Southampton Wind Band

 David King was born and brought up in Eastleigh and began playing the clarinet in his teens.  He joined the Royal Air Force and spent five years playing in the RAF Central Band in Uxbridge.  During this time he was awarded the Cassel Prize and the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Silver Medal. In 1959 he gained an A level in music and was rewarded with a place at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

After graduating with a diploma in Conducting as well as a degree in Music, David began his teaching career at Billingshurst School in West Sussex where he also conducted the school orchestra. Four years later, he transferred to Hampshire as a peripatetic woodwind teacher for the County Music Services.  For five years, whilst with Hampshire, he directed the ‘Theatre Orchestra’, an ensemble formed of Music Service teachers who travelled to surrounding schools to encourage the take up of music tuition amongst the pupils and to encourage them to join their local ensembles.

In 1983, David, along with his partner, Elaine, took over the Directorship of the Southampton Youth Wind Band (then a disjointed group of only fourteen members) and on 12th July 1984 they performed their first official concert. Together with the committee of the time, David and Elaine had a real struggle to keep the band in existence and, in order to persuade the Hampshire Music Service that the band was worth maintaining, they needed to increase numbers quickly. They succeeded and, by the time the band went on tour to Austria in 1989, it rivalled the one you can see today both in size and in quality.

Originally started by Hampshire as a ‘feeder’ band for their County Youth Orchestra, the Wind Band now comes under Southampton Music Services.  It is one of their top four ensembles and has performed more concerts than any of the others this year.  Their recent concert with Southampton Concert Wind Band and guest composer, Guy Woolfenden has led to a number of requests to perform with other organisations, such as Southampton University Symphonic Wind Orchestra and the Army R.E.M.E. Band.  The calendar for next year is already full.

David spends 3-4 days a week planning concerts, sorting music and generally maintaining the smooth running of the band.  Over the years, he has arranged many solo items especially for band members to perform with wind band accompaniment.  Most recent were the Bartók Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and the Berkeley Recorder Sonata, both of which were performed this year. It can take David up to 3 months to handwrite the score and parts before they are ready to go in the pads.

All this would not be possible, of course, without his partner, Elaine, whose help and support allows him to concentrate on music.  She manages the non-musical aspects of running the band and has worked very hard over the years to organise the tours both at home and abroad.  In the past, the band has made several visits to France, Holland and Austria and in 2007 they travelled further afield to Prague.  In April 2009 they completed a hugely successful tour of the Rhineland in Germany.

Alex Pope is recognised in Southampton as an energetic and renowned musician and projects co-ordinator. He is often in demand as an accomplished percussionist around the country and can often be found organising new ventures and promoting percussion in Southampton. 

Currently the Percussion Co-ordinator & a peripatetic percussion tutor for Southampton Music Services, Alex's roles include coaching the percussion sections of several youth ensembles within the service, Assistant Musical Director of the Southampton Youth Wind Band and Director/Founder of the Supersonic Percussion Ensemble.

Alex enjoys conducting and performing in both amateur and professional theatre productions and has played percussion in several shows, both in Southampton and as far as London including Les Miserables, Hairspray, Jesus Christ Superstar, Anything Goes, Oliver and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang starring Michael Ball at the London Palladium. In July 2010, Alex conducted the Gantry Youth Theatre production of OKLAHOMA!

Recently, Alex performed in a concert commissioning 2 works by South American composer Adriana Isabel Figuera Manas. "Two Impressions for Xylophone & Vibraphone" and "El Arbol" proved a great success and Alex thanks Barbara Howells for offering him the opportunity to be part of the project.

As an enthusiastic and energetic projects co-ordinator, Alex has spent time as the Orchestral and Concert Director for the Charity Symphony Orchestra (www.charityso.org.uk). Other recent projects include arranging a concert to mark David King's 25th Anniversary as Director of the Southampton Youth Wind Band in June 2009. Alex also acts as an Entertainments Assistant at Sunrise Senior Living in Southampton, organising several musical performances for the residents.

In June 2010, Alex founded the Showcase Percussion Association (SPA), an organisation aimed at supporting a new programme of concerts designed to showcase and promote the art of percussion in Southampton and beyond. Supported by an expert Management and Artistic team, Alex plans to take SPA further afield, and to inspire youngsters into how playing musical instruments can transform their lives and channel their energies into positive things.

For more information please visit www.alexgingeypope.com or www.showcasepercussion.com