Abbey Brass (Abingdon) welcomes Cory MD Philip Harper to their bandroom on Wednesday 4th March to help their preparations for their forthcoming Fourth Section Regional challenge in Stevenage later this month.

The band recently showcased their progress under MD Rob Tompkins at the Oxford (ODBBA) contest and received a very helpful adjudication from Paul Norley that highlighted areas to work on in the coming weeks.

Confidence boost

Now they hope that Philip's visit will boost their confidence even further as they look to improve on last year's top-ten finish.

Speaking to 4BR Rob Tompkins said: "It's always a pleasure to welcome Phil back to Abingdon where he was born and spent his early years.

I spoke to him after we played at the Oxford contest and he had a look through the comments from Paul Norley, so he arrives well prepared as ever."

We are making great progress with Christopher Bond's super test-piece, 'Neverland' and I'm sure Phil will up our performance level more than a notch or twoRob Tompkins

Pencil in hand

He added: "We are making great progress with Christopher Bond's super test-piece, 'Neverland' and I'm sure Phil will up our performance level more than a notch or two.

We are all looking forward to welcoming him back for what is his fourth visit, and I will be listening intently with pencil in hand!"