Musical Director Neil Brownless BSc MMus
Neil graduated with Distinction from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2020 with a Master’s degree in Brass Band Conducting (only the second person to gain the degree at the time). He has had experience conducting Brass Bands of all levels along with Wind Bands, Orchestras and Big Bands, and is also a composer and arranger. In September 2021 Neil was awarded the ‘Best Music Creator for a Leisure Time Group’ award by Making Music UK for his composition Keep the Rhythm Going. In 2024 he came third in the Brass Band Conductors’ Association’s international conducting competition after also competing in the 2022 and 2023 semi finals.
Neil is also Musical Director of Towcester Studio Band, with whom he has great success with in competitions. In 2024 he qualified for the finals with the band (having also appeared there conducting Wantage Concert Brass in 2022) and helped them gain promotion to the Second Section. Neil was Musical Director of Abingdon Concert Band for 11 years, leading them to four gold awards at the National Concert Band Festival and putting on innovative concert programmes including performing The Snowman alongside the film and Riverdance with a local dance school. He has also been Musical Director of Burford Orchestra, AW Parker (Drybrook) Band, Wantage Concert Brass, Daventry Brass, Olney Brass and Portsmouth University Big Band as well as a guest conductor for many other ensembles. In early 2024 a video of Neil conducting went viral when he won the chance to conduct Cory Band in a raffle, the band didn’t tell him what piece he was conducting or give him a score so it took him a bar to work out that it was the William Tell Overture.
Neil is a trombonist and has been featured as a soloist with Brass Bands, Wind Bands, Big Bands and Orchestras with the opportunity to perform a concerto with an Orchestra in Milan, Italy as a particular playing highlight. Outside of music, Neil lives in Witney, Oxfordshire with his wife Sarah where he does a range of graphic design, photography and videography for a local independent school, he is also a keen sailor when he has time to fit it in.
‘Having helped MK Brass out many times in the past I was delighted to be asked to take them for their Christmas concert and the area competition, I’ve really enjoyed working with the band over that period so had no hesitation in saying yes when they asked me to be their permanent MD. The band are hardworking with a full compliment of players and a progressive committee that are working towards lots of exciting projects over the coming years so I’m very excited to see how our partnership progresses.”