EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
Trumpet: 1985 - 1987 Principal Trumpet, Royal Ballet Orchestra. 1986 > London Brass.
2000> Sub-Principal Trumpet, London Philharmonic Orchestra .

Freelance work with: LPO, LSO, LSO Brass, RPO, Philharmonia, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Sinfonietta, CLS, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Ulster Orchestra, CBSO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, ECO, Numerous ad hoc ensembles and orchestras, TV, film, library session work.

Education work: Course Director-Benslow Music Trust, Professor of Trumpet at GSMD since 1995, Trumpet teacher at Radley College, Oxford 1989 - 1993, Master classes/workshops/coaching etc with London Brass, 'Outreach ' work with LPO, 'Discovery' work with LSO, Brass coaching: National Youth Orchestra and various County Youth Orchestras.

First performances: Alan Ridout "Concertino for Flugel Horn and Strings" (1987)
Rhian Samuel "Brass Express for Trumpet and Orchestra" (1995)
Roger Harvey "Four Impromtus for Trumpet and Piano" (1994)

 " I am a professional classical musician performing with the major London Symphony orchestras and ensembles and I hold a professorial post at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, teaching trumpet. Little did I know in September 1971 when I became a pupil at Bangor Secondary School that the musical education I would receive there would set me on the path to such an interesting and varied lifestyle.

In my  first year the school was of mixed sex and boasted an excellent brass band, however on the departure of the boys to Gransha  Rd. some twelve months later the membership of the remaining band was somewhat depleted. Mr Dunn set about rebuilding the ensemble. As a player of piano and violin and therefore a reader of music, I was a prime candidate for inclusion in the new group and so my love affair with the trumpet began. It is very unusual for one's first romance to be lifelong and so it was that within the safety of the school band I had a mild flirtation firstly with the trombone, dabbled with the tenor horn and had an extended liaison with  the cornet  before finally meeting the instrument for me, the trumpet.

Throughout my years at what was then Bangor Girls Secondary school, I continued to play the piano,violin and trumpet and despite having what could  at best be called  an extremely average voice, with the encouragement of Mr Dunn became part of the choir, madrigal group and yes, even a female Barbershop quartet.

 These were great years of music making at the school, when there were many concerts and performances of musicals such as "The King and I", "South Pacific"and the "Boyfriend" , our recording of which still has pride of place in my LP collection. The music department  was busy  at all times of the day with the ever approachable Mr Dunn encouraging us all to practise privately and leading ensembles in the performance of many varied styles of music, constantly broadening our outlook. Sadly I was unable to take my chosen  "A" levels at the school and transferred to Grosvenor High School to prepare for University application.

Having successfully obtained a place at Goldsmiths College, University of London, I studied for a B.Mus with the intention of following up the course with teacher training.  However,  during the next three years having played with other young musicians from  the Music Colleges at London Collegiate Brass and Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, I changed direction and decided instead to pursue a career as a performer. I then spent a year at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on their Advanced Certificate Orchestral Training course, during which time I was lucky enough to be the recipient of the Principals Prize.

Having used up four years of grant there was nothing left to do but go out into the world to make my living. Needless to say this was initially  a quiet period, workwise, but then, thanks to my tutors at the Guildhall who were the principal trumpet players with the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, after a few months I was offered the occasional date working with them and my name became known among the orchestral "fixers".
I freelanced for  two years and then took the position of Principal Trumpet with the Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet  where I remained for three and a half years before deciding once again to  freelance. During this time Philip Jones took retirement from playing and so his world famous brass ensemble were left without a flugelhorn specialist. Much to my delight they asked me to fill the vacancy and twelve years later I am still a member of the ensemble, also working in a freelance capacity with the symphony orchestras in London and elsewhere.

My musical interests are not purely restricted to performance  and in 1994 I studied part-time at Reading University for a Master of Music degree and a year later took up the position of Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where I had spent my post-graduate year as a student.

I feel very privileged to be able to follow a career in music which is the love of my life and am indebted to Mr Dunn and the music department of Bangor Girls High School for the guidance given to me in my years there."

 "My first experience of Ballynahinch Music Centre was an eye-opening rehearsal with the concert band, where clutching my cornet in a vice-like grip I attempted to reach notes I had not realised were within the range of the instrument. Needless to say such excitement ensured I would subsequently make a weekly pilgrimage to try to meet the challenge set by such demanding music.

Prior to this my ensemble playing had been limited to the school brass band where I had reached the dizzy heights of struggling through the final page of the Hinricshen first band book under the able baton of Jim Burch. Thanks to Jim I found myself not only travelling to Ballynahinch on a regular basis each Wednesday evening but also on Saturday morning to the music centre brass band.

Attendance on a regular basis to these two groups was rewarded by an invitation to receive individual cornet lessons at Ballynahinch, rather than the group classes offered at school, obviously a most welcome development.

I continued in this happy state for a couple of years until "A" level and career decisions had to be considered. It was pointed out to me that it would be in my best interests not only to continue to play the cornet but also to become proficient on the trumpet.

At first the trumpet seemed an alien and not entirely satisfactory beast to handle. After several years of enjoying the constraints imposed by the mellow, gentle nature of the cornet the freeblowing resistance-free qualities of the trumpet were bewildering- almost like walking a tight-rope without the reassurance of a safety net- nothing felt comfortable. Finally , however, with the tuition provided by the teachers at Ballynahinch it became comparatively easy to alternate between the two instruments.

Saturday morning for me now  became an orchestral rehearsal , followed in the afternoon by jazz orchestra. This added to Monday evening lessons, Wednesday and Thursday rehearsals and occasional brass quintet meetings, together with my other musical commitments, meant that I practically took up residence at the music centre.

These were great years in which I had a lot of fun, gained a great deal of playing experience and received the expert advice and tuition the excellent  teaching staff had to offer. The fact that some of my  contemporaries, such as Robert Dawson, Paul McCullough, Mark Coyle and Ian Simpson, are now members of the teaching staff some twenty years later, suggests  a great deal about the ongoing appeal of the place.

I trust that the present students enjoy the same quality of guidance that I had at the hands of the Burch family, David English, George Hale, Lawrence Neill and David Newham to name but a few. I am indebted to them for the encouragement they gave me in my years at the South Eastern Music Centre and their influence continues with me through my career."

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