2007 New Zealand Brass Band Championships

The Adjudicators

Nigel Boddice from Scotland is this years Chief Adjudicator. He will be ably assisted by New Zealander David Gallaher.

Chief Adjudicator
Nigel Boddice

Nigel Boddice MBE, Hon. A.R.A.M., enjoys a busy, impressive, and enterprising conducting career.

For his musical input and work with the youth of Scotland generally and West Lothian in particular, Nigel has been awarded the MBE in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours.

For much of the last ten years has enjoyed travelling throughout Europe to conduct bands of all combinations. Highlights include the appointment as Chief Conductor to the Royal Norwegian Navy Band where for seven years he helped to develop a far reaching reputation for the ensemble whilst discovering new music, working alongside international soloists and cutting six excellent cd's which have all received fine reviews.

From that springboard other professional wind band engagements, tours and recordings followed suit with the F.R.O., Southern and Eastern Army bands of Norway. Back home in Scotland Nigel has enjoyed the standards set at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with both wind and brass orchestras, the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Scotland for some six years, and the two much heralded cd's Celebrations and The Gathering cut by the West Lothian Celebrity Winds, featuring many fine contemporary works from in particular Scottish composers.

As an educationalist within music, which stems from his 21 year association with the West Lothian music service there are frequent invitations and visits to summer schools and courses worldwide which have ranged from all the four corners of Scotland to regular forays into Europe and U.S.A.

The Boddice family are steeped in the brass band world and he was taught in the local band at Church Gresley before developing at the NYBBGB and then on to the Royal Academy of Music as a trumpeter. It was also the brass band movement that gave Nigel his first chances to conduct and provide the backdrop for his current work.

Over the years he has worked with most of the top Scottish bands and has guest directed at YBS, Manger , Silkeborg and more recently in Molde on the beautiful fjord coast of Norway. This has since developed into invitations to adjudicate at European, National, Norwegian, Danish, Scottish, Northern and Yorkshire championship competitions whilst for individual levels he was appointed as external examiner at the University of Salford and at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

For his special association with the young musicians of West Lothian he accepted the inaugural presentation of the Mortimer Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians in London and for his prolific presentation of contemporary music he was honoured by the Scottish Composers Society.

Nigel Boddice's career has been built on the solid foundation of a twenty year appointment [ 1975-95 ] as principal trumpet with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and subsequent conducting engagements with the BBCSSO, the Ulster Orchestra and the Armenian Chamber Orchestra ' Serenade' in Yerevan as well as a host of freelance orchestras giving him a strong repertoire base in several mediums.

Assitant Chief Adjudicator
David Gallaher

For David Gallaher a career and passion for brass teaching and conducting began in the Deep South. David began his interest in brass bands as a youngster in the St Kilda Junior Band. Membership of the St Kilda Band was followed by selection for several New Zealand National Youth Bands. After a period of study at Otago University and Dunedin Teachers' College, David joined the Invercargill Garrison Band following a teaching appointment in Southland.  Many of David's former students have gone on to National Youth Bands and National Bands. David was himself a member of the National Band of New Zealand in 1980, 1985 and 1992.In 2005 as a result of his work in education; David was awarded the KBB Scholarship to attend the International Mid-Western Orchestra and Band Festival.
 
David moved to Christchurch in 1989 to join Woolston Brass as a horn player and deputy musical director under Ken Smith. David cites the wonderful influences of Ken and the late Mervyn Waters on his teaching and conducting.  Upon Ken's retirement David was appointed conductor of Woolston Brass in 1997.  In his ten-year tenure with Woolston, David directed the Band to five New Zealand Championships as well as winning the Band of the Year title seven times. 

In 2003 David was appointed as the Music Director of the National Band of New Zealand, which toured the North Island. A further appointment was made for him to conduct the band on its 2005 European tour.  The commissioning of New Zealand compositions for the tour was significant for David. He has been instrumental in the commissioning of New Zealand works and the recording of these with both Woolston Brass and The National Band.  He views this aspect of New Zealand brass banding as essential in helping to forge our own unique place in the world family of brass bands.

The establishment of a Brass Instrument Course at Canterbury University in 2006 realised a long held ambition for David and this now currently occupies his attention along with his ongoing work in primary and secondary schools.