Biography

I first picked up the trumpet at around the age of nine, as I was bored one summer holiday when my parents left me with my grandparents for a trip to the Philippines. My grandfather was an amateur trumpeter, hence why we had cornets and trumpets lying around. I then joined a local brass band, Audley Brass, and subsequently Lion’s Youth Brass Band, based in Sandbach.

In 2011, I started at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, where I studied under the tutelage of Gareth Small (then Principal Trumpet of the Hallé) for six years. Some musical highlights from this time were performing at the Royal opening of the Stoller Hall, and a televised Christmas carol concert on ITV. At the start of my time at Chetham’s, I hadn’t really thought about a career in music. It wasn’t until having to decide between going off to university to study English Literature, or going to the Royal Academy to continue my studies on the trumpet, that I realised I did, in fact, quite enjoy playing the trumpet, and would like to pursue it professionally.

In 2017, I moved to London to start my studies at the Royal Academy of Music, where I studied for both my undergraduate (2017–21) and postgraduate (2021–24) degrees. My teachers were Mark David, Paul Benniston, Will O’Sullivan, John Hutchins, James Fountain (for postgrad), and Jeroen Berwaerts.

Despite some minor setbacks during my undergrad — losing a tooth and having to take time off during my second year, and thus having to start again from the ground up, followed by the Covid pandemic during my third and fourth years — I managed to learn some things, mainly during my postgraduate, and got my first trial in 2023 with the Ulster Orchestra, and later that same year with the CBSO (both for second trumpet). From there, I went on to trial with Ulster again for first trumpet, and with the Hallé — the orchestra I’d pretty much listened to every week while at school — for second trumpet.

Besides orchestral work, I also enjoy chamber music and am part of a brass septet, Berkeley Brass.

Outside of music, I enjoy reading (both fiction and non-fiction) and writing (both prose and poetry). I also enjoy cooking and gastronomy, as both my parents were trained chefs, and specialty coffee.