ABBA

He is a virtuoso trumpeter, ensemble leader and teacher born in Methilhill, Fife, Scotland, who studied at King's College, Cambridge, York University and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He began playing the cornet as a member of the Tullis Russell Mills Junior Band and went on to the National Youth Orchestra before attending university and after graduating his career saw him performing as a trumpet soloist and orchestra member at many music festivals and with numerous ensembles and orchestras that include the Festival Ballet, the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia and the London Sinfonietta. Recognised by many contemporary composers he has had concerti written for him by Sir Maxwell Davis, Harrison Birtwhistle, James MacMillan and Sir Malcolm Arnold among many others and was also featured as a soloist at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 198. Forming The Wallace Collection in 1986, which has become an internationally renowned brass ensemble; he has accompanied many orchestras in the UK and abroad including the Pan-African Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His myriad of recordings include his solo recording Windows, and Vivaldi Concerti & Baroque Trumpet Music, Poulenc: Complete Chamber Works, The King's Collection, Sullivan: The Mikado, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Macmillan: Epiclesis, The Trumpet That Time Forgot, Sousa: The Stars and Stripes Forever, The Jane Austen Companian, Whad'ya Know About...Copland, Electric Brass and The London Trumpet Sound. As a teacher he has taught many national and European masterclasses, been Head of the Brass Faculty at the Royal Academy of Music in London and has held the position of Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama since 2002. In 1995 Queen Elizabeth II honoured him for his services to music by awarding him an O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire) in the 1995 Birthday Honours.

Sources: