Three Manx trumpet players at the BBC Proms 2020 Live series
10 September 2020, 13:00Three Manx trumpet players performed in two consecutive BBC Proms concerts (in socially-distanced orchestras with no audience present) at the Royal Albert Hall in September 2020. Despite the shortening of this year’s Proms season, Manx trumpeters were key players at the world’s biggest classical music festival. Jason Evans took centre stage to perform the strongly-featured trumpet part in
Last Night of the Proms - Brandenburg Sinfonia - Hever Castle, Kent
30 August 2020, 21:00After an 'interval' of 172 days since my last concert (at York Minster in March), it was a great pleasure and huge relief to play live music with the Brandenburg Sinfonia for their Last Night of the Proms-inspired outdoor performance in the grounds of Hever Castle in Kent on Sunday 30th August 2020. View this post on Instagram First actual gig in 172 days! A post shared by Russell
'Perfecting' the Natural Trumpet - England c.1784 - c.1830
30 May 2020, 15:09I published a video about the history of the English slide trumpet as a YouTube Premiere on Sunday 31st May 2020 at 14:00 BST. 32 people watched the premiere live, and 160 video views came in the following 12 hours. Nine people participated in an interesting Zoom discussion immediately after the premiere.So I decided to write a blog - in lieu of any live performances this month - about the video.
Clement Thime - Sonata ab. 8 - Optimism amid adversity
14 April 2020, 11:00
'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
Easter Sunday Service - St. Martin-in-the-Fields - BBC Radio 4
12 April 2020, 11:00While my B-flat trumpet lay dormant in the trumpet cupboard at home, its sound could be heard on BBC Radio 4's Easter Sunday service which aired on Sunday 12th April 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has prevented any equivalent services from taking place this year. Andrew Earis (Director of Music at St. Martin-in-the-Fields) produced a BBC radio programme which featured some of the music from the 2013 service
Handel - Israel In Egypt - Yorkshire Baroque Soloists
11 March 2020, 22:00I’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
Bach - Magnificat - Sevenoaks
7 March 2020, 20:57I 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)
Rossini & Beethoven - St. John’s Waterloo
29 February 2020, 22:15I 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
Bach - Dona Nobis Pacem - Amici Voices
28 February 2020, 13:56Natural 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
Bach, Handel & Purcell - English Chamber Choir - 75th Birthday Concert for Crispian Steele-Perkins
22 February 2020, 21:30A 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
Bach - Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben - Harpenden - Amici Voices
16 February 2020, 19:30Amici 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
Vivaldi - Gloria - St. Martin-in-the-Fields
13 February 2020, 21:30It is always great to perform at one of the most famous churches in London, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, on the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square.
On this occasion, Thursday 13th February 2020, I played Vivaldi’s Gloria [RV 589] on the piccolo trumpet with the Brandenburg Sinfonia under the direction of Andrew Earis (Director of Music at St. Martin-in-the-Fields).
In preparation for this performance,
Future Talent - Mentoring - Royal Northern College of Music
9 February 2020, 15:00I 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
Beethoven & Mozart - Aurora Orchestra - Gstaad & Kings Place
8 February 2020, 21:30Performing 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
Purcell & Vivaldi - Greenwich - '100 Not Out' for Trevor Dannatt OBE
18 January 2020, 21:00The 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
Handel - Messiah - St. Martin-in-the-Fields
30 December 2019, 18:30Bob Porter conducted Handel's Messiah in a candlelit St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Monday 30th December 2019 at 18:30. The concert was part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival of London and it featured the Brandenburg Sinfonia and Brandenburg Festival Chorus. I played second trumpet, Paul Archibald played first trumpet and Tristan Fry played timpani.
Ours was the first of two concerts this evening.
Handel - Messiah - Northampton Cathedral
20 December 2019, 22:00I 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
Bach - Cantatas 62, 63, 110 & 243 - Luxembourg & Budapest
19 December 2019, 22:00When 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
Natural Trumpet Masterclass - Berkshire Maestros
15 December 2019, 20:00I 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,
Handel - Messiah - Exeter Cathedral
8 December 2019, 18:00After 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
Russell Gilmour
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France
Germany
Gorczycki
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Göttingen Handel Festival
Handel
Haydn
Historic Royal Palaces
Horn
Instrument
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Isle of Man
Keyed Trumpet
Kuhnau
Le Concert Lorrain
Lecture
Leipzig
Les Talens Lyriques
London
Masterclass
Modern Trumpet
Monteverdi
Mozart
Museum
Music
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OAE
OAEducation
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Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
Oxford
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Purcell
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Renaisannce
Review
Royal Academy of Music
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Schelle
Schütz
Shakespeare
Solomon's Knot
Spain
Spiritato!
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Switzerland
Taverner Consort
Teaching
Telemann
The English Concert
The Netherlands
The Section
Tour
Touring
Toyota Classics Tour 2018
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Trumpet
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Venice
Ventless
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Vox Luminis
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Workshop
Wrocław Baroque Orchestra
York
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