Danny Barber

Danny Barber was born in Clinton, Indiana. At an early age his father tutored him on the cornet. After graduating from high school, Mr. Barber auditioned for the U.S. Army Studio Band (a jazz ensemble of the United States Army Field Band) near Washington D.C. Mr. Barber toured the United States for three years, receiving rewarding "on the job" experience.

After leaving the service, Mr. Barber went on the road with the Tommy Dorsey Band under the direction of Murray McCeaceran and Buddy Morrow. Then on to play with Maynard Ferguson for 3 years. Presently, Mr. Barber is a freelance trumpeter in Chicago playing recording dates, radio and television commercials, Broadway shows including Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and many others. Mr. Barber has performed as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony and the Grant Park Orchestra. He has also performed with Henry Mancini, Joel Gray, Anthony Quinn, Tommy Tune, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Rogers, Styx, The Moody Blues, Doc Severinsen, Clark Terry, Tony Bennett, Louie Bellson, Natalie Cole and many others.

Mr. Barber has also played for Frank Sinatra and Frank Sinatra Jr. He recorded on the sound track for the movie "A league of Their Own".  Presently, Mr. Barber is instructor of trumpet at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac, Michigan. He is also a member of the solo cornet section with the Brass Band of Battle Creek.

He studied the trumpet with William Adam at Indiana University. Mr. Barber is a Selmer Clinician and performing concerts throughout the United States and elsewhere. He plays the Vincent Bach Stradivarius Trumpets and Cornets.

Mark Bennet

Mark Bennett won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he studied with Michael Laird. Whilst there he was awarded the Royal College Brass prize and also became interested in the natural trumpet and baroque performance practice. He has performed and toured extensively with many leading modern and period instrument orchestras and ensembles, including the English Concert, London Brass and Baroque Brass of London, as well as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The English Baroque Soloists.

Mark has made many solo recordings on both the modern and the natural (baroque) trumpets. These include Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, Vivaldi’s Concerto for 2 trumpets, the Fasch Concerto and Telemann’s Tafel Music, all with Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert for Deutche Gramophone archive.

He has made two solo recordings with the Purcell Quartet (a Purcell collection and Biber’s Sonatae ‘Tam Aris Quam Audis Sevientes’).

Mark has recorded Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (when he was just 21) as well as with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Hanover Band and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Mark was a professor at the Royal Collage of Music between 1990 and 2000 teaching both modern and baroque trumpet.

He has been involved in many different types of music making, including playing principal trumpet with the LPO, LSO, RPO as well as many feature films, including Shakespeare in Love.

Mark has worked with many conductors including Franz Bruggen, William Christie, Ton Koopman, Iona Brown, Christopher Hogwood, Robert King, Simon Rattle, Philippe Herreweghe, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

Abroad, Mark works frequently with the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra, the Oslo Baroque Orchestra and as soloist with Terje Tønnesen and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. He has also appeared in the Oslo Chamber Music Festival playing Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.

Michael Brydenfelt

Michael was born in 1966 in Denmark and received his initial training on the trumpet at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen before later joining the class of Pierre Thilbaud at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique, Paris. There he was awarded the Premiere Prix. He has also studied with David Hickman, Edward Tarr and Bo Nilsson.

He has won many prizes and awards including first prize in the Danish National Trumpet Competition as well the Euro-ITG Competition, third prize in the International Trumpet Competition, Toulon, and 4th prize in the 44th International Music Competition of the Prague Spring Festival.

As a concerto soloist his repertoire is wide and he has performed with many major orchestras including the Århus Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony, Odense Symphony, Malmø Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Orchestra, Hamburg, and Polish Chamber Orchestra.

He has recorded seven solo CD’s which display his versatility and skills in many different musical genres.

He teaches privately as well as giving master classes around the world. After a memorable performance at the 1997 ITG Conference in Gothenburg, delegates will be delighted to see his return.

