The Geneva Group has announced that Dr David Thornton will become a Development Consultant & Performance Artist.

The Musical Director of Grimethorpe Colliery Band and Senior Tutor in Brass Bands at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester will take on the role with immediate effect.

Beautiful fit

alking about the appointment he told 4BR: "My working life is devoted to brass banding and this new relationship with Geneva fits beautifully alongside my roles with Grimethorpe and at the RNCM.

I've been testing and playing on the Geneva euphoniums for a while now and the quality is fantastic.

The aspects I look for in any instrument include the core sound quality and ease of playing — both of which are simply outstanding on these euphoniums."

Proactive

He added: "That came as no surprise really. I've been a huge fan of both Dan Thomas and Glenn Van Looy and listening to them play it's obvious how at ease they are with their Geneva models.

In addition, the company has a fresh, proactive outlook to development and support for players and I'm thoroughly looking forward to working with them on various projects."

David will play a crucial role in the next stage of development of our fantastic range of instruments being showcased in workshops, educational projects and our new Geneva FoundationGeneva Group.

First note

In response to the news, Tim Oldroyd, CEO of Geneva Group added: "David is known and respected throughout the banding world as a fantastic musician. We could tell he liked the instrument from the first note he played on a recent visit to the Geneva workshop.

David will play a crucial role in the next stage of development of our fantastic range of instruments being showcased in workshops, educational projects and our new Geneva Foundation.

We are also very excited about moving forward with manufacturing in the UK and supporting our wonderful movement back to full recovery with the help of prominent ambassadors such as David."