Music Tuition

Our tutors are all volunteers and have satifactory CRB disclosures.

Lana Tingay    Colin Roberts    Andrew Richards   Julia Aldous

Lana Tingay

Lana Tingay began to learn the Tenor Horn at the age of 12 with tuition from Rochdale Music Service.
She played for Kingsway Youth Band, Stalybridge Band and Rochdale Band before taking up the Conductors post at the tender age of 19 with Kingsway Junior Band. From there she moved to Friezland Band in Saddleworth where she spent 24 happy years as Conductor, taking them to the National Finals and on several tours abroad before her move to South Wales.

Lana joined the Abergavenny Borough Band in May 2009 as a Cornet player and also to work with the bands Training and Youth Programme. She has a BA in Music and a BA(Hons) in Brass Band Studies. Since moving to Wales she is a peripatetic music teacher for Gwent Music Support Services.

Lana is the Band's nominated child welfare officer and has sucessfully completed a child protection training course.

Colin Roberts

Colin grew up in Hereford where he was a cornet player in the City Band during his teenage years.  After many years away from the banding scene, including a five-year spell in Australia, he moved to Abergavenny in 2006 and began to play euphonium with the Youth Band when his children joined.  He began to learn trombone when a vacancy appeared in the senior band and wishes he'd made the switch 30 years earlier!

 Colin conducted the Youth band for two years but now acts mainly as a tutor and organiser, having handed over the baton to Lana in 2009.  He takes care of membership records and subscriptions and does his best to make sure everybody knows where they should be, when they should be there and what they should be wearing.  He is pleased to have introduced several adult learners into the Youth Band and hopes that this trend continues for many years to come.  Colin is the Youth Band representative on the band's management committee. 

Colin works as a structural engineer in Cardiff and both his children, Evan and Anna have joined the Junior Band.

Andrew Richards

Andrew joined the band when he was 9yrs old and learned to play the cornet under the tutelage of Eric Powell. He played cornet for many years finally playing solo cornet until he left to take "A" levels. On his return two years later, Andrew found himself playing Euphonium and eventually Principal Euphonium for several years. In 1995 he volunteered to fill a vacancy on BBb Bass where he plays now. Andrew has played in many competitions but the highlight of his contenting experience with the Band was when they played in the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall in 1985. He was elected Band Chairman in 2008.

Andrew is the Chief Executive of a Hospice in Blaenau Gwent and lives in Tredegar having grown up in Abergavenny. Keeping up the family tradition of the Band, his son, Daniel, has now taken up the cornet and joined the training band.

Julia Aldous

Julia started to learn trumpet aged 8, at school in Staffordshire and with the Stoke North Youth Wind Band.  She was gradually pulled away from music by the sea and joined the Navy aged 18, never expecting to play again.  On joining the Aircraft Carrier HMS Invincible, 'the Bish' (Ship's Chaplain and trombone player) said "we know you're a brass player, get down the bandstore and draw an instrument"..."but I haven't played since school" ..."neither has anyone else, report to Band Colour Sargeant".  So she reported to 'bandy' and managed to attend practice in between watches on the bridge.  She continued to play with the RN Volunteer bands while working ashore in Portsmouth, Yeovilton and Gibraltar, enjoying band trips to Germany and performing in a massed band at the last Royal Tournament at Earl's Court.

On leaving the Navy Julia took a long break from banding while pursuing a new career and having 2 children. She met Abergavenny Borough Band when they were playing in town and decided to give the training band a try in September 2008.  Encouraged by Colin and the training band, she worked hard to try and make up for years of lost practice and progressed to the Senior band, where she continues to learn from the more experienced players.   She enjoys helping and playing with the training band and persuading young and older musicians to give it a go.