Tony Fisher
Tony started playing at a very early age and by the time he was 13 years old he was already a professional - touring the theatres and concert halls of the UK as a boy prodigy trumpet soloist. He later worked with many of the "name" bands - Ted Heath, Johnny Dankworth, Eric Delaney, Ken Mackintosh, Don Lusher, plus the fantastic Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band - plus recording and playing concerts with The London Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Metropole Orchestra of Holland.

Eventually settling in London he became one of the most in-demand studio musicians, working on countless films, TV shows and recordings. The artists he recorded with include, among others, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Harry James, Doc Severinsen, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Sarah Vaughan, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Tony Bennet, Sammy Davis Jr., Henry Mancini, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis, Liza Minelli, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Nelson Riddle. The film sound tracks he worked on included all the original James Bond films,"Star Wars" and many others.

In addition to his duties as leader of the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra he is currently to be seen every Saturday night on the weekly BBC-TV show - "Parkinson". He also works on various "one-off" TV shows and film recordings in the UK and in Europe.

Latterly, he has been involved in teaching - holding clinics at the Guildhall School of Music, Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music, Trinity College, and the Leeds College of Music.

Russell Gray

Russell Gray was born near Glasgow, Scotland in 1968. He began his musical education in 1977 on the trumpet and within three years had won several major junior solo competitions. This included both Scottish and British under 17 solo Championships. At the age of 12, he was appointed Principal Comet of the Clydebank Burgh Band. At the age of 17, he moved to England to further his studies at Huddersfield University. During this time Russell played with the Black Dyke Mills Band.

Russell is much in demand both domestically and internationally, respected for his soloist abilities, as well as his devotion to the brass band movement. As a soloist, Russell has been delivering master classes, recitals, and gala concert performances all over the world (Europe, Canada, Spain, North America, Australia, Japan and South Korea).
In 1993, Russell was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Quintessence Brass Ensemble.

In 1999, Russell undertook a five month tour of Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada and the United Kingdom. It included approximately 50 formal concerts and 60 school concert appearances.

From 1998 through to February 2001, Russell was worked and lived in Norway. He was the Musical director of the Stavanger Brass Band, and the Sola Brass Band. In August 2000 Russell was appointed professional conductor of NSK-RHP Ransomes Band. In his first appearance at the National Finals in the Royal Albert Hall led his band to 2nd place, Qualifying for the European Championships held in Montreaux in May 2001.

In September of 2001 Russell was appointed Cornet tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music. Earlier this year he became the Musical Director of the Fodens band, leading them to 1st place in his first contest appearance.

David Guerrier

David Guerrier was born on 02 december 1984 in Pierrelatte, south of France. He began to study trumpet with Serge Vivares in Pierrelatte when he was seven yeras old. Three years later, he met Pierre Dutot who recognized him as an already talented musician. In 1996 & 1997, he obtained four first prizes in european competitions, so as two gold medals in National Music schools in Villeurbanne and Aix en Provence. From 1997 to 2000, he studied modern trumpet at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique (CNSM) in Lyon (France) with Pierre Dutot as main teacher, and from 1998 to 2001, baroque trumpet with Jean-François Madeuf.

In may 1998, as he was 13 years old, he won the First Prize in the famous Markneuchkirchen International Trumpet Competition ; in may 1999, he obtained the First Prize in the Mock Orchestra Competition Audition in Richmond (USA, ITG Conference) and in december of the same year the First Prize in the Porcia International Competition (Italy). In may 200, he won the First Prize in the Solo Competition Audition in New-York (USA, ITG Conference) and in October 2000 the First Prize in the City of Paris International Maurice Andre Competition. In June 2000, he was finalist in the Young Musicians European Broadcast Competition (Bergen, Norway), in September 2000, he was a laureate for Pro-Europa and in August 2001 he was an invited soloist for the project " Stars de demain ", that could be seen on ARTE on 10/03/02.

During summer 1998, he was a member of Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, and in 1999 & 2000 he took part in the summer tour of Europan Union Youth Orchestra with Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink and Vladimir Askhenazy as conductors. During summer 1999, he also took part in the third " Académie du XX° siècle " directed by Pierre Boulez and David Robertson. With the Brass Quintet Turbulences, he won the First Prize in Philips Jones International competition who held in Guebwiller (France) in September 2001.

