Albury City Band has appointed David Worrall as its music director, with Albury’s Australia Day ceremony to be his first appearance conducting the group.

Worrall, a Wing Commander in the Royal Australian Air Force, brings with him decades of experience as a percussionist, conductor and teacher.

He and his wife, composer Jodie Blackshaw, have moved from Sydney following a wide search for a regional home.

“We were travelling through Albury on our tour of Victoria and elsewhere with a view to finding somewhere to live,” Worrall said.

“Over a coffee we had a look online for what bands were happening in Albury and Wodonga, only to find that Albury City Band were looking for a new director.

“So the pieces sort of fell into place.”

Albury City Band president Frank Sergi said the band had been searching for some months after previous director Clayton Fiander left for studies in Canberra.

Mr Sergi said Kelly McGuiness, who would stay on as deputy, took charge this year but did not want the role permanently.

The president said the band was pleased to welcome the new director as planning began for its 150^th anniversary in 2017.

“I think it's a great find for the Albury City Band,” Mr Sergi said.

“More for Albury-Wodonga, I guess, to have both him and his wife, who are both accomplished in the musical fields.”

Worrall began playing percussion at school “and fell in love with it”.

“The first thing is it's many instruments, not just one, there's a lot of different techniques involved,” he said.

“It's logistically quite complex so it involves that part of the brain as well, organising yourself.”

A graduate of Melbourne and New England universities, he has played in the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.

He joined the air force as a musician in 1982 and also pursued conducting.

“I enjoy being the recreator of music,” Worrall said.

“I enjoyed the ability to influence how things were run and how they sounded.”

His roles have included music director and commander of the RAAF AIr Command Band and then the NSW Police Band.

Noteworthy was a stint at the US Armed Forces School Of Music in Virginia.

“Where we did a four-year course in 10 months,” he said.

Worrall said he hoped to collaborate and build relationships with other Border groups like the Murray Conservatorium and Wodonga Brass during his time with Albury City Band.

“It's a band with an incredible tradition,” he said.

“I am very passionate about very strongly reconnecting the band with the community and the council so that it is very much owned by the people of Albury, proudly owned. I strongly urge any musicians out there to give us a call, we'd love to hear from you.”