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Helen Blakebrough

Life Member, Trombone - 2nd

  • Club Details
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  • Office(s): Music Director
  • Awards
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  • Life Member

    Awarded 2018
    With 25 years of continuous membership, Helen is one of the longest serving members of the band.
    In that time, as well as being a stalwart, very reliable and musically versatile member of the
    trombone section she has been an elected member of the committee. In this role she always
    contributed wise advice and was ever helpful in performing various tasks delegated to her.

    Helen has acted as Assistant Conductor or Deputy Musical Director of the band under a number of
    Musical Directors including founder Dean Jeffries.

    She has held the Acting Musical Director position for varying periods between Musical Directors. She
    has often taken over at very short notice and always ensured the band fulfilled its musical obligations
    very successfully.

    In 2016, Helen prepared the band’s participation in the National Band Championships held in South
    Australia that year, and conducted our performance. We are not a regularly competing band and yet
    she carried the band with her in this challenging and unfamiliar environment and we performed –
    according to adjudicators and audience alike – to a very high standard.

    That same year, Helen led the band at its 50th anniversary concert. She selected and led a very varied
    and challenging program helping to make this very significant event an outstanding success
    musically, socially and financially.

    Helen is well known and very active in Adelaide’s musical life. This has helped her bring in guest
    players, vocalists and supporting artists – always essential to making the band’s concerts and
    performances popular and successful.

    In short, Helen has contributed enormously and variously to the band over the two and a half
    decades she has been a member and continues to do so.

    Helen was presented with the award of Life Member of Payneham City Concert Band in recognition of
    her contributions to the band throughout her membership.