Since 1997, he is often invited as a soloïst with orchestra and for chamber music (France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Spain, Belgium, Slovaquia, USA), and takes care of promote original repertoire for trumpet and piano, trumpet and organ and brass quintet.

John Hagstrom
John Hagstrom has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's trumpet section since 1996, when he won the audition for fourth trumpet. A year later, he won the second trumpet job, carrying on the tradition of brass section teamwork for which the CSO is famous. Prior to joining the Orchestra, he was principal trumpet of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra in Kansas, and served as assistant professor of trumpet at Wichita State University. He currently heads the trumpet department at DePaul University.

A native Chicagoan, John grew up listening to the CSO. Five years of study at the Eastman School of Music were followed by six years in "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C., where he spent three of those years as principal trumpet. His many solo appearances with the band included four national concert tours and the Camp David wedding of President Bush's daughter, Dorothy.
Recent recordings featuring John include his performance of the Bellini Oboe Concerto and the Sachse Concertino with the Chicago Brass Choir. He also can be heard as lead trumpet on Daniel Barenboim's new recording on the Teldec label entitled Tribute to Ellington.

When playing in the Orchestra, John performs on one of the orchestra-owned Bach Stradivarius C trumpets manufactured in Mt. Vernon, New York, by Vincent Bach himself. The complete set of four trumpets was purchased at Fritz Reiner's direction in 1956. Each instrument has been handed down through the succession of trumpet section members since that time and possesses the potential to produce the special colour of trumpet sound associated with the CSO. John's trumpet was previously used in the Orchestra by George Vosburgh (second trumpet, 1979-1992), and Frank Kaderabek (assistant principal trumpet, 1958-1966). Its serial number is just seven numbers away from another instrument in the set played by Adolph Herseth.
John's interests outside the Orchestra include cooking and the upkeep of his 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, a car he has completely restored and customized over the past several years.

Håkan Hardenberger

Håkan Hardenberger was born in Malmö, Sweden in 1961. He began studying the trumpet at the age of eight with Bo Nilsson in Malmö and continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Pierre Thibaud, and in Los Angeles with Thomas Stevens. His virtuosity was quickly recognised, and today he is regarded as one of the most charismatic musicians of his generation.

Håkan Hardenberger has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Swedish Radio Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and NHK Symphony Orchestra Japan. Conductors he has worked with include Paavo Berglund, Neeme Järvi, Kurt Masur, Ingo Metzmacher, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Michael Tilson Thomas. Hardenberger is a regular guest at such major festivals as Lucerne, Salzburg, Schleswig Holstein and the BBC Proms, and he has given recitals in the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Barbican Centre Celebrity Series, the Zurich Tonhalle, and the Hamburg Musikhalle.

Hardenberger has played chamber music with such colleagues as Christian Lindberg, Leif Over Andsnes and Isabelle van Keulen, and regularly gives duo recitals with Roland Pöntinen and Simon Preston.

Hardenberger has made many recordings for Philips, EMI and BIS Records. In addition to the recent disc with Leif Ove Andsnes for EMI, recordings of Swedish trumpet concertos by Börtz, Sandström and Rabe dedicated to Håkan Hardenberger have been released on BIS last season. Håkan Hardenberger’s most recent disc on BIS features French music for trumpet and organ with Simon Preston.

Håkan Hardenberger frequently gives masterclasses, notably in Malmö and as Prince Consort Professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

Andrei Kavalinski

Born in 1977 in Minsk, Andrei Kavalinski graduated in 1995 from the Minsk Music Academy and in 1999 continued his studies at the “Staatliche Hochschule für Musik” in Karlsruhe with Professor Reinhold Friedrich. In addition to
this he attended masterclasses with Markus Stockhausen and has continued his artistic education with Dr Edward Tarr.

