Life’s a blast for maestro who plays in EIGHT bands

STEFAN JAJECZNYK

ATALENTED musician spends every weekday night playing tenor horn with EIGHT different bands.

Alice Clarke, 12, from Whitworth, also spends most of her weekends doing what she loves - playing in concerts or competitions and during the summer holidays she joins the National Children’s Brass Band for an intense residential week of music.

Alice, a Whitworth Community High School student, whose love of music has been with her since an early age is something she has in common with many others in her family.

She said: “I started playing at six on the tenor horn, my mum plays clarinet and teaches and her boyfriend plays euphonium. My grandmother sings and plays piano.

“I play with Rochdale Intermediate and Rochdale Youth, Whitworth Senior and Whitworth Youth, Manchester Hub, Rochdale Wind and Rochdale Junior and Whitworth Community High School Band.

“On one night I play for three different bands and I am always practising. I play because I find it fun and it gives me something to do.”

Alice recently returned from a week at Repton School in Derbyshire where she joined 58 other musicians, aged from nine to 14 - spending eight hours a day rehearsing in readiness for an end of course concert.

Alice said: “It was brilliant to work with famous brass musicians like Owen Farr and Katrina Marzalla as well as being conducted by Professor Nick Childs who usually conducts Black Dyke Band.

“Friendship in bands is different because we all understand each other.”

Alice was delighted after being selected as principle first horn by the course’s musical director

Given her passion for music, Alice’s ideal future career comes as a bit of a surprise. ●● Alice Clarke has had a love of music from an early age

She explained: “I would like to be an air traffic controller.

“Music has always been a part of my life, but I want to keep it just as a hobby.”