Zoe Bond, aged 10, won the trophy for the best up-and-coming youngster with the City of Oxford Silver Band in 1985 after playing the cornet for only nine months.

The sound of music was heard virtually all the time at her home in Briars Way, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, as her brother Christopher, 11, was also a talented cornet player and their father, Michael, 36, had taken up the euphonium to keep up with them.

The only member of the family not making music was Zoe’s mother, Delia, who joked: “You can call me the road manager.”

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Zoe started playing the recorder at Wesley Green School on the estate and broadened her range to include the guitar and cornet.

She played regularly with the Silver Band beginners.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

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