Andrei Kavalinski has already won several international competitions. His successes include 1st prize-winner at the International Competition for Trumpet in Moscow (1997), 3rd prize-winner at the “Internationaler Lionswettbewerb”
in Kassel (1998), Prize-winner of the “Richard Wagner – Stipendienstiftung” (1998), and 2nd prize at the international contest “Citta di Porcia” in Italy (1999).

His most recent achievements were in the year 2000: At the “Festival de Musique de Toulon”, France, where he came 2nd, at the 4th international “Maurice Andre”competiton in Paris, where he was winner of the 2nd Grand Prix, and in Bad Säckingen, where he won 1st Price at the International Trumpet Guild (Ellsworth Smith) contest.

As a soloist Andrei Kavalinskii has already performed in many concert halls in Europe. He also performed at events of UNESCO in Paris and the UN in Geneva. As a member of the “Virtuosos of Moscow” he has performed under the
direction of Vladimir Spivakov.

Andrei Kavalinski started playing in orchestras in 1998, first as a trainee with the “Städtisches Orchester Dortmund”, and since 1999 as regular substitute with the “Städtisches Orchester Krefeld-Mönchengladbach”. In summer 2001 Andrei Kavalinski was appointed solo trumpet with the “Vlaams Radio Orkest” (Flemish Radio Orchestra).

John Miller
John Miller is one of Britain's leading brass teachers. His musical training began in Tullis Russell Mills Band, a local brass band whose former members include Jmsnd John Wallace. He read music at King's College, Cambridge, and subsequently won three awards which enabled him to study trumpet as a postgraduate in the USA.

He has worked extensively in London as a freelance musician, notably with the London Sinfonietta and the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. He continued as a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra between 1977 and 1994, and is a founder member of the Wallace Collection, with which he has recorded and performed much baroque solo repertoire alongside John Wallace.

John has been a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 1979, a brass tutor for The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain since 1991, and regularly coaches the European Youth Orchestra. He has been a consultant in trumpet for the RNCM since 1997 and became a regular member of staff in 1998.
In 1993, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the GSMD. His teaching activities have included masterclasses in China, Finland, Germany, Japan, USA and the Paris Conservatoire. His numerous publications for brass education and ensemble performances are available from Faber Music, Boosey and Hawkes, Brasswind Publications and the Guildhall Press.

Claudio Roditi

Claudio Roditi was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1946 and began his musical studies when he was just five years old. He soon became interested in jazz and after his appearance in the International Jazz Competition in Vienna in 1966, he moved to Mexico City becoming active on the contemporary music scene.

In 1970 he moved again to Boston and studied at Berklee College of Music, later joining the faculty of the School of Contemporary Music. It was in 1976 that he moved to New York where he still resides. Roditi has performed / recorded with such stars as Joe Henderson, Charlie Rouse, Herbie mann, Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera and McCoy Tyner among others. He was a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s ‘United Nation Orchestra’ in as well as the ‘Jazz Masters’ led by Slide Hampton.

He is a prolific writer and his musical blend of bosa nova, samba and bebop is as infectious as it is seamless. He has performed all over the world and has recorded thirteen solo albums, all of which display his wonderful sense of adventure and imagination as well, of course, as his wonderfully distinctive pure sound.

Claudio Roditi plays trumpets by Gerd Dowids (Munich) and Flugel Horn by Antoine Courtois (Paris)

Carl Saunders
Carl was born into a Salvation Army family and performed his first cornet solo in Cardiff Canton Corps at the age of five. He progressed through the young people’s band into the senior band where he has been principal cornet for 13 years.

He has featured as a soloist all around Wales, England and Scotland as well as further abroad in Holland, Germany, Sweden and more recently in the U. S. A. as a guest bandmaster and soloist at music schools run by the Salvation Army.

He was featured as the guest soloist at the Bandmasters and Songster Leaders Councils Festival at the Royal Albert Hall in 1998. He is currently the principal cornet with the Household Troops Band of the Salvation Army and has featured with many prominent Salvation Army bands including The International Staff Band, Enfield Citadel Band and Egon Virtuosi Brass.

