London’s Cadogan Hall was the venue for a concert given by the choir of Goldsmiths Choral Union and the period instrument orchestra Musicians of London. The concert took place on Tuesday 31st of October 2017 and it featured Haydn’s Te Deum, Mozart’s Vespers [K.339] and Beethoven’s Mass in C. The large forces of Goldsmiths Choral Union did an excellent job with these pieces, ably led by their

I performed with Devon Baroque in the Great Hall at Dartington on Sunday 29th October 2017 for a concert entitled “Musical Battles, and the Trumpet, Naturally”. I performed Torelli’s ‘Concerto in D for trumpet and strings’ [G1] and as one of the four featured soloists in Bach’s ‘Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F Major’ [BWV 1047]. Tromba - Russell Gilmour Flauto - Olwen Foulkes Hautbois

Spiritato gave a performance of their ‘Guts & Glory’ programme at the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon on Saturday 21st of October 2017. They gave a brilliant performance of this programme (which was preceded by a thought-provoking pre-concert talk) and they suitably impressed the enthusiastic and inquisitive audience. This marked the fifth and final performance (as it

I led a Wind, Brass and Percussion sectional rehearsal at the Junior Guildhall on Saturday 14th of October 2017. The sectional rehearsal focused on Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor (Op.64) and De Falla’s Three Cornered Hat (Ballet). I began the sectional with tutti forces, and asked the students about Mendelssohn and the history of the Violin Concerto in E Minor. I asked the trombones

I performed Tudor music on the Cornetto as part of a high-profile corporate function in the Great Hall, at Hampton Court Palace on the evening of Wednesday 11th October 2017. The Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace features a highly decorated hammer-beam ceiling with King Henry VIII’s fine tapestries of 'The Story of Abraham' hung all around the room. The group of musicians wore Tudor regalia bearing

After the B Minor Mass performance in Suffolk, I returned home on Sunday 1st of October 2017 via David Staff’s workshop with a beautifully-restored natural trumpet, finished with a new cord of an alternating dark blue and red pattern on the binding [- the previous all-red binding had been added by Graham Nicholson on my first visit to The Hague in January 2011]. Upon arriving at home I had just enough

Saturday saw glorious autumnal sunshine, so I took the opportunity to explore the hamlet of Flatford in the Stour Valley. I walked around the countryside that is synonymous with John Constable; it was Flatford where Constable painted his ‘Scene on a Navigable River’. After an enjoyable walk, I drove the few remaining miles to Stoke by Nayland (also in the Stour Valley, in Suffolk) where I would

I performed Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Brandenburg Baroque Soloists at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Thursday 28th of September 2017. The first half of the concert featured Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, led by violinist Persephone Gibbs. In the second half of the concert Jeremy Jackman conducted the English Baroque Choir and Brandenburg Baroque Soloists in Vivaldi’s Gloria. The soloists were Natasha Day

I travelled to the Isle of Man to celebrate Onchan Silver Band’s 80th Anniversary by participating in a performance of their newly-commissioned ‘Seven Kingdoms’ suite, which was performed on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 (for the first time on land) in the second half of their final concert this season at the Villa Marina Arcade in Douglas (promoted by the Isle of Man Arts Council). The band

Russell Gilmour, William Russell and Gareth Hoddinott travelled to Saarbrücken in Germany to perform with Le Concert Lorrain and the newly re-named BachChor Saarbrücken, with whom we have built up an excellent rapport over many years. The trumpet section was joined by timpanist Simon Stierle and it is always great to work with him. The performance took place at 6pm on Sunday 17th September 2017 in

Sunday 10th September 2017 saw a performance of J. S. Bach's 'Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott' [BWV 129] as part of the Lutheran Vespers at St Michael at the North Gate in Oxford. Oxford Bach Soloists, directed by Tom Hammond-Davies, performed the cantata liturgically as part of this 4pm service. The church was full to capacity. BWV 129 was written in 1724/5 for the Feast of the Trinity (possibly

Exeter Cathedral was the venue for ‘Grand Baroque III’, a programme compiled by Blackdowns Early Music Projects which featured several ‘German Choral Masterworks’ from composers such as Rosenmüller, Schelle and Kuhnau. The performance took place at Exeter Cathedral on Monday 28th August 2017. The baroque orchestra consisted of the English Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble, the Monteverdi String

On Monday 21st of August 2017, I played first trumpet with the Brandenburg Baroque Soloists for a workshopped performance of Bach’s Magnificat in D Major (BWV 243). The performance was the culmination of a residential choral course for young singers at the stunning venue of Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire and the group was directed by Ralph Allwood MBE. The choir took on the momentous

Lake District Summer Music’s 33rd festival season opened on Saturday the 29th July 2017 at Ulverston’s Coronation Hall with an "electrifying performance" of Bach’s B Minor Mass, performed by Solomon’s Knot. Get yourself to @corohall for 7:30pm tonight to hear Bach B minor Mass. @solomonsknot sounding phenomenal in rehearsal. Tickets on door pic.twitter.com/oC5VYM2yWN — LDSM Festival

Following on from a residency at the Opera National du Lorrain in Nancy (2014), and a tour to Versailles and Vienna (2016), I joined Les Talens Lyriques for a third time; performing and recording Jean-Baptiste Lully's 'Alceste, ou Le triomphe d’Alcide' (1674) under the direction of Christophe Rousset. Lully's opera 'Alceste, ou Le triomphe d’Alcide' is a 'tragedy in music', with

Robert Hollingworth led I Fagiolini’s performance of Monteverdi’s 'L’Orfeo' at Cheltenham Town Hall, as part of the Cheltenham Festival, on Sunday 9th July 2017. I performed the opening Toccata, without holes, alongside players from the English Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble: Tom Lees, Emily White, Andy Harwood-White and Adrian France. In a slight difference to our other performances in Venice,

I performed at a wedding on Saturday 8th July 2017. The ceremony took place in the ancient (and now almost redundant) St Peter's Church in Wolfhampcote in Warwickshire. The Church is near the county border, close to Braunston and Daventry in Northamptonshire. The presence of St Peter's Church in Wolfhampcote is noted in the Domesday Book and the oldest parts of the current church building date from

I performed with The Wren Players at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea on Tuesday 4th of July 2017. The evening of music began at 18:30 with an outdoor performance in the Royal Hospital’s ‘Figure Court’. It was a beautiful and warm evening.  The outdoor performance included a selection from Handel’s Water Music (D Major suite) and his Music for the Royal Fireworks: Water Music - D major

The Lea Singers performed Haydn's 'Creation' in St. John's Church in Southdown near Harpenden on Saturday 24th of June 2017. Victoria Longdon conducted the choir, orchestra and soloists: Vanessa Bowers (Gabriel & Eve), Ruairi Bowen (Uriel) and Marcus Farnsworth (Raphael & Adam). The group had chosen to perform an English version of the text, rendered by Paul McCreesh. "Haydn's 'Creation'

I was invited to join Vox Luminis for their performance of Purcell’s 'King Arthur' at Snape Maltings on Thursday 22nd of June 2017, as part of the Aldeburgh Festival. The festival is celebrating the 50th anniversary of music at Snape Maltings - one of the earliest examples of an ex-industrial building being repurposed as a performance space. I was delighted to perform with Vox Luminis. I