An Hour of Brass

5pm - Sunday 30th March

St Peter's Church, Duxford

Come and see TUBE and support the Flying Kites charity at the same time!

Tuba - Paul Farr

Paul began his musical career at the age of 7, when he learnt the Violin at Haverhill Music School. Having stuck at it for 4 whole years, he finally realised that he was never going to understand 4^th position, so swapped his rosin for some valve oil and found his true vocation – the Tuba.

He played with the Haverhill Silver Band, and local quintet ‘Polished Brass’ during his ‘school years’, and after a brief spell at Cambridge Band, left to study music at the University of Huddersfield. Here he studied the Tuba with Andrew Duncan (Halle), and studied the art of drinking & curry eating with the rest of the lower brass students. Whilst up north Paul played with some of regions top bands, including Brighouse & Rastrick and Besses O’th Barn, and was nominated for the Harry Mortimer prize for best brass player, in his final year.

After leaving music college, Paul moved to London, playing with various ensembles, including the LPYO, Anglia Brass Academy, Bloomsbury chamber orchestra, the Real brass quintet, and was an original member of Surrey Brass. After some time away travelling, Paul then moved back to Suffolk to live & work. Brass playing remains his focus, playing with TUBE and Haverhill Silver Band, as well as various other ensembles in the region.

He is happy to say that he hasn’t touched the Violin now for 21 years…

Trumpet - Richard Hull

Richard began his musical life at the age of 9 when he was dragged kicking and screaming to his first piano lesson. At the age of 10 he learned the cello for two weeks before giving up, was found out by his school music teacher and forced into his first trumpet lesson. Luckily it seemed that he had an aptitude for music and he is still playing the piano and the trumpet 28 years later.

Currently Richard divides his time between teaching and performing in a variety of ways. He is Head of Brass at the Perse School in Cambridge, and also has a busy private practice at home. Richard spent a year as Visiting Professor of Trumpet at Cornell University in the United States during 1998/9 when not on his back having broken his ankle sledging! He has been Principal Cornet with the City of Cambridge Brass Band for about three years, having conducted them for the previous three. He has been Principal Trumpet with the Cambridge Orchestra for the last six years, and is the most recent (and oldest!) member of TUBE.

Richard has conducted various orchestras locally, and has played concertos with many different orchestras, including the Arnold and Gregson Concertos on the trumpet, and the Ravel G Major, Poulenc and Grieg concertos on the piano.

Richard’s other main interest is American cars, and he currently is running a 1998 Cadillac STS and a 1989 Chevrolet Corvette.

Trombone - Will Hutchinson

Will Hutchinson started playing the trombone whilst at school in Lancashire. As well as making his way through the ranks of his local brass band (Blackburn & Darwen), Will was also active in county ensembles and in local musical and operatic productions.

On leaving the north-west, Will switched codes and became an orchestral player. He was principal trombone of Cambridge University's first orchestra and a member of Fitz Swing, the University big band. Highlights from this time include performing Derek Bourgeois' Concerto for Three Trombones, Strings & Percussion; appearing at the Vienne International Jazz Festival; accompanying services in Kings College Chapel; and playing from the towers of Great Court in Trinity College.

Will holds theory and performance diplomas from Trinity College London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is currently dividing his time between TUBE, Haverhill Silver Band and reading about the hotel industry.

Tube & Friends

We are pleased to report that the recent TUBE concert at Kedington Church was a great success. The audience were entertained by a variety of different brass combinations - brass quintet, brass dectet, trombone quartet, trumpet trio - not to mention hosepipes and B&Q's finest 22mm copper piping! The selection of music included everything from Bach to Mancini and from Beethoven to Steve Reich.

Many thanks to our friends who joined the group for the evening - Andy Powlson, Chris Millington (trumpets); Nick Byers, Gill Bramley, Dave Minchin (trombones); Billie Farr (percussion) and Dave McClintock (conductor).