Dead band composer honoured in the rain

Craig Winter

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AMID rather appropriate sporadic showers and winter winds, visitors from the locally hosted music teachers conference and brass band members gathered at a Maryborough gravesite to remember a composer.

Charles Trussell was a prominent musician in brass bands both in Australia and New Zealand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

He started his musical education in a school boys band in London from the age of 11, playing tenor horn.

At 14 he enlisted in the British Army as a band boy and served with the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Regiment of Foot and later the Prince of Wales Regiment in India.

During this time he played euphonium and studied musical composition and harmony. He emigrated to Australia after 13 years in the army and settled in Maryborough. He spent his local career living and working both in Queensland and Tasmania where he conducted many prominent bands and choirs, before retiring and resettling in Bauple. He continued playing with bands and was active composing and arranging mostly contest pieces for brass bands, receiving high praise for the quality of his music, especially his various selections from

Verdi operas.

Charles Trussell died on 23 December 1946 aged 85.

Craig Dabblesteen is a music historian who is restoring music from

Australian composers including Charles Trussell and along with Maryborough Excelsior Musical Director Mel Neilsen, the pair honoured the musician with several tunes composed by him.