Brass players at Chetham’s enjoy weekly instrumental lessons on first and second study instruments, and opportunities to participate in weekly instrumental classes, chamber music and ensembles. Brass players perform regularly with the School’s Big Band and Symphony Orchestra, and as many as seventeen different smaller ensembles in a broad range of concerts in school and at venues across the North West.
Brass students are strongly encouraged to collaborate with jazz players to develop confidence in improvisation and contemporary as well as classical repertoire. Every student is allocated an accompanist throughout his or her time at Chetham’s, and these partnerships provide a strong basis for young players to develop solo performance skills. This success has been proven by the Brass department’s admirable list of prizes – the youngest ever winner of the BBC Young Musician competition, Peter Moore, was a Chetham’s trombonist, and brass players have reached the category finals of every competition since 2006. In 2022, two Chetham’s trumpeters reached the category final of BBC Young Musician – Phoebe Mallinson and Florence Wilson-Toy. Most recently, Claire Marsden was a 2024 Category Finalist.
“The brass department at Chets has given me so many opportunities within my own playing, as well as being able to play in quartets and quintets, Big Band and orchestrally. The benefits of being here, musical, technical, social and psychological are huge and reaped immediately. Being in the brass department is great fun and has set me up really well for the future” – George, trumpet, year 11
Head of Brass, Dave Thornton, works with a superb team of tutors including players from the country’s leading orchestras and brass bands to help students to develop their playing skills and to build connections within the professional music sector. Other leading players, including alumni Peter Moore and Huw Morgan, have visited the School recently to lead masterclasses and offer guidance to current students. Recent masterclasses and visiting teachers also include:
Thomas Fountain, Ryan Linham (trumpet)
Kira Doherty (horn)
Abbie Conant, Carol Jarvis (trombone)
Chris Robertson (euphonium)
Oren Marshall (tuba)
