The death has been announced of Derek Garside, one of the most respected and admired cornet players of the post Second World War era. He passed away on Sunday 28th July, aged 94.
Born in 1930 into a musical family, he was given a cornet on his ninth birthday and began weekly lessons with Fred J Roberts, the principal cornet of Brighouse & Rastrick Band.
As a precocious player with Clifton & Lightcliffe Band his talent was soon noticed as he made his mark on the extensive round of highly competitive local solo competitions. In 1943 he joined his teacher at Brighouse & Rastrick and was the repiano cornet as they won the National title at the Royal Albert Hall in 1946.
Indelible mark
It was an occasion that left an indelible mark on him, and a stage that he graced with his playing for the next 25 years.
He later recalled: "I was an awe-struck teenager, 16 years old, walking to the Albert Hall on the morning of the contest. I had never seen anything like the Albert Hall before in my life."
Not long after he took the decision that was to change his playing life — following Fred Roberts to become a member of the CWS (Manchester) Band. Colleagues in the offices in which he worked were soon regaled each day by his lunch time practice.
Icon
The commitment to excellence soon paid dividends and in 1948 he replaced Charlie Unsworth to become principal cornet. What followed (despite a two-year break to undertake his National Service in the RAF), linked inextricably to the capricious conducting talents of Alex Mortimer, made him a brass band icon.
The following decade saw the band perform at an extended peak of exclence on the contest and concert platform. Rivals as well as admirers came from miles around to hear him and the band play. They never left disappointed.
CWS (Manchester) won the British Open in 1952 and again in 1960 and 1966, and after five runner-up places they finally won the National at the Royal Albert Hall in 1962 and 1963. The 1962 performance of 'Force of Destiny' became almost mythical, although Garside felt the win on 'Belmont Variations' the following year was even better.
Nearest to perfection
His prodigious virtuosity was matched by a workhorse stamina that left rivals in awe.
His great friend David Read (whose funeral was held on the day his death was announced) said that he was, "...the nearest thing to perfection. When I first heard him play, I just put my instrument down. He had a lip like iron. He was worth two players."
He was not alone. Eric Ball described him as "one of the truly great cornet players of all time."
"...the nearest thing to perfection. When I first heard him play, I just put my instrument down. He had a lip like iron. He was worth two playersDavid Read
Modest
Modest, but supremely confident in his talent, he let his playing speak for itself.
Recordings of him reveal a performer of huge artistry who would have been able to follow his great friend Maurice Murphy into the orchestral world with ease.
That he didn't spoke volumes of a man whose connection to the brass banding movement, and to the CWS (Manchester) Band in particular, was complete.
His outstanding musicianship was recognised in becoming the first recipient of the Insignia of Honour, presented to him in 1969 at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2002 he was presented with the All England Masters Dedicated Service Award.
Conductor
With the retirement of Alex Mortimer, Derek Garside somewhat reluctantly took the baton of band whose peak had passed and whose future was precarious. However, he still inspired them to North West Area successes in 1973, 1975 and 1976.
In 1973 he almost led them to a National title — losing by a point to his former band Brighouse & Rastrick.
He officially retired from the band in 1976 (although returning intermittently over the next decade) and enjoyed a second musical career as a peripatetic teacher until he finally retired to live with his wife Janne in Wales in 1985.
Although he undertook some adjudication duties, he still enjoyed the contest stage and memorably conducted Llansaint Band to a brace of Area and National Eisteddfod victories.
Huge respect
He also continued to play and performed to packed audiences as a soloist in Switzerland in 1993 and the USA in 1995, and for several years as a member of the Kings of Brass.
A man regarded with huge respect by all who met him, some years later in an interview reflecting on his truly remarkable brass band career at his home in Eldwick near Bingley, he simply said, "I'm sorry it's all over."
Iwan Fox
