Bracknell & Wokingham Community Band
Our Musical Directors
We are lucky to have fantastic Musical Directors which give the bands their musical director and bring out the best of their bands skill levels.
Rob Croft
Concert Band
Rob Croft is an experienced conductor and professional trombonist with a broad musical background spanning orchestral, jazz, and brass band performance. A graduate of Trinity College of Music, Rob was a member of multiple national youth groups and has since worked with many professional orchestras and ensembles.
He has worked across three music services as a teacher, conductor, and Head of Brass, leading ensembles and inspiring musicians of all ages. Now Head of Music at Yateley School, Rob is passionate about community music-making and creating opportunities for people to share the joy of performing together.
Kevin Ransom
Second Wind
Kevin is an accomplished conductor and formed Second Wind at BWCB in 2011.. He previously served as Musical Director of the Grimsdyke Brass Band and currently leads the Second Wind Band in Wokingham and he is also the conductor of Maidenhead Concert Band. His conducting work also includes guest appearances with various wind and brass ensembles.
Kevin’s rehearsal style is a blend of enjoyment and focus, fostering a supportive and collaborative environment. The Second Wind Band’s concert repertoire features a mix of light entertainment pieces and more challenging works explored during rehearsals, offering both variety and musical depth.
Kevin, originally from Harrow, refined his musical talents at the esteemed Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Alongside his conducting he is a distinguished trumpet player. He has performed with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and ensembles, including the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, Amici Chamber Orchestra, London West End Musicals, Bert Kaempfert (UK) Band, New London Sinfonia, English Symphony Orchestra, British Sinfonia, and Wessex Brass.
For more than 30 years, Kevin has held the position of Principal Trumpet with the West Forest Sinfonia, contributing his artistry and experience to the ensemble’s rich musical output
Oliver Picken
Beaufort Band
Oliver has been conducting the Beaufort Band since September 2024.
Oliver is a conductor, composer, and music educator with a keen interest in community and youth music making. He grew up in Reading, first picking up the cornet aged 7 as part of a free music tuition scheme and later studied Music at the University of Southampton.
While at university, Oliver was appointed Musical Director of the Southampton University Brass Band and was awarded Best Student Conductor at the National University Brass Band Championships (UniBrass). Since graduating, he has conducted a range of brass and wind bands and enjoys writing and arranging for these ensembles.
In 2023 he won the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Classical Writer’s Prize for short form writing on music history.