I performed Monteverdi’s Vespers in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm on Sunday 24th March 2019. Prior to this visit I had spent only a few hours in Sweden (in Malmö, on a day trip over the railway bridge from Denmark) so I took the opportunity to extend my visit over a long weekend that tied in with the cheapest flights. This opportunity had arisen at fairly short notice and my Mum (who lives

Snape Maltings was the venue for Aldeburgh Music Club’s performance of a programme entitled ‘The Amazing Mr. Handel’ on Saturday 16th March 2019. The performance featured the Coronation Anthems [HWV 258], Water Music Suite in G [HWV 350], Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.9 [HWV 327], Chandos Anthem No.7 'My song shall be alway' [HWV 252] and the Chandos Anthem No.4 'O worship the Lord in the beauty of

Andrzej Kosendiak and the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble performed music by Marcin Mielczewski in two cities alongside the Vistula river in central Poland. The first concert took place in Płock Cathedral (the Bazylika Katedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny) on Saturday 2nd February 2019, and the second concert took place in the Great Hall of the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Sunday 3rd February

At the invitation of Adrian France, Head of Brass, I gave a natural trumpet masterclass to the brass students of Newcastle University on Wednesday 31st January 2019. The class took place between 14:00 and 16:00 in the spacious Robert Boyle Lecture Theatre in the Armstrong Building, on the main University campus. I was glad to be able to deliver a masterclass to higher education students on the subject

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAEducation) gave two performances on Wednesday 30th of January 2019 in two schools in County Durham.The project followed on from a similar one that took place in London in November 2018. Like the November project, it catered for young musicians including those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Again, Purcell's Fairy Queen was the focus of these educational

Les Talens Lyriques performed Mozart’s azione sacra (literally ‘sacred action’) Betulia Liberata [K.118/74c] under the direction of Christophe Rousset in Salzburg’s Mozartwoche 2019. The concert took place in Salzburg’s Haus für Mozart on Sunday 27th January 2019, exactly 263 years after Mozart's birthday on the 27th January 1756. La Betulia Liberata is based on the biblical character of

Spiritato’s Sound the Trumpet programme made an excellent impression with the audience at Holy Trinity Church in Claygate in Surrey on Saturday 12th January 2019. This early evening concert was promoted by the Oxshott & Cobham Music Society and included works by Purcell, Corbett, Rebel, Fantini, Legrenzi, Albrici, Matteis and Franceschini. Almost time to Sound the Trumpet with @Spiritato #soundthetrumpet

Inspired by the Medieval manuscript the Chronicles of Mann, two Manx-born musicians Russell Gilmour (trumpet) and David Kilgallon (organ) performed in the duo ‘Chronicles’ at St. Paul’s Church in Ramsey on the Isle of Man on Friday 28th December 2018. The Chronicles of Mann mentions various locations including: the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and even places as far away as Norway and

Northampton Cathedral was the venue for my only complete Messiah performance this December. I played with the choir and orchestra of Fiori Musicali with their Director Penelope Rapson. Some years ago Handel’s Messiah seemed to be, almost exclusively, the only piece that I was asked to perform at this time of year. At the moment it seems to be slightly less common for me to have a solely Messiah-filled

Spain is a country I have visited only twice before. The more recent trip was to Úbeda with the Academy of Ancient Music in 2013. I performed as a soloist playing Handel’s Diana cacciatrice [HWV 79] with the soprano soloist Lucy Crowe. Before that I visited Spain for the first time with Le Concert Lorrain. We finished an extensive European tour in Burgos on the 21st of December 2010 with a performance

On Thursday 13th of December 2018 I deputised at Hampton Court Palace, playing festive music (some music had direct links to the palace) on 19th Century instruments as part of the palace’s ‘Christmas at Court’ events. A duo of brass players accompanied several of the grace-and-favour residents of 1906 and members of the public as they sang carols around the Christmas tree in Clock Court at

Music by three successive Leipzig Thomaskantors (incidentally, all with the first name Johann) was the focus of Solomon’s Knot’s performances in Advent 2018. Rehearsals for the programme entitled ‘Christmas in Leipzig’ began on 26th November 2018 at Holy Trinity Church on Prince Consort Road in London. The first public performance took place at St. Mary’s Church in the Lace Market, Nottingham

When I first visited the Palace of Versailles on a school history trip in March 2005 I would never have imagined that I would, one day, have the opportunity to play there as a professional trumpet player. Since then I have performed and recorded in the Opéra Royal de Versailles with Les Talens Lyriques (often playing operas that were originally performed there, such as Lully’s Alceste and

On Sunday 2nd December 2018 I deputised on first trumpet with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for the first joint rehearsal day of Glydnebourne’s Community Opera, ‘Agreed’. This opera was composed and conducted by Howard Moody, and his daughter Anna Moody had written the libretto. 'Agreed' is directed by Simon Iorio and will be performed at Glyndebourne in the near future. For further

I performed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAEducation) at the Amadeus Centre near Warwick Avenue in London on Wednesday 28th of November 2018. The project featured participants from Gospel Oak, Rhyl and Swiss Cottage primary schools in Camden and it catered for (and I must say, enthralled) these young musicians including those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This was a

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam Approaching Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport from the south-east gave stunning views over the meandering course of the Mekong Delta. As we descended, Ho Chi Minh City’s vast sprawl was apparent; 13.5 million inhabitants live in the metropolitan area and 8.4 million live in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) itself.

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam From Manila we flew over the South China Sea again and arrived back at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia at 17:05 on Thursday 8th November 2018. Getting through immigration had been relatively tricky here. We all had the correct documentation but the sudden deluge of our group rather overwhelmed the sole

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam As soon as our plane landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on 4th November 2018, an army of workers were waiting at the gate ready to unload our aircraft. I imagine they had at least double or triple the number of ground staff that would meet a plane landing the United Kingdom. We left to meet two coaches

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam Marking the half-way point of the tour, we arrived in the capital city of Cambodia at Phnom Penh International Airport. Two coaches, decked out with lace curtains like a Pullman carriage, transported us toward the busy city centre and our hotel. It was interesting to observe the shops and stalls at the roadside. There

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam We arrived in Vientiane at Wattay International Airport on the evening of Friday 26th October 2018. The Lao Plaza hotel was only 6km away and we checked in very efficiently upon arrival. After dropping off our luggage we left the hotel and went to find something to eat. The hotel was near Nam Phou, a square with a central