Conductors Corner: Interview with Mike Fowles

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest edition of The Brass Band Hog Blog. For this edition I have been fortunate enough to spend some time chatting with one of the most well respected conductors in the movement, Mike Fowles. Best known perhaps for his position of Musical Director at the world famous Foden's band, Mike is heavily involved in a number of other youth bands, summer schools and bands such as the Desford Colliery Band. In this interview we discuss his early career as a player and his progression to conductor and adjudicator. To add a personal note, he probably doesn't know it but Mike has been one of the biggest influences on my own musical journey, so I'd like to thank him for all he does, and for taking the time to get involved with The Brass Band Hog.  

About you:

BBH: What do you do for a living? Do you have a career outside of music?

MF: No. I’m very fortunate to be able to earn my living from music.

BBH: Which bands are you currently involved with as a conductor/musical director?

MF: I’ve been the Musical Director of Foden’s Band since 2008 and have been conducting the Desford Colliery Band since 2016. I’m also co-Musical Director of Foden’s Youth Band, Musical Adviser and Associate Conductor of Lions Youth Band and the Musical Adviser and Conductor of the NEMMBA Youth Band.

BBH: Over the summer months you are involved with the Wessex Band Summer School and the Armagh Summer School. What is it about such courses that appeals to you so much? What benefit do they have to those who attend? Why do you go back year on year?

MF: I first attended Wessex in 1986 and the first thing that struck me was how welcoming the people were. This really is what makes the course - people! So many different characters from all over the country (and we’ve had visitors from abroad over the years of course) come together to have fun making music together. Lifelong friendships are made from just being together for a week.

At Armagh it’s a similar story although it’s a very different course. Our tagline is “a week of fun, music and friendship” so the similarities are obvious. Both courses have fantastic music and support staff and both have a similar atmosphere of improvement through fun and encouragement. As a result anyone attending the courses can improve at their own rate, without pressure and with plenty of help, advice and smiles to encourage them along the way. I think this is why people come back to both courses time and time again.

BBH: What have you learned from your involvement in summer school courses? 

MF: Simple - it's about the people first and the musicians second. That may seem a strange thing to say but if we find the ways to connect with the person then the music naturally improves - through trust.

BBH: Outside of your role as a conductor, you are also a member of the NABBA (National Association of Brass Band Adjudicators). What is it about adjudicating that you enjoy? What are the challenges? What are the skills you think it takes to be successful as an adjudicator?

MF: Adjudicating brings different challenges. I genuinely enjoy judging and any judge wants to hear bands play at their best. I prepare as though I was conducting - all the performers really deserve that. Obviously I’m aware how much time goes into the process for them so it’s only fair I prepare properly. Of course there are certain rights and wrongs - is it together, balanced, in tune etc but adjudication really needs us to take a holistic view of the whole. The truth is always in the whole - in other words how much have any issues detracted from the musical picture, has the musical intent stayed intact. It’s easy to get bogged down in the things that maybe haven’t gone quite right and not therefore give enough credit for the positives in the performance. It always needs careful thought to weigh everything up in a fair manner.

BBH: As well as conducting, you also play the trombone. Which band did you start your playing with and which bands have you played with throughout your career?

MF: You’re taking me back a long way now! I started to learn with the peripatetic music service of Staffordshire so my first band was the Hanley/Stoke Music Centre Band. My first contesting band was a 4th section section band called Ceramic City Brass. My other bands within the education system were Hanley/Stoke M.C. Wind Band and the Longton/Fenton Brass Band. Before I left Staffordshire I also played for both the Staffordshire County Youth Brass Band and Youth Orchestra. We were so lucky back then to have so many great opportunities! In contesting terms my bands after Ceramic City were : Coventry School of Music, Ind Coope Brewery Brass, Greenway Selectus, Swinton Concert Brass and Foden’s Band. Whilst in Manchester I also depped for a number of bands including Faireys, Grimethorpe, YBS, Wingates and Besses o' th' Barn. 

As a conductor:

BBH: When did you decide to pursue a career as an MD and what influenced your decision making?

I started to develop an interest in conducting in my mid teens. I used to buy scores and try to work out how to conduct them, to try to think about what the job of the conductor is if you like. Then I was given a great opportunity whilst at Sixth Form College. The head of music, David Revitt (incidentally also one of the best teachers I’ve ever had), asked me to conduct the college brass group for two years. My interest was now well and truly developing. 

At the RNCM, at different stages across the four years, there were options to do conducting within the course and I always took them. I was receiving positive reactions from both staff and students and in one session with Howard Snell he told me that he thought I would go further as a conductor than as a player. Now this wasn’t a slight on my playing, I was playing for Howard at Foden’s at the time, more a positive comment on my conducting potential. 

I took every possible opportunity to conduct whilst at college and then a fellow student said that her band needed a conductor and asked if I would be interested. I thought long and hard but the timing, for many different reasons, wasn’t quite right. She asked me again a year later, I said yes and so started my conducting career with Point of Ayr band in North Wales and here I am 25 years later still enjoying it as much as ever!

BBH: Do you conduct or play for other ensembles outside of brass bands – if so, what are these?

MF: At the Wessex Band Summer School we have three bands, one of which is a wind band which I conduct and I thoroughly enjoy - there’s so much great music for that combination and it’s certainly something I’d be happy to do more often.

BBH: Who were your early musical Inspirations and influences?