Last autumn Carl was privileged to perform as soloist with The Fodens Band at the Great Northern Brass Arts Festival at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and later this year will perform with The Black Dyke Band at the International Trumpet Guild Convention in Manchester. He has featured as a soloist on various CD recordings, most recently with Canton Band performing a variety of solos from Army composers.

Carl and his wife Christine are both very involved in the corps at Cardiff Canton, Christine as youth group leader and pianist and Carl as the Young Peoples Band Leader and Deputy Bandmaster.

Eddie Severn
Based in the UK, Eddie Severn has performed in a variety of situations from jazz to classical to rock. His role as Lead Trumpet with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra has seen him working with numerous guest artists such as Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider, Joe Lovano, Ingrid Jenson, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Ken Peplowski, Dave Leibman and Bobby Watson. As a soloist he has performed at home, in Europe and the USA with many well-known musicians including Tommy Smith, Joe Temperly, Bobby Wellins, Jim Mullen, Emil Vickiky and Bob Wilbur. In the commercial field, Eddie has performed and recorded music for television, radio and theatre. Credits include appearances with Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Connie Frances, Allan Stewart and Chita Rivera as well as performances on numerous pop sessions and shows

Composer / Arranger
As well as composing music for his own Quartet, Eddie has written several commissions including, music for the Scottish Composers Jazz Ensemble and the Scottish Arts Council. A notable commission was premiered in the Glasgow International Jazz Festival, where he wrote a piece especially for the renowned trumpeter Kenny Wheeler.

Clinician
Eddie Severn currently holds the posts of Jazz Musician in Residence at Napier University Edinburgh, and teacher of Jazz Trumpet at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. For four years he was Musical Director of the Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra. As a clinician he has been featured at the New York Brass Conference, the IAJE conference in New Orleans and Eastern Michigan University. European appearances include work with the Tampere Conservatoire Big Band in Finland and the Frydlant Jazz Summer School in the Czech Republic.

“Severn plays Trumpet beautifully with great technical skill and panache, his tone on the Flugelhorn is about the most burnished you will ever hear on the instrument” Evening News

Crispian Steele-Perkins

Crispian Steele-Perkins is known as a virtuoso solo trumpeter whose particular interest is to restore, play and record upon antique instruments of the trumpet family.

During the first twenty years of his career he played in symphony orchestras (Royal Philharmonic, Sadlers Wells Opera, English Chamber Orchestra) and was in great demand in recording studios. He was also Professor of Trumpet for twelve years at the Guildhall School of Music, London. His varied experience, practical approach and unquenchable enthusiasm in all fields of music have made him one of the world’s most authoritative and highly esteemed trumpet players.

Richard Carson Steuart

Richard Carson Steuart was born in Canada in 1956 and received his first instruction on the Cornet at the age of nine from his father Kenneth Leslie Steuart. He first performed on television at the age of 10, performing the cornet solos of thevirtuoso Herbert Lincoln Clarke and won his first National competition on the trumpet playing the Hummel Concerto at age 11. His teachers have included Dr. Mel Carey, Dr. John Harding,Theodore Weiss, Mel Broiles, Frank Kaderabek, Vincent Cichowicz and Philip Jones.

Richard has been extremely successful in competitions and has been winner of the Canadian National Radio and Television- "CBC Wind-Instrument-Soloist Competition" in 1976, (CBC-TV Talent Festival); the International Radio and Television- "ARD Trumpet-Soloist Competition in Munich, Germany" in 1980 (XXIX. International Musikwettbewerb der Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland); and the "International Radio and Television Music Competition for Trumpet-Soloists of Geneva" in 1981 (37me Concours International D`Exécution Musicale Genève 1981) .

Richard's orchestral experience has included full-time positions as 1st Solo-trumpeter of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra (starting 1976), the German Opera on the Rhein, Düsseldorf (1978-79) and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestras (1979-1984). In 1983, at the suggestion of the Bavarian Ministry of Culture, the City of Würzburg, created a Special Teaching Assignment for Richard as "Artist in Residence " at their Conservatory of Music both teaching the modern and historical trumpet and leading various ensembles from Baroque to Big-band and Jazz as well giving instruction in contemporary "Neue Musik".

