Haverhill Silver Band is our flagship ensemble. The band is made up of talented musicians from across the region and, as East Anglia’s premier brass band, is committed to high-quality music making.
You can find more about history of the band at our history page.
See more of our results here.
Conductors
Musical Director – Paul Filby
Associate Musical Director – Nathan Waterman
Conductor Biographies
Paul began playing brass instruments under the tutorage of William Newton. His earliest experience was on the tuba and euphonium, before eventually transferring to trombone at the age of 14.
From school, Paul joined the Band of the Scots Guards. During his time in London, Paul played with other ensembles and performed at state and military functions. On leaving the army, there began an association with brass bands that has continued to this day.
In 1977, Paul became a member of the world famous GUS Band from Kettering; at that time, under the direction of Geoffrey Brand. As the band’s solo trombonist, Paul performed in most UK concert venues and toured abroad on many occasions. In 1981, Paul was chosen as the BBC Television ‘Best of Brass’ champion soloist; other highlights included radio performances on programmes such as ‘Friday Night is Music Night’, Radio 3 ‘Bandstand’, Radio 2 ‘Listen to the Band’ and other shows recorded in Holland, Belgium and Switzerland. During his time with GUS, Paul performed under many famous and skilled conductors such as Harry Mortimer, Stanley Boddington and Major Peter Parkes, to name but a few.
After leaving GUS to concentrate on his business interests, Paul continued to conduct various ensembles and brass bands. His reputation for band training is well known and his freelance trombone playing continues to fill some of his time; that is when he is not playing golf!
Paul is certainly no stranger to Haverhill Silver Band, having previously occupied the band’s solo trombone seat. In November 2017, the band were delighted to appoint Paul as our new Musical Director; we look forward to working with him and are very much excited to see what the future brings under his leadership.
Nathan’s brass playing career has mainly been on Tenor Horn, playing for many top Brass Bands but predominately The GUS Band, whom he joined on Principal Horn in 1991 and from which position he retired after his 14th appearance at the National Brass Band finals at the Royal Albert Hall in 2019.
Nathan has been a featured soloist on many recordings as well as on tours of America, Canada, and Europe. Also on radio, on shows such as BBC’s ‘Friday Night is Music Night’ and ‘Listen to the Band.’ He has played alongside brass legends such as Maurice Murphy, Rod Franks, James Fountain and John Wallace, and singers like Madonna, Laura Wright and Faryl Smith.
Nathan has been fortunate enough to have played under many amazing conductors including Bramwell Tovey, Russel Gray, Howard Snell and feels especially lucky to have been mentored by the great John Berryman, a close friend.
Nathan enjoys teaching, band training, arranging and conducting. From 2019 Nathan has been the MD of Thrapston Town Band, where, over the last few years, they have gained much success culminating in winning the 2023 Midlands Area and gaining promotion to the 3rd Section in 2024.
Nathan is thrilled to be added to Haverhill’s conducting team and is extremely excited to see where this association will lead both him and the band.
Soprano Cornet
Andrew Cooper
Cornets
Principal Cornet: Andy Hunt
Assistant Principal Cornet: Ian Jacobs
Tutti Cornet: Abbey Patterson
Tutti Cornet: Rob Turnbull
Repiano Cornet: Steve Tomalin
Second Cornet: Jamie Clay
Second Cornet: Steve Morley
Third Cornet: David Stevens
Third Cornet: Tomos Morgan
Flugelhorn Simon Fenn
Horns
Solo Horn: Matthew Waterson
First Horn: Pete Bennett
Second Horn: Colette Kerr
Euphoniums & Baritones
Solo Euphonium: Antony Sanders
Second Euphonium: Adam Waterson
Solo Baritone: Liz Tweedle
Second Baritone: Ben Willis
Trombones
Solo Trombone: Kevin Webb
Second Trombone: Ryan Morley
Bass Trombone: Tom Willis
Basses
Eb Bass: Richard Pannell
Eb Bass: Kevin Chapman
Bb Bass: Graham Patterson
Bb Bass: Tim Waterson
Percussion Billie Farr
Cian Harriss
Sami Alsindi
Holly