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John Allen

John Allen is our Director of Music and is also the conductor of the Concert Band.

John has had many years' experience with brass, concert and marching bands, both in this country and in Canada and the USA. His early experience as a player and conductor was with brass bands in Tasmania. John then spent ten years in North America, studying and teaching music. He earned a BMus degree from the University of British Columbia and an MMus degree from the University of Oregon. Following his student days John was a band teacher in two Canadian high schools for three years.

John returned to Australia to take up the position of lecturer in Music at the Southern Cross University in Lismore, NSW, in 1979. He also became the conductor of the Lismore City Concert Band, which he helped form and which he directed to great success. This success included the Band's winning the secondary school bands' section of the Lismore Eisteddfod for ten consecutive years.

John's success with bands and brass students earned him the title of Lismore Citizen of the Year in 1992 and won him the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch on its way to Sydney for the Olympic Games in 2000.

John relocated to Brisbane early in 2001 after his retirement from the University, and was appointed Conductor of the Redlands City Concert Band in January of that year. The five years he has spent leading that Band he considers the most pleasurable and rewarding of all his band years, and he looks forward to many more such years.

John has adjudicated concert and brass bands at national and state level, as well as the band, choral and instrumental sections of the Lismore and Grafton Eisteddfods. He has also written articles on band matters and has over fifty compositions and arrangements to his credit. As well as the degrees in music John holds BA and MEd degrees, the DipEd and ALCM diploma.

Allen Clark

Allen Clark is the conductor of the Wind Ensemble.

Allen commenced his playing career on Baritone with the Invermay Silver Band in Launceston, Tasmania, at the age of ten, before progressing to Principle Euphonium at the age of sixteen. Ten years later Allen took over as conductor of the band and by this stage Allen had been adjudged Tasmanian Euphonium champion on two occasions. Allen then set about improving the standard of the band and was successful in taking the band from C grade to B grade during his nine-year term as conductor.

Shortly after taking over as conductor, Allen completed a one-year preparatory course on music performance at the University of Tasmania, followed by the completion of a conducting unit at the University under the guidance of Monte Mumford. Allen also joined the University's Concert Band, under the direction of Monte, where he played Euphonium during its transition into the highly acclaimed University of Tasmania Wind Orchestra. Allen was appointed assistant Musical Director of the Wind Orchestra in 1994 and continued in this role until re-locating to Queensland in 1999. During this time, as a member of the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA), Allen attended a number of conducting clinics both in Tasmania and Victoria, with prominent wind band directors from the USA, the United Kingdom and Australia, as guest clinicians.

In 2000, Allen joined Brisbane Excelsior Brass Band and played Euphonium, Baritone and Tenor Horn with the band during its rise to No 1 ranking in Australia. This playing experience under the direction of Howard Taylor, and among a number of Australia's finest brass players, has inspired Allen to continue to pursue new heights in both his playing ability and conducting skills.

Although heavily involved in community music for many years, Allen's professional career path has been in Accounting. Allen is Financial Accounting Manager for one of Queensland's largest offset printing companies, Inprint Pty Ltd, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Allen has a Bachelor of Business and completed his MBA prior to moving to Queensland, at which time he was awarded the Owen McCarthy medal for highest academic achievement.

Reece Jarman

Reece Jarman is the conductor of the Beginner Band.

Reece started his musical career as a player in the beginner band and it is only fitting that he has come full circle. Reece has, at various times, played in the Concert band and the Big band and is an accomplished clarinet player.

Rod Bridges

Rod is the conductor of the Big Band and has been with us since the start of 2009.

Rod's first paid gig was with his uncle's band at the Friends Lake Inn, Chestertown N.Y in the summer of 1948.

During the 1950's he played for the George Graham band, the Ken Reeves Band and others. In January 1955, Rod enlisted in the U.S. Army and eventually came to play with the 399th Army Band at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and later the 2nd Armoured Division Band at Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

After his stint in the army, Rod immediately began a gig at the Bandbox nightclub where he played with many fine musicians who would go on to become nationally known in the field of jazz; Pianists Jaki Byard and Mark Levine, as well as vibraphonists Gary MacFarlane and John Rae.

Rod went on the road as a clarinet player with "Mr. Sugar Blues" Clyde McCoy (with whom he spent six months in Sacramento California and all over Texas) playing Dixieland.

After some time honing his craft, Rod decided to explore arranging/composing and returned to university. Upon graduation from Florida State University with both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Music Education, and having fulfilled his promise to pursue arranging and composing, Rod got a position in New Jersey.

His next stop was at the University of the Virgin Islands where he became the University's first Director of Music, with the specific purpose of initiating music degree programs. He enjoyed writing arrangements for the University's Afro-American Idiom Studio Ensemble in the calypso, reggae and latin/jazz styles.

Rod is married to an Australian national and moved to Sydney in 1978.

He has played a lot of shows including Danny Larue, Frankie Laine and Bobby Ridell.

In 1980, Rod began teaching at the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane. He has played with, directed and written for the Brisbane Big Band which he left in September 2008. I have also written the book and directed the dance/showband, "Swing Chronicles".

© 2009 Redland City Bands Inc.

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