On the 11th March 2020 I performed Israel in Egypt, in York Minster. I remember winding down in the nearby Guy Fawkes Inn with the trumpet, trombone and timpani players, and somebody commented that ‘it might be our last gig for a while’. I had not realised the implications and the severity of the unfolding pandemic. Even though handshakes and hugs had been off the agenda for a week or two, by that

Last year I had the honour of playing the Last Post at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. One year on, I spent the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month listening to the silence on the radio on route to Birmingham Airport. The airport maintained a similar silence on account of travel restrictions; just a few passengers presented for the Frankfurt flight. As I waited to board I thought about

I played in the trumpet section for the Gabrieli Consort & Players’ video recording of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio [BWV 248] at St. John’s Smith Square on 8th and 9th of November 2020. The subsequent videos will be released on the liturgically correct occasions between Christmas and Epiphany as part of a series of six ultra high definition video releases to a ticketed online audience, part

I especially missed Germany during lockdown, not just because of the cancelled festivals I had been looking forward to in Göttingen (Handel), Halle (Handel) and Bonn (Beethoven), but because I just love spending time in Germany. It was with great pleasure that Solomon's Knot could visit Hamburg for a concert at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg on Monday 26th October 2020, returning to a programme established

During lockdown I had the idea of organising a natural trumpet course, when restrictions would allow, to ‘blow out the cobwebs’ after these many months of isolation. Finally, in September, I was able to invite a hand-picked selection of amateur, semi-professional and professional natural trumpet players to two venues in Bedfordshire where we would play natural trumpets (without finger holes) as

It is difficult to put into words how it feels to once again, after this long interval, perform live music with an orchestra. I’ve missed the explorative sounds, the thrill of a challenge, the deeply immersive concentration in performance, the organic progression of a project, the collective pursuit of excellence, the feeling of belonging, the extraordinary characters, the excitement, the unexpected

'Zen in the Art of Archery': ‘Occasionally several […] right shots came off in close succession and hit the target, besides of course the many more that failed. But if ever the least flicker of satisfaction showed in my face the Master turned on me with unwonted fierceness. "What are you thinking of?" he would cry. "You know already that you should not grieve over bad shots; learn now not to

I’ve been to York many times and I have a definite affinity with the city. Although I’ve been to concerts in the Chapter House and in the Minster itself, this was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of performing in York Minster. I played in a performance of Handel’s Israel In Egypt, on Wednesday 11th March 2020, with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and the University of York Choir which was

I performed Bach's Magnificat in D Major [BWV 243] on Saturday 7th March 2020 with the St Cecilia Baroque Players at the Pamoja Hall at Sevenoaks School in Kent, a wonderful venue.The orchestra and Temenos Chamber Choir were conducted by Patrick Craig and the performance featured the soloists Susan Gilmour-Bailey (soprano), Rebecca Outram (soprano), Robin Blaze (countertenor), Nick Pritchard (tenor)

I performed at an experiential concert at St John’s Waterloo on Saturday 29th February 2020 - the bonus day of the leap year. The conductor, David Pearl, had dreamt up this event which would combine his birthday celebration with a fundraiser for the non-profit organisation Street Wisdom. It would also feature his friend and colleague Miha Pogačnik. The performance began with a rendition of the Overture

Natural trumpeters Russell Gilmour and Gareth Hoddinott joined Amici Voices on Thursday 27th February 2020 to play the final chorus (Dona Nobis Pacem) of Bach's B Minor Mass [BWV 232]. The performance was part of a 50th birthday celebration which took place near Hyde Park in London.The ensemble, comprising just 5 instrumentalists and 4 singers, performed a short all Bach programme which began with

A performance to celebrate the 75th birthday of the celebrated trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins took place at St. James’s Piccadilly in London on Saturday 22nd February 2020. As well as featuring a number of trumpet solos from Crispian the performance also showcased the English Chamber Choir and the orchestra (the English Players), under the direction of Guy Protheroe.St James’s Church is a fantastic

Amici Voices performed Bach’s cantata ‘Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben’ [BWV 147] at 18:30 on Sunday 16th February 2020 as part of the evening service at St John’s Church in Harpenden. The idea was to perform the version of the cantata as it may have been heard in Leipzig on 2nd July 1723 (as opposed to earlier versions dating back to Weimar, 1716).The service began with Bach’s ‘Herr Christ,

I had the pleasure of mentoring for ‘Future Talent’ at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) on Sunday 9th February 2020. The extreme weather of Storm Ciara made some of the travel arrangements a bit of a challenge. Fortunately my route to and from Manchester was largely unaffected but there was more debris on the roads than normal, and at one point I had to ford a deeply-flooded road on the

Performing Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with the Aurora Orchestra was one of the most enjoyable projects I participated in last year. It was great to return to play with the orchestra in February 2020 for music by Beethoven and Mozart. The orchestra rehearsed Beethoven’s Symphony No.1 in C [Op.21] on Wednesday 5th February 2020 at Morley College in London. We regrouped at London’s Heathrow

The Thomas Tallis Society Choir & Orchestra performed a programme of music by Capperauld, Finzi, Purcell, Vivaldi and Williams at St. Alfege Church in Greenwich on Saturday 18th December 2020.The programme began with Purcell's Come Ye Sons of Art (of 1694). I began playing the natural trumpet part, and I was asked to play the second alto part (one octave higher) in the movement 'Sound

I returned to Northampton Cathedral on Friday 20th December 2019 to play first trumpet in ‘Mr. Handel’s Messiah’ with the choir and orchestra of Fiori Musicali, under the direction of Penelope Rapson. Katy Hill (soprano), Robert Cross (countertenor), Edmund Hastings (tenor) and James Birchall (Bass) were the soloists for this year’s performance, and I played The Trumpet Shall Sound with James

When I was a student at the Royal College of Music I proposed a series of classes (in 2011) that would be organised and directed by postgraduate students from the Historical Performance department. Since I had proposed the idea, I had the job of arranging the inaugural class and I could choose the repertoire myself. I chose Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Christen, ätzet diesen Tag’ [BWV 63], originally

I devised and presented an early brass workshop for the students of Berkshire Maestros in Reading. The class was entitled 'The Evolution of the Trumpet Ensemble' and it featured trumpet ensemble music (spanning c.400 years) by Thomsen, Bendinelli, Fantini, Monteverdi, C. P. E. Bach, Altenburg, Dauverné and Andrzej Panufnik. I provided nine natural trumpets in D at A=415Hz for the students to play,

After Grand Baroque IV last week, I returned to Exeter Cathedral on Sunday 8th December 2019 to perform Handel’s Messiah with Devon Baroque and the Exeter Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Timothy Noon.  The 2:30pm performance was packed with people, eager to hear this Advent favourite. I played first trumpet in Devon Baroque led by Persephone Gibbs (violin) and it was great to see many