My friend Roy Terry, who has died aged 81, was a conductor, musical director, educationist and writer who played a key role in the development of brass bands in Britain and France during the past 30 years.
A quietly humorous, elegant exterior camouflaged his serious ability to get the best out of whatever group he led – children, during his 15-year stint as conductor of the Croydon Schools music festival junior choir and orchestra, the Salvation Army Cambridge Heath band in New Year’s Eve services at St Paul’s Cathedral, or the Antibes-based Brass Band Méditerranée. Naturally reserved, he enjoyed the podium spotlight.
