Brighouse Announce David Thornton As New MD

Following the departure of Leigh Baker, The Brighouse and Rastrick Band are happy to announce that Dr. David Thornton will be taking over as musical director of the band in 2017.

The role will see David conduct the band in a busy calendar year of concerts and recordings, as well as preparing the band before the arrival of professional conductor Professor David King.

Commenting on his new position, David told A4B: “Of course, I’m delighted at the prospect of working with B&R as their new musical director. It’s both exciting and rather daunting, the responsibility of maintaining the quality they’ve had throughout the band’s 135 year history is a big job. But with the sheer ability and musical spirit of the current cast of players, I’m confident that this next period will be successful both in the competitive field and on the concert stage. It’s also a real pleasure to be working with Professor David King again, he’s been a direct influence on my own career for a long time now and his addictive brand of music making is fantastic to be part of.

I’d also like to thank the Foden’s Band. It certainly wasn’t my intention to make my stint as their solo euphonium so short, 16 months is no time at all, but opportunities must be taken when they arise. Foden’s have a quite incredible infrastructure, it’s a working model for any band to follow and I have admired everything they achieve, especially through new music commissions and their education initiatives.”

Band spokesman Ryan Watkins told A4B: “The band are delighted to have acquired the professional services of David in front of the band. Back when David played in the band , he would cover as conductor at rehearsals and concerts and we were extremely impressed with his ability back then. To say we’re extremely pleased we now have his services full time again back at West Riding is an understatement.”