Captain David B Hammond

 

Captain David Hammond was born in 1968 and grew up in Cornwall where his parents were music teachers. He later studied at the London College of Music, and York and Cambridge Universities, ending up with several degrees, including an MA in Music Technology and Psychoacoustics.  He was solo French horn with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and principal horn of the Cambridge University Musical Society, amongst others. In addition, he regularly played Jazz and Rock guitar with various groups. After university and extensive travel, he worked in Bophuthatswana, Southern Africa, for four years as an orchestral musician and teacher in schools, music centres, and for the Defence Force.

 

Having worked with several ex-military musicians and following a year's teaching in the UK, he followed his father's footsteps and joined the Army in 1995. After basic training he ended up at the Band of The Hussars and Light Dragoons in Münster, Germany. This took him to Bosnia/Herzegovina, Canada, and around Western Europe as a musician, and on an operational tour to Kosovo.  It was then to the Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) at Kneller Hall for the Bandmasters' course, where he passed out top of class.  In 2002 his first Bandmaster post was with the Band of The Royal Gibraltar Regiment.  Two highlights were organising the first TA band tour to Bosnia/Herzegovina and the 2004 tercentenary celebrations.  The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was next, and then back to Kneller Hall again, this time within Headquarters. A move over to the School saw him then complete 2 years as the School Bandmaster.  Commissioned intothe Corps in 2008 as Director of Music of The Band of the Parachute Regiment, he has recently completed tours of the Falkland Islands and Cyprus, as well as visits to Arnhem and other commemorative events.

 

He has played sport at army minor unit level, including being in the winning team of the Corps of Army Music football cup final and in the runner-up team of the London District rugby sevens.  His hobbies include listening to (and playing) the widest possible variety of music, ancient and modern history, cooking, and travelling.  Madcap adventures have included canoeing down the Zambezi (not all of it), catching local buses around Central America, and voyaging by train to sensitive out-of-bounds Russian military zones.

 

Warrant Officer Class One (Bandmaster) Oliver Jeans BMus (Hons) LRSM  

Warrant Officer Class One Bandmaster Oliver Jeans was born in Hythe in 1977, but soon moved to numerous locations such as West Sussex, Ireland, and, Hong Kong.  It was in Hong Kong that he began flute lessons at the age of nine, which continued when his family moved again to settle in Canada.  In 1998 he decided to move back to the United Kingdom and pursue a career within the Corps of Army Music and began his basic training at Army Training Regiment Winchester.  

Following basic training, and successful completion of Phase 2 training at the Royal Military School of Music, hewas posted to the Band of the Army Air Corps in 1999 as their principal flautist and immediately expressed an interest in becoming a Student Bandmaster.  During his seven years at the band he performed in Vienna, Bratislava, Germany, Cyprus and other locations, on both the flute as well as his second instrument the tenor-saxophone.  

 

His most enjoyable engagement with the Band of the Army Air Corps was performing the national anthems for the Six Nations Rugby tournament at the Twickenham Rugby Stadium.  

After attending the Student Bandmaster Selection Cadre in 2005, he was one of three candidates chosen to commence the Bandmasters' Course the following year.  Upon successful completion of the course in 2009 he was awarded a BMus (Hons) degree as well as the prizes for best fanfare and overall band management.  He took up his post as Bandmaster of the Band of the Parachute Regiment on 24 August 2009.  

He thoroughly enjoys his appointment as Bandmaster of The Band of the Parachute Regiment especially his first engagement with the Band in Arnhem at the 65^th commemorative service of Operation Market Garden.