He was a founder member of "German Brass" and "Munich Brass" and is the head of the European Brass Academy, the "European Baroque Soloists" as well as the "German Chamber Soloists"

As a result of the integration of the Würzburg City Conservatory (Stadtische Konservatorium für Musik, Würzburg) with the Bavarian State's, Academy of Applied Musical Arts, "Hochschule für Musik, Würzburg", which took place in September, 2001, Richard was appointed Head of the Historical-Brass-Faculty of the combined schools.

James Thompson
James Thompson is professor of trumpet at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY and guest professor at the Trompeten-Academy Werder in Bremen, Germany. Previously he was principal trumpet in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, the Orchestra of the State of Mexico, the National Symphony of Mexico and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
He is also active as a soloist and teacher. He taught trumpet and brass ensemble at Northern Arizona University, the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City and McGill University in Montreal, He has performed as soloist with orchestras in North and South America, as well as Europe. He performed a jazz / gospel trumpet solo at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games opening ceremonies

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Thompson was raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he began trumpet studies at the age of ten.

Derek Watkins

Derek Watkins has an international reputation as one of the best all- round trumpet players. He has played for Johnny Dankworth, Maynard Ferguson, Benny Goodman, Ted Heath, and Frank Sinatra and the James Last Orchestra. He regularly plays for TV shows and has also given concerts and made recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent recordings include a solo album 'Increased Demand' and sound tracks for the Batman and James Bond movies.

He has worked with Richard Smith on instrument development for more than 22 years, and has helped to test every aspect of the new Smith-Watkins designs.

John Wallace
Acclaimed internationally as a virtuoso trumpet player, John Wallace’s performances as soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and at major festivals and venues throughout the world have earned him wide respect from audiences, promoters and critics alike. In 1995, he was awarded the O.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his distinguished services to music.

In addition to invitational performances with major orchestras in the united Kingdom and abroad, Wallace regularly gives recitals and master-classes all over the world. He has participated in Arts Council Network tours both in the United Kingdom and in Australia and has worked with the British Council in South Africa and Russia. In 1986 he founded the Wallace Collection, an ensemble devoted to the development of brass music and education.

Wallace was born in Fife, Scotland, and read music at King’s College, Cambridge. Until 1995, Wallace was principal trumpet of the Philharmonia Orchestra, a position that he held for nearly twenty years. He was also principal trumpet of the London Sinfonietta, London’s foremost contemporary music ensemble. He was head of the brass faculty at the Royal Academy of Music before his appointment in January 2002 as Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and drama in Glasgow.

Roger Webster

Roger has been acclaimed by many reviewers and audiences worldwide as one of the world's greatest ever cornetists. His playing career began as a young pianist, completing his grade exams as he reached his early teens. His progress on cornet has been equally meteoric, holding the position of principal cornet with some of the top bands of the United Kingdom, he first came to Black Dyke in 1988 and said that "it was the banding equivalent of arriving at the summit of Everest"

In 1993 after five years at Black Dyke Band, Roger moved on to pursue a very successful international solo career, appearing in over 20 countries, most of which have been visited many times. Performing in venues as far apart as London's Royal Albert Hall to the famous Sydney Opera House, a regular soloist throughout Europe, USA, and Asia, he recently completed his 12th Japanese tour. Roger has released four solo CD's and is featured as guest soloist on over 20 others including discs from America, Holland, Japan, Norway and Switzerland. He is widely sought after as a clinician, his specialist areas are performance psychology and the mechanics of performance. He lectures at The Royal Northern College of Music, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and The University of Leeds.

