Marine musician’s gig leads to 16,000-mile round trip

Chris Hunt, 22, went with the Royal Marine School of Music, Portsmouth, to entertain the islanders and troops in the Falklands and Ascension Islands.

The eleven-day trip saw him perform with 40 other band members, also from the School of Music, at nine engagements varying from the local primary school to a settlement in Ascension to Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands.

The former Harrogate Grammar School student had long wanted to be a professional musician but soon realised that it wasn’t the most straightforward career choice, particularly with his chosen instrument – the tuba.

Having settled on joining a 
military band which would have the room for his tuba, he completed his initial 15-week Marine training in early 2011 before 
moving to the Royal Marine School of Music for further training.

Speaking of his military training, he said: “Once you’re in the military mindset – which takes a while – you get on and do it, like anything else.

“You are all put through the same tough training which makes for a really good team.”

When he completes his musical training in 2013, he will be posted to perform in one of the five Royal Marine bands around the country.

“As well as musical commitments, such as his recent tour of the Falklands, he will have a vital secondary role in operational theatres such as Afghanistan where he will help provide vital medical support roles such as driving ambulances and working with the medical teams in the front-line hospitals.

The band played at a wide variety of engagements during their tour to the South Atlantic, with one of his highlights being the band’s performance at the small settlement of Fitzroy in the Falkland Islands,

“It’s the best gig I’ve ever done. We turned up to this small settlement, I think there were four houses, and there was no one around.

“By the time we’d set up, the Islanders had appeared from nowhere, we all got into it and everyone loved it,” he said.