Musical Director - Stephen Rockey

Stephen Rockey was born in Stoke on Trent in April 1960. He started to play the trombone at the age of 13 with a local brass band, and showed promise immediately. Within six months of starting to play, he was in the Staffordshire County Youth Wind Band, and within a year, was their Principal Trombone player. In 1975 he transferred to the Staffordshire County Youth Orchestra, again as the Principal player. In 1976, he auditioned for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain(NYO), and became a member straight away. He remained a member until 1978.

It was while in the NYO that he was introduced to Peter Gayne, (Head of Brass Wind and Percussion at the Guild Hall School of Music,) Tymothy Reynish and to the possibilities of arranging and composing. In 1977 he finished his very first arrangement, it was a flop!!! Not being disheartened by this, he kept on trying.

In 1979 Stephen went to what was then the Birmingham Polytechnic to study teacher training, but, despite getting a transfer to the Birmingham School of Music (Now the 'Conservatoire') he decided to join the Royal Air Force as a musician.

Stephen joined the RAF in October 1980, and after basic trade training, he joined the Western Band of the Royal Air Force at Weston Super Mare, where he quickly became their Principal trombone, and fell in love with the West Country. For eighteen years he was a Principal trombone player and soloist for the RAF in various bands, and travelled all over the world, Hong Kong, Hungary, Cyprus, St Lucia (Windward Isles) and most of Europe. One of the main developments during his service career was his great talent for arranging and composing.

He has had over 30 arrangements and compositions recorded on EMI, Bandleader and BBC labels, by Brass and Military Bands (Royal Marines, Army and RAF.) Broadcasts on BBC Radio, and has in his time arranged for ALL kinds of ensembles, Brass, Military, Orchestral, choral and Jazz bands. Whilst serving in the RAF, Stephen arranged and composed over 260 pieces of music.

He has arranged and composed for the BBC Songs of Praise programme, Desford Colliery Band, Travelsphere Holidays Band, Kirkintilloch Band (three of his arrangements are on their latest CD Angels and Demons), Camborne Town Band, the English Concert Orchestra and many other various groups and artists. He also won the competition for Best Military March composed by a member of RAF Music Services eleven out of the twelve of his entries.

In 1996, he started to study conducting via the RAF, his teachers including John Forster (Royal College of Music) and Frank Renton. During these conducting studies in 1998, Stephen was only the second person in the history of the RAF to be given the roll of Staff Arranger for the Royal Air Force, as well as being the Chief Librarian at the same time.

Having fell in love with the South West, Stephen is now a civilian living in Bristol having left the RAF in November 2002, and is now actively chasing a new career in conducting, composing and arranging. Since leaving the RAF, he enjoyed a short time conducting the Thornbury Band, and has helped out several local brass bands and orchestras as a player, conductor, composer and arranger.

Having completed his BA in music at Bristol University with First Class honours, he is just finishing an MA in composition and will be starting a PhD with Dr John Pickard in October this year at the University of Bristol, he is currently writing a concerto for Trombone and symphony orchestra for the young Stephen Sykes, (details to follow) as well as having music published in the USA. but he still has time to continue his professional career as composer, arranger, conductor and trombonist.

For a list of previous Musical Directors of Nailsworth Silver Band please click here.