MF: As a trombonist I clearly remember the first time I heard a Christian Lindberg CD. From then on I had to have every disc he released and I listened for hours and hours. Technique never a barrier to musical expression, indeed the technique always served the musical intention and I loved the fact that he went outside traditional trombone repertoire as well. Music for any other instrument would be presented too so it broke the concept of trombone music, violin music, clarinet music etc - it’s all just music! In band terms I remember watching Best of Brass and the Granada Band of the Year - such an inspiration to me as a young brass player and every Black Dyke release of test pieces was eagerly awaited - it opened up a whole new world to me and I was completely hooked.

BBH: What were the greatest challenges you found making the move from player to conductor? What advice would you give someone looking to make that transition?

MF: In many ways I was exposed to the some of the challenges very early on. I mentioned the opportunity at Sixth Form College - this meant that I was conducting my peers from the age of 17 when I would then be in lessons with them straight after the rehearsal and playing in bands with them in the evening. It’s about people skills really - being the friend in class, the colleague and friend in the evening, the conductor in the rehearsal but critically at all times still being yourself - any obvious changes to personality for situation would be seen through straight away. 

It was similar situations at the RNCM and indeed when I was playing at Foden’s in the 90s I was fortunate enough to direct some rehearsals. All invaluable learning situations of how to work with people in a rehearsal in such a way that they will still talk to you outside the rehearsal room! I’ve been very fortunate with the opportunities I’ve had which have definitely helped to prepare me for the career I’m now enjoying. I always come back to one simple question - "would I be happy to play for me?"

BBH: In your musical career, do you ever wonder where you might have been had you made different choices?

MF: I’m not the sort of person who looks back very often (although I’m told I have a good memory) - I’m much more concerned with the now and the future, whatever work I’m doing “now” I’m already preparing for what comes “next”. I was quite surprised when I realised that this year is the 25th of my career. I once had a conversation with a former teacher about this very question actually, about what I’d be doing had I stuck to a playing path. He was a very astute judge of character and personality and so I was really curious as to what he thought. He simply said “it wouldn’t have been enough for you - you enjoy creating the whole too much”. As usual what he said made complete sense to me. I absolutely loved playing! Whether it was in a section in a brass band or in a Theatre pit. I really enjoyed working as a theatre musician and all the wonderful music of “show land”. However, as much as I enjoyed being a cog in a bigger wheel as it were, the process of bringing all the cogs together and all the mental challenges that come with it was, and still is, a great fascination of mine and I just couldn’t see myself doing anything else. The “Sliding Doors” question is one I don’t think about too much but I’m totally content with the choices I’ve made so far.

The current situation:

BBH: It’s been noticeable in these trying times that a lot of people have turned to music and other creative arts to help them get through. Why do you think this is?

MF: I think it’s escapism. One of the ways I switch off from my job is putting my head somewhere else - I enjoy films and good TV drama. Where music is concerned I think people use it to lighten their mood or let music take them through a range of emotions whether it’s listening or performing. The creative arts allow people to express their feelings in different ways so I think it’s a good way of people getting things out regarding the current situation rather than internalising or “bottling up”.

BBH: In recent weeks we have increasingly seen ‘virtual’ bands performing on social media. BBH: What can brass bands take from this and use to enhance both their performances and their appeal for the future? 

MF: There’s no doubt that the current situation has made us all think about what we could do to utilise technology in order to continue our activities in some way. Some bands already use technology within their concert presentations and I think most bands in recent years have thought more and more about how to use social media to heighten awareness. I think as we move forward the use of both technology and the internet will only increase. Not only to stay in contact with our known audience but to try and reach others too. The more different ways we can engage a different audience can only be a good thing for banding as a whole. The only limit is our imagination !

The Future:

BBH: What are your personal aspirations for your future career as an MD?

MF: To stay healthy and continue to improve! I’m a great believer in the idea that if you do good work you will find yourself working in good situations and also that good things happen to those that make them happen. I really enjoy the process of contesting, of creating the performance, of getting the best I possibly can out of the musicians around me and of course winning is a fantastic feeling when it happens. However, I get just as much pleasure from a really great concert where the band have played really well to an enthusiastic audience who go home with a smile on their face. The enjoyment I get from the Summer courses and working with youth bands is like a shot in the arm for me - I always have renewed energy from this somehow and the concert performances from these groups give me just as much of a buzz as the great contest performances I’ve been involved in. I guess I simply want to continue doing what I do for as long as possible.

BBH: If you believe that music can have a positive impact on peoples’ health and well-being what advice would you give to policy makers and educational strategists for future curriculum design?

MF: My message would be very simple - don’t marginalise the arts and embrace all the well documented positive effects they have on all other study ! Surely the point of education is to encourage the development of well rounded citizens ?

And a bit of fun:

BBH: What is your favourite hymn tune from the red tune book and why?

MF: I don’t have one favourite but a number of “go to” numbers that I use regularly and for many different reasons.

BBH: You can ask one question of one conductor from history. Which conductor would you chose and what would you ask them?

MF: Too hard! Too many great conductors and far too many questions!

BBH: If you could choose the venue and the line-up for a ‘one-off’ performance where would it be, who would you include and why?

Wow what a question. Regarding the line up - I have been very fortunate already in my career to work with many, many great people who are also great musicians. It’s too hard to cut that down without being unhappy about some I may leave out. One thing I really try to do is always consider the group of people in front of me at the time to be the most important so I would make this a massed bands concert of the current Foden’s and Desford personnel - that would really be quite some band!

Regarding the venue it would be easy to select one of the obvious, iconic halls but I’m going to choose somewhere more personal. It would have to be the hall where I grew up musically - back home in Staffordshire. The magnificent Victoria Hall in Hanley is one of the best naturally occurring acoustics in the country so this would be my choice!



BBH: Thanks again Mike for taking the time. I look forward to meeting up with you again when in the (hopefully) not too distant future.