Director of Music

Captain David Hammond grew up in Cornwall and studied at the London College of Music, and York and Cambridge Universities, ending up with several degrees, including an MA in Music Technology and Psychoacoustics. He was solo French horn with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and principal horn of the Cambridge University Musical Society amongst others. In addition, he regularly played Jazz and Rock guitar with various groups.

After university and extensive travel, he worked in Bophuthatswana, Southern Africa, for four years as an orchestral musician and teacher in schools, music centres, and for the Defence Force.

 Following a stint secondary teaching in the UK, he joined the Band of The Hussars and Light Dragoons in 1995 in Germany. This took him to Bosnia/Herzegovina, Canada, and around Western Europe as a musician, and on an operational tour to Kosovo.

After completing the Bandmaster course at Kneller Hall in 2002 (passing-out top of class), his first Bandmaster post was with the Band of The Royal Gibraltar Regiment. Two years later he moved back to the UK to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as Bandmaster. Shortly afterwards it was to Kneller Hall again, this time in a Staff appointment at the Directorate Headquarters Corps of Army Music, and finally to the position of School Bandmaster of the Royal Military School of Music.

David was commissioned into the Corps of Army Music in November 2008 and assigned Director of Music of The Band of The Parachute Regiment in Colchester. David has played sport at army minor unit level, including being in the winning team of the Corps of Army Music football cup final and in the runner-up team of the London District rugby sevens. His hobbies include ancient and modern history, cooking, and travelling.