Cory will take to the stage at the British Open at Symphony Hall next month with a quartet of new signings welcomed into the ranks.

New arrivals

Harvey Rees joins from Tongwynlais Band where he was principal cornet. The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a pupil of Cory principal cornet Tom Hutchinson.

Meanwhile, Kyle Blake, previously solo trombone with City of Bradford Band joins the Cory section. Having recently graduated from Huddersfield University he has now relocated to Wales to start a new teaching job.

In addition, the horn section also welcomes two new recruits in Bobby Corkish, a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music who has played with Fairey Band for the past five years, and the experienced Karen Fletcher who has played solo horn with Cory's near-neighbours Tylorstown Band for several years.

Promotion

The new signings has meant promotion for cornet player Hannah Plumridge who takes on the repiano role, following the band bidding farewell to Stephanie Wilkins who moved to Manchester to take up a new job opportunity and the principal cornet seat Fairey Band.

It means we keep the team fresh and hungry for success and I extend a warm welcome to all of our new recruitsPhillip Harper

Fresh and hungry

Speaking about the appointments, Musical Director Philip Harper told 4BR: "It's always sad to see players leave the band, and at Cory there is a relatively low turnover of players. So to have to bring in four new players at the same time has felt like an unusual event!

However, we've worked really hard to find the best quality replacements for each seat, and I'm delighted with every one of them.

It means we keep the team fresh and hungry for success and I extend a warm welcome to all of our new recruits."