Steve Thornes

Principal Cornet

Steven started playing at the age of 10 on Horn but soon after switched to cornet, joining his first band, Altofts and Normanton.

After many years with Altofts he briefly played principal cornet at Tingley before joining the Yorkshire Relish Band under MD Graham Walker. With new sponsorship they became the Yorkshire Evening Post Band and Steven played with them at his first National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall aged 19.

He studied music at Huddersfield Technical College of Music, taking lessons from James Shepherd and achieving Grade 8 and having spells at Sellers (Phillip McCann) and Yorkshire Imps before work took him to the south of England where he joined Friary Guildford.

At Friary he enjoyed 3 Regional victories and then with Redbridge Band went on to reach 4 further National finals at the Royal Albert Hall. During this time he also played trumpet with the Woking Symphony, Guildford Symphony and Dorking Symphony Orchestras.

When he moved back to Yorkshire in 2010 he had a couple of years with Wakefield Met before helping Hepworth win the Grand Shield in 2012. He then had 3 happy years at Skelmanthorpe before joining Lofthouse in 2015.
Away from brass bands Steven has a passion for listening to classical music ( he was a London Proms ticket holder for many years ) likes to visit the Yorkshire coast, attends the gym, likes running and loves spending time with his granddaughter.

Position in Band : Principal Cornet
Instrument : Besson Sovereign 928 with a 5b mouthpiece
Occupation : Regional Facilities Manager
Fave food : Curry
Fave drink : Whisky
Fave non brass band : Pink Floyd
Most Embarrassing Banding Moment : Playing one handed with a broken arm at Butlins!

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