It was a great pleasure to play with the Festspiel Orchester Göttingen (FOG) as part of the Göttingen Handel Festival 2023, under their new artistic director, George Petrou. I played first trumpet, with Gareth Hoddinott on second, Maarten van der Valk on timpani, and the horn players Stephan Katte and Claudia Pallaver.This year I arrived in Göttingen on 14th May 2023 and departed on 29th May 2023. The

I played cornett with His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and the St Cecilia Players for a performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers at The Oratory on Brompton Road in London on Wednesday 10th May 2023. The performance was directed by Charles Cole and featured the exceptional singers of the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School and the tenor soloists Peter Davoren and Mark Dobell. We performed

I played cornetto (in 465 Hz) in Bach's motet O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht [BWV 118] for a recording with Andrew Parrott and the Taverner Consort and Players, which took place at SJE Arts in Oxford on Tuesday 9th May 2023. The recording will be released very soon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this esteemed ensemble. Andrew Parrott & his incredible team, including 4 brilliant

If you were to ask me to describe my ideal day it would start with a leisurely morning and a nice breakfast, it would also involve exploring, a good walk, a mid-afternoon chill, (Face)time with family, and it would include some lovely music and fine company. This was exactly my day in Kraków on Easter Sunday: I performed at the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic as part of the Misteria Paschalia festival:

Union Chapel in Highbury (London) was the venue for a performance of Handel's Messiah on Sunday 2nd April 2023. The Eclectic Voices choir joined forces with the City Bach Collective, led by Hazel Brooks, and the wonderful Scott Stroman directed the whole ensemble. I played first trumpet with Will Russell on second, and Lewis Blee on timpani. It was an uplifting performance, with great enthusiasm

I played first trumpet in Bach’s B minor mass at St. James’ Piccadilly in London on Saturday 1st April 2023. The Petros Singers and Garter Ensemble, conducted by Richard Bannan, performed Bach’s most celebrated mass in this historic London church.Russell Gilmour, William Russell and Adam Wood played the trumpet parts; unfortunately the timpanist collapsed at the beginning of the performance

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