Kenny Wheeler

Although resident in England since 1952 and often thought to be an English musician, Kenny Wheeler was born in Canada in 1930. He began playing in his hometown of St. Catherines, encouraged by his father, a trombonist. His formal studies include composition with Rodney Bennett and William Russo. His earliest influences included Buck Clayton and Roy Eldrige but, by the time he left for London, he was looking towards bebop, Miles Davis and Fats Navarro particularly. After his arrival in London, Wheeler balanced commercial dance band work with gigs alongside modernists like Joe Harriott and Ronnie Scott, and in 1959 joined the Johnny Dankworth band in time for their breakthrough Newport Jazz Festival appearance. He consequently came to be one of the major solo voices in the Dankworth orchestra, and during the end of his stay recorded his first album as a leader Windmill Tilter (Fontana), which featured compositions for big band based on Cervantes’ Don Quixote stories. In 1966, a chance encounter with drummer John Stevens at the Little Theatre Club in London set Wheeler on a new course. To the surprise of many musicians of his generation, the trumpeter became deeply involved in free music and joined both Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble and the Tony Oxley group. Through saxophonist Evan Parker and guitarist Derek Bailey, Kenny was initiated into the Globe Unity Orchestra, the German-based big band led by the pianist Alexander von Schlippenback. His membership continues - he is prominently featured on the three albums the Globe Unity Orchestra has recorded for JAPO/ECM. In 1971, Anthony Braxton, impressed by Wheeler’s abilities to play the demanding charts on the session for The Complete Braxton (Freedom), invited him to join his group. Braxton’s music became Wheeler’s priority until 1976, when the difficulties of commuting between London and New York became overwhelming, but in between he found time to record Song For Someone (Incus), a record that juxtaposed free and jazz elements (and which became Melody Maker Album Of The Year in 1975), and Gnu High (ECM 1069) a still very fresh album with Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. Critics agreed that the ECM album marked a new high both for Wheeler and for the label: Quintessential (Stereo Review), Unbeatable (Melody Maker), Supert (Jazz Forum), Miraculous (Time Out) and so on. The same critics, however, have tended to be less vocal in their support for the trio Azimuth (Wheeler, John Taylor and Norma Winstone) whose ECM albums are distinguished by their subtlety and require repeated close listening for full appreciation. Wheeler’s second ECM date was the 1977 recording Deer Wan (ECM 1102), which featured Jan Garbarek, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette and Ralph Towner. The album was viewed, at the time of its release, as the most complete statement of Wheeler’s musical intentions, and said one writer: “Garbarek may very well be the trumpeter’s ideal front-line partner...a kind of asceticism informs their playing; when they are heard in tandem its impact is redoubled”. The recording Double, Double You (ECM 1262) dates from 1983 sessions and features Michael Brecker, John Taylor, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. Critics were enthusiastic for their release as this excerpt from Fanfare indicates: “Wheeler is one of the more fascinating trumpeters around. For this latest album, he utilizes the prolific tenor saxophone of Mike Brecker to add even greater strength to the front-line. John Taylor, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette provide a powerful rhythm section which is sensitive and tasteful while also offering incredible individual power...Highly recommended”. In 1988, tours with his quintet whose members included John Abercrombie, John Taylor, Dave Holland and Peter Erskine were received with enthusiasm from press and public alike. Kenny is an active music educator as shown by his presence on the faculty at the Canadian Banff Workshop and by his involvement in international seminars. In spite of his severe self-criticism and his almost legendary aversion to recognition, Kenny Wheeler remains one of Europe’s most sought-after trumpet and flugelhorn players.

Martin Winter

Martin Winter is the Associate Principal Trumpet of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music. He started playing the cornet at the age of five and went on to be principal cornet of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, the Desford Colliery Band and the Britannia Building Society Band. Martin studied the trumpet at the RNCM with Howard Snell and John Dickinson, where he won numerous prizes and awards. Other notable successes include the cornet prize at the Solo and Quartet Championships of Great Britain in 1981, the Normans French Fesson Trumpet Competition, the Leggett Award, second place in the International Trumpet Competition in Markneukirchen, Germany and the coveted Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. In July 1994 Martin made his American solo debut, performing Richard Rodney Bennett's Trumpet Concerto (American Première) with the Texas Wind Symphony Orchestra at the Texas Bandmasters Convention. Martin is tutor in trumpet and cornet at the RNCM.