumpet with Norman Burgess (Principal Trumpet of the BBC Concert Orchestra), Composition with Vera Ayton and Conducting with Bernard Keefe attaining LTCL (Teacher’s Diploma) by the 3rd year and being admitted a Fellow of the College FTCL at the end of the 4th year.

Gareth has played Principal Cornet for Parc & Dare, Fairey Engineering, Brodsworth Colliery and GUS/Rigid Containers Bands winning Granada Band of the Year in 1979 and the British Open in 1979 and 1988. He has come under the influence of many eminent Conductors such as Dennis Carr, Walter Hargreaves, Harry Mortimer, Roy Newsome, Major Peter Parkes and Bram Tovey. Gareth was Cornet Solo Champion of Great Britain in both 1977 and 1979, and has performed regularly as a soloist all over the world and on many radio broadcasts and Recordings.

In 1991 Gareth moved to Norway as a “full time” Freelance Musician, and has conducted a band to 1st prize at the National Finals there on an unprecedented four occasions in three different divisions (including the Championship Section with Sandefjord Brass Symposium in 1998) in only seven attempts. He also won SIDDIS Brass (the Norwegian "Brass in Concert”) with Sandefjord using three of his pieces in their programme. He is also regularly invited to conduct other Norwegian Championship Section Brass Bands and Professional Military Bands. He has also been Musical Advisor and Conductor of the Telemark Wind Orchestra and Telemark Summer School since 1996, and regularly visits Norway as a Guest Conductor. His arrangements and compositions are extensively played in Norway and New Zealand and have also been recorded by Brass and Military Bands in Norway.

Since returning to the UK in 1998, he has been Professional Conductor for Besses o’ th’ Barn, Bodmin Town and BTM Bands and also Musical Director for East Yorkshire Motor Services Band.

Gareth is in regular demand as an adjudicator at home and abroad and is a member of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators.

Gareth and his family eventually came home to Wales in 2006 and since that time has been the Musical Director of the Tongwynlais Temperance Band, and in 2007 he was appointed the Musical Director of the Lewis Merthyr Band. Gareth has accepted an invitation to become the Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor to the St Austell Band in Cornwall.

Along with his involvement in the Brass Band movement, Gareth runs his own Music Publications and Printing Company “JAGRINS”, which he relocated to the Rhondda Valley in South Wales, when he and his family returned to the Rhondda in 2006.

RESIDENT CONDUCTOR - FREDRICK [FRED] NICHOLAS

Fredrick (Fred) Nicholas is a graduate of Cardiff University. He joined the Cambrian Male Voice Choir in 1979, and has been its Musical Director ever since. He is Head of Music at the Bryncelynog Comprehensive School, Beddau, Pontypridd.

An accomplished brass player, was a member of the Mid Rhondda brass band for many years, and he has conducted the Rogerstone, Ynyshir and Lewis Merthyr brass bands.

Fred has appeared on TV, and BBC Radio Wales, where he featured in the first of a new series, “First Hand” which gave an insight into his commitment to musical activities. Fred has also had a long association with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.

He has been associated with the Lewis Merthyr Band, as both a player and conductor since the early 80’s to the present.

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR – 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 was also a member of the Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band, winning the title of Yorkshire Regional Champions, at his first competition with the band, until his family move to South Wales.

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 Honours Degree with Distinction. During his time at Salford University, he also won the Mortimer Award for Performance. Since the family move back to the Rhondda Valley in 2006, Gavin has worked along side his father, in their Music Publishing and Printing Company “JAGRINS”, now based in the Rhondda, also teaching in the locality, as well as being a member of the Percussion section of the Cory Band.