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Smith double leads Brighouse awards

Principal cornet Tom Smith claims a double accolade for his playing with Brighouse & Rastrick Band as Yorkshire challengers look forward to 2025.

Tom Smith
  Tom Smith (above) and Ste Cavanagh were amongst the award winners on the night

Members and supporters of Brighouse & Rastrick Band recently got together to kick start their 2025 season with a look back at 2024 at their annual Awards Night.

The opportunity was taken to review a year of on and off stage achievements — including their return to the European Championships in Palanga and their memorable 150th annual concert performance, as well as their brilliant 'Zorro' Brass in Concert programme in Gateshead and more.

Wonderful evening

Writing on their Facebook page the band stated: "It was a wonderful evening, filled with laughter, leaving everyone with a renewed sense of camaraderie, and ready to tackle the coming year head on!

We are fortunate as an organisation to be surrounded by incredible players, a dedicated committee, and a wonderful team of supporters who keep us going year after year. It was fabulous to spend an evening honouring them all."

They added: "There were many other awards presented, and all the prizes given, were well deserved, and we couldn't be prouder of the band we have. Here's to a prosperous, and hopefully successful 2025!"

We are fortunate as an organisation to be surrounded by incredible players, a dedicated committee, and a wonderful team of supporters who keep us going year after year. It was fabulous to spend an evening honouring them allB&R

Double winner

The 'Player's Player' and 'Player of the Year' awards (chosen by MD Prof David King) went to Tom Smith in recognition of a 2024 in which he further cemented his reputation as one of the leading cornet players in the banding movement

Bandsman of the Year

The 'Bandsman of the Year' award went to Chairperson, Ste Cavanagh, recognising the vast amount of work he undertook throughout the year, and continues to do.

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