Goff Richards

Goff Richards, who died on 25 June aged 66, was a brass band arranger and composer. Born in Cornwall, he was musical director of the Chetham's Big Band for many years, and was celebrated for his brass compositions such as Trailblaze, Doyen, Exploding Brass! and the marches The Jaguar and Barnard Castle. He won a European Broadcasting Union Award in 1984 for his Continental Caprice, and led the University Jazz Orchestra to the BBC Big Band of the Year title in 1989. In 1976, he was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd, and received a Doctorate from Salford University in 1990.