RG reservist performs Covid inspired composition

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment’s Colour Sergeant Reservist Russell ‘Jack’ Evans presented his latest composition ‘Our Heroes of Today’ at the launch of Culture vs Covid exhibition which took place at John Mackintosh Hall.
The composition ‘Our Heroes Of Today’, originally written as a military march during the Covid lockdown of 2020, was inspired by and dedicated to Front-Line Workers who continue to work tirelessly in keeping the people of Gibraltar safe during these uncertain times.
The composition begins with a fanfare, almost Thunderbird-like in which the TV characters were called to rescue those in need. The second section is a play on the Gibraltar National Song ‘Gibraltar, Gibraltar, The Rock on which I stand’.
Other pieces composed by CSgt Evans can often be heard when the RG are on parade, notably the Regimental Slow March. This was a competition winner in 2008, aptly titled ‘The Keys’ and has featured on every Queen's Birthday and Ceremony Of The Keys parades in Gibraltar ever since.
With a career that has taken him around the world and includes deployments to Hong Kong, the Middle East, United States and Canada, CSgt Evans has been a professional musician for over 38 years following a 25-year career in the British Army and now as a Colour Sergeant Reservist in the Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Gibraltar Regiment.
His love for music began when his father encouraged him to play a musical instrument at the age of four.
By the age of six, he was invited to play cornet in the Young People’s Band within the Salvation Army and promoted to the Citadel Band a few years later. His father’s interest in Military Music influenced Jack’s decision to audition for the Royal Marines and British Army.
Accepting an offer from the latter at the age of 16, he joined the Queen’s Division Junior School of Music at Bassingbourn Barracks as a French Horn player. His interest in conducting and composing became evident early in his career upon receiving an A Grade for his Licentiate Diploma from the Royal School of Music for Bandmastership in 2000 and his numerous ensemble arrangements within the Band.
‘Our Heroes Of Today’ is programmed to be premiered later this year by The Band & Corps of Drums and The Band of The Royal Yeomanry when the Regiment celebrate the Queen's Birthday in Grand Casemates on 10 June 2021.