I enjoyed an action-packed week with the Aurora Orchestra and their conductor, Nicholas Collon, in the week beginning 20th March 2023. We performed Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony from memory six times in several different venues and settings in England and Germany. It was a pleasure to revisit this symphony, having memorised it for performances, including at the BBC Proms, in 2022.After two days of rehearsals

I played first (vented) trumpet at A=440 Hz in a performance of Handel's Messiah at Forest School in Walthamstow (London) on Saturday 11th March 2023. A good colleague and friend, Dave Clewlow (who also teaches at the school) played second trumpet and Keith Price played timpani. Students from the secondary and prep school joined forces with a community choir to sing this well-known oratorio by

I played principal trumpet with Les Talens Lyriques under the direction of Christophe Rousset for three all-Schubert performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet. The project took place between 18th January and 31st January 2023. Our first performance took place on Friday 27th January 2023 and it featured Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 6 in C major (D 589), Symphony No. 2 in B-flat minor (D 125),

I played natural trumpet and cornetto with the Gabrieli Consort & Players, directed by Paul McCreesh, in a performance at Westminster Cathedral which took place on Tuesday 10th January 2023.The performance at Westminster Cathedral was the last in a run of eight concerts; I was deputising for this performance only, and the other members of the ensemble had performed in the cathedrals or minsters

I performed Christmas carols at Hampton Court Palace, on Monday 2nd January 2023, with a fine group of musicians including Sam Goble, Nicholas Perry, Martyn Sanderson, Guy Morley, and Bill Lyons. We performed both inside and outside Hampton Court Palace, including by the magnificent Christmas tree in Clock court. We played arrangements of carols, old and new, from the new SP&S Christmas Collection. 

I performed in a Christmas carol service with Onchan Silver Band (the band in which I began learning to play when I was five years old) at Old Kirk Braddan on the Isle of Man on Boxing Day 2022. I have played at this service for as long as I can remember, and I only missed it during the pandemic. This was my first time performing with David Karran as the musical director: he started playing in the

Eight performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio; eight standing ovations. This was a tour of Holland to remember, with so many great components, including the Nederlands Kamerkoor, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset, Johanna Winkel (soprano), Sophie Harmsen (alto), Zachary Wilder (tenor) and Krešimir Strazanac (bass). We performed in the Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht (12 December 2022), De

I played with Les Talens Lyriques for a recording of excerpts from several nineteenth-century works by composers such as Méhul, Beethoven, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Weber, Auber, Spontini, Bellini, Marschner, and Wagner. This recording project, called The Sorcerer’s Shadow, featured the virtuoso tenor soloist Michael Spyres. The programme explored Wagner and his influences. Christophe Rousset conducted

I performed Handel’s Messiah at The Anvil in Basingstoke with the Basingstoke Choral Society on Sunday 28th November 2022. I played first trumpet in the orchestra, which was led by Ellen Bundy (violin) and conducted by David Gibson. Will Russell and Ben Fullbrook played second trumpet, and timpani respectively. I last performed Messiah with this choral society on Sunday 15th November 2015.Believe

As part of their 30th anniversary season Les Talens Lyriques performed an all-Bach programme in three cities in the week beginning 21st November 2022. The first performance took place at Salle Gaveau in Paris (21st), the second at the Théâtre d'Orléans (23rd), and the third at the Casino de Montbenon as part of the Bach Festival in Lausanne (25th). The programme featured Bach’s Orchestral Suite

I played first trumpet in a performance of Handel's Messiah which took place at the Apex in Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk on Saturday 12th November 2022. The sold-out performance featured Suffolk Baroque Players and the Bury Bach Choir under guest conductor Tom Appleton. The Apex is a gorgeous hall to play in. The Bury Bach Choir is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. I had the pleasure of

I was extremely lucky, on Sunday 30th October 2022, to be able to fill in for an indisposed trumpet player in a B minor mass at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax. At 5pm I finished another all-Bach performance in Leeds, and by 5:40pm I was in Halifax, ready for a 6:30pm B minor mass. As a period instrument specialist, this basically never happens—what luck! The performance featured the Halifax Choral

I performed with Leeds Baroque under the direction of Peter Holman on Sunday 30th October 2022 at the  Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, part of the School of Music of the University of Leeds. The programme featured three works with kettledrums, as the concert celebrated the recent purchase of Leeds Baroque's own timpani. The programme also featured a contrasting cantata (without trumpets and

I performed the Inspiring Bach programme with Spiritato and the vocal ensemble, The Marian Consort, at the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon on Saturday 29th October 2022. I led the section of four natural trumpet players (Russell Gilmour, Katie Hodges, Gareth Hoddinott and William Russell). We played natural trumpets without finger holes, with Keith Price on timpani. Once again

Just before the pandemic, I performed with the English Chamber Choir in a performance to celebrate the 75th birthday of the trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins.On this occasion, Monday 24th October 2022, the English Chamber Choir was celebrating its own anniversary—its fiftieth—at Cadogan Hall in Sloane Square. A spokesperson from the choir explained that this choir had performed in the second concert

Spiritato and the Marian Consort collaborated once again to perform the inventive programme entitled Inspiring Bach on Saturday 22nd October 2022. We performed at St Martin’s Church in Brighton to a large and very receptive audience. Great cheers followed the rousing final work of the programme, Johann Christoph Bach’s Es erhub sich ein Streit. Will Russell, the organiser of the Inspiring Bach

I had an enjoyable morning on Monday 17th October 2022 working with the Academy of Ancient Music, Laurence Cummings, and students of the Royal Academy of Music.Maggie Faultless introduced the morning class. She called it a laboratory—a chance for everyone to experiment and ask questions. Representatives from the Academy of Ancient Music explained several interesting concepts that arose as we studied

Aurora. What an orchestra, what energy, and what a privilege it has been to perform with them again. I recently wrote an article, in which I listed some of the most incredible things I have ever seen with my own eyes, among them: the Basilica di San Marco in Venice, the Vasa museum in Stockholm, Shakespeare’s Globe in London, Roger W Smith’s mechanical watchmaking, and the Aurora Orchestra's

It was a great pleasure to revisit Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique after the thrilling performances, including at the BBC Proms, in 2019. Our first performance in 2022—again, memorised— took place at 18:00 on Saturday 17th September 2022 at the Telekom Forum in Bonn. The performance was live-streamed to YouTube.We also played Beethoven's Triple Concerto (Op. 56) in the first half of the

It has already been an extraordinary week, both in British life and also in my own experience. A great amount has already been written about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s incredible life and astonishing service. I cannot meaningfully add anything to these fitting tributes, other than to mention my own admiration for her exceptional service and great humility. Coincidentally, I have been tantalisingly