Baker, Julian

He is a French horn player and teacher born in England. In the 1960s, when he was 20 years old and had completed his education he became a co-principal horn with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester that was led by Sir John Barbirolli at the time. He became the Principal Horn after 6 months when he succeeded Ifor James, who he would also perform with as a member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble . He stayed with the orchestra for seven years before joining up with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and then in 1977 he became a co-principal horn for the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. He became freelance after that and appeared as a soloist on several recordings and in concert. Appearing on many recordings he can be heard on the 1990 Mozart: Serenades and Divertimenti for Wind and the 2002 Bach: Brandenburg Concerts/Orchestral Suites, From 1974 he also became involved in the world of musical education and succeeded his late co-member of the Halle Orchestra, Alan Civil, in the role of Professor at the Royal College of Music. Very highly regarded in this field he has taught countless musicians the art of horn playing and gives private tutelage and many courses and master-classes at summer camps and other venues in the UK and abroad. As an author he has written several articles on the subject of the horn and these include "Opera and Ballet" which features in Paul Pritchard's The Business.

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