The Göttingen Handel Festival allowed the trumpet section from F.O.G. to join the Göttingen Baroque Orchestra’s performance within the Göttingen Handel Festival. The Göttingen Baroque Orchestra, under their concert master Henning Vater, performed Handel’s ‘Deborah’ (HWV 51) in the Marktkirche St. Johannes which is in the heart of the city of Göttingen. The performance of this three-hour

Playing Bach in Germany is always a pleasure. This time I played Bach's Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) in the Stadtkirche Sankt Marien in Torgau as part of the Ascension day church service. Torgau is a beautifully restored old town in the region of Northwestern Saxony. It is situated on the banks of the river Elbe, Northeast of Leipzig.  In the break between the rehearsal and the performance,

One of the more interesting and wonderfully eccentric gigs so far this year took place on Saturday 2nd May 2015 in a treehouse in a field in Sussex, near Swallows Oast which is near Ticehurst. I played the modern Bb trumpet with Will Morley (Trumpet) and Barney Medland (Bass Trombone). We gave the Première of a piece entitled ‘Percius Cluster' written by Alexis Bennett, which had been specially

On Friday 1st of May, I performed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in a concert and education workshop at the Corn Exchange in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. I played 2nd trumpet in Handel’s Coronation Anthem - ‘Zadok the Priest’. My part in the performance was very small, as I was only involved in this performance of ‘Zadok the Priest’. The rest of the programme included round-singing,

I played with the orchestra 'Spiritato!' in a performance of music by Purcell, Rameau and Charpentier at St. John’s Smith Square on Wednesday 29th of April 2015. The performance was directed by Scott Price. Spiritato! began the programme with Henry Purcell’s ‘Suite from Abdelazer’. This set the scene for the first half of the concert which exclusively included works by Henry Purcell. The

Over the weekend, I performed an all-Bach programme in Saarbrücken in Germany with Le Concert Lorrain. The programme included the Easter Oratorio (BWV 249), Concerto for Oboe, Violin, Strings and Basso Continuo (BWV 1060) and the Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) and it had attracted a large audience to the Stiftskirche St. Arnual in Saarbrücken, Germany for a 5pm performance on Sunday 26th April 2015.  The

Bach's B Minor Mass was performed by candlelight at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London on Thursday 9th April 2015. The concert was part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival 2015. Rufus Frowde conducted the Brandenburg Baroque Soloists who accompanied vocalists: Nika Goric (Soprano), Charlotte Schoeters (Soprano), Laura Zigmantaite (Ato), William Blake (Tenor), Nicholas Mogg (Bass) and the Vivamus Chorus. I

After the B Minor Mass in Chester Cathedral, I travelled down to Dartington in Devon with the Bassoon section, who were (as luck would have it) doing the same concerts as me this weekend. Dartington is a very familiar and special venue - I spent many summers there at the International Summer School at Dartington Hall, near Totnes in Devon. The hall itself is picturesque and it feels tranquil, with

The first of two B Minor Masses this weekend took place in Chester Cathedral. I had organised a lift from London with the Bassoon section, who were doing the same two concerts as I was this weekend. They were fantastic company and the travel time flew by. I had never been to Chester before. I was impressed with the upmarket centre of Chester, with ancient buildings, Roman gates and old two-layered

Trebles and Altos from the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School joined the Westminster Cathedral Choir for a performance of J S Bach's B Minor Mass in Westminster Cathedral. Martin Baker conducted the orchestra and choirs. Kirra Thomas led the orchestra. The audience filled Westminster Cathedral and there was an incredible sense of calm silence from the large audience, that remained throughout

I travelled to the Sage in Gateshead to take part in my first B Minor Mass of the year. I was playing second trumpet to Crispian Steele-Perkins, with George Parnaby on third trumpet. One of George's students, Adam Wood, was sitting in with the section in the rehearsal to experience what it is like to be in a natural trumpet section. He will be going to the Royal College of Music in September. This

I performed a programme of music by Zelenka in Chelmsford on Saturday 14th March 2015. The trumpet section consisted of David Staff, Richard Thomas, Katie Hodges and Russell Gilmour. As there had been engineering work scheduled on the main line between London and Chelmsford, I had asked David Staff whether I could start my journey from his his home near Coddenham in Suffolk by departing a few

On Saturday, I revisited the conservatoire where I studied for my undergraduate degree - the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester. This time I was there to perform in the newly-refurbished concert hall as the leader of a section of three natural trumpets (myself, Will Russell and Gareth Hoddinott). We played Bach’s Magnificat in D with Manchester Baroque. With all three trumpet players

The Hand Engravers Association of Great Britain hosted an exhibition at Craft Central in Clerkenwell, London. I had become aware of this organisation after finding and watching their videos on YouTube, and subsequently had been browsing their website. I had been impressed with the videos and the organisation in general and what they are doing to help to spread interest in preserving this craft. 33-35

'Spiritato!' gave a concert at The Forge in Camden on Tuesday 3rd of February 2015. The group performed works by:H Purcell: King ArthurOverture : Air : Act I OvertureH Purcell: Sonata in Four Parts No.3 in A minorW Corbett: Suite in DOuverture : Aria : Gavotta : Sarabanda : Minuet : Air Ecossois : Air : Marche : MinuetG F Rebel: Les Caractères de la danse~ Interval ~G Fantini: Sonata a due Trombe

The chapel in Trinity College in Cambridge was the venue for Cambridge Baroque's concert on Saturday evening. The concert featured music by Bach, Schütz and Gabrieli. I played the Cornetto in Gabrieli's 'O Magnum Mysterium' and I played the Natural Trumpet in the Schütz 'Christmas Story'. The trumpets symbolise the royalty of King Herod, and accompany him in his aria. I took the opportunity

I flew to Malta to take part in a performance of Handel's Messiah with the Goldberg Ensemble; an ensemble based in Malta. The concert was held in the Anglican Cathedral - St Paul's Pro-Cathedral - in the capital, Valletta. I departed from Gatwick Airport - remarkably all the passengers and bags were loaded ahead of schedule, so we departed 20 minutes early - and Air Malta transported

I feel like I am hitting the ground running at the beginning of 2015! It's the 3rd of January 2015 as I write and I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in two musical projects already this year. I returned from Saarbrücken via London City Airport last night and I woke up early this morning to head towards Cambridgeshire, to play at Wimpole Hall with Eboracum Baroque, directed by Chris

It was great to spend New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Saarbrücken in Germany for a concert of music by Bach and Telemann. The concert was given by the French group Le Concert Lorrain. The section of three natural trumpets and timpani included myself on first trumpet, William Russell on 2nd and Olivier Picon on 3rd, with Frithjof Koch on Timpani. We played music intended for the New Year, including

Russell Gilmour - Natural Trumpet How were you introduced to your instrument? I was born and bred on the Isle of Man, a place that is alive with music. In 1992, my elder sister started to play the flute at school. Eventually she was persuaded to play the cornet too and she joined a brass band, Onchan Silver Band, so she came home with a cornet. At the age of 5 I tried playing it and decided I wanted