Surrey Brass Alumni

Here are the details of many people who have played for Surrey Brass in the past. Many thanks for all your support, we wish you well for the future.

In no particular order.....

Diane Prince Tenor/Alto Trombone. Diane is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, classically trained but regularly works with a couple of London big bands and does show and pop music also. Her full bio will appear as soon as she has finished her Dissertation.

Mick Creech is our past Principal Percussionist. His enthusiastic approach is just what we need for the spectacular pieces!

Amelia Jacobs was also one of our regular percussionists - she has a B.Mus. in performance and we hope to invite her back from time to time when her busy professional career permits.

Richard Stubbings, Bass Trombone. Richard received his early music training at Wells Cathedral School and Cranleigh School before studying at Kingston University, where he gained a BA degree with Honours in Music Education. He also holds a teaching licentiateship from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Richard studied trombone with Roger Harvey (BBC Symphony Orchestra) and Sidney Langston (BBC Symphony Orchestra) and bass trombone with Leslie Lake (English National Opera) and Frank Mathison (London Symphony Orchestra).
Richard is a full-time brass teacher for Surrey County Arts, where he also tutors youth orchestras from beginner level through to the trombones of the county youth orchestra. In 2002 he was asked to form and direct the Surrey County Brass Ensemble. He is also Area Brass Co-ordinator for Mid-Surrey. As well as playing for Surrey Brass, Richard is principal bass trombone with the West Forest Sinfonia and is much in demand as a freelance bass trombone with many local choirs and orchestras. In his spare (!) time, he pursues an interest in transport photography.

Dawn McMorrow was for a short while our Marketing and Development Officer (a MADO!). She is doing an M.Sc in Arts Marketing at Kingston University - very exciting. Without her, we'd not have so many people enjoying our concerts.

Jonathan Bird has the distinction of being distantly related to the inventor of Bird's Custard, which totally fails to explains why his slide falls off in recording sessions! He was born in Bath in 1982 and took up the trombone at the age of twelve. In 1998 he was selected to be principal trombonist in the West of England Schools Symphonic Wind Band (WESSWB), conducted by John Greeves. In 1999 he left WESSWB to be principal trombonist in the West of England Schools Symphony Orchestra (WESSO) under the baton of Adrian Brown. After two highly successful concerts with WESSO in the 2000 Edinburgh Fringe he returned to principal position in WESSWB. Jonathan is currently reading music at Kingston University and is studying trombone with Leslie Lake. As well as playing in many of the university ensembles he has played with Kingston Chamber Orchestra and regularly plays with Bath based Park Lane Big Band.

Dave Odams is one of our regulars. Dave is a tenor trombone player living in Clapham and has played principal trombone over the last couple of years with Bloomsbury Chamber Orchestra, London Shostakovitch Orchestra, Covent Garden Chamber also runs his own 10-piece brass ensemble, Bloomsbury Brass.

Neil Casey has been working with Surrey Brass for a while but he's too shy to tell us anything about himself apart from the fact he runs his own music publishing firm Note-Orious.

David Barker, (Trombone) was from Kingston University is really a Euphonium player but we persuaded him to play trombone. He is the quietest trombonist we have ever met, since joining he said just three words. Sadly, they were not "It's my round."

Evatt Gibson (Trombone) joined in 2002 from the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall. Sadly, duties in 2003 are taking him to Germany. We wish him well for his tour of duty and look forward to a prompt return!

Holly Ransom, (Trombone) also from Kingston University was our second Bass Trombone. Holly been playing trombone for 10 years, started on bass trombone 5 years ago, and for the last 2 and a half years it has been her primary instrument. Holly is from California (Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo to be exact) and has been studying there with Roy Main, but 2001 she took "abroad" here in the UK, studying with Les Lake and playing for Surrey Brass. Holly's resume is available from her website. She has now returned to California and immediately gained a reputation as the author of a nude calendar of an all girl wind band... "One time, at band camp..." springs to mind......

Duncan Penkey (Tuba) is on and off the deputy list depending on his other commitments. He has a reputation throughout Surrey as having the largest instrument in the county. And this reputation will continue to be displayed until he write a proper bio for us!

Ellie Griffin was our second horn. Ellie is a graduate in French Horn and Piano of the Royal College of Music, and previously had long association with numerous musical associations in Surrey whilst at school in the area. A student of Pip Eastop whilst at the RCM, Ellie was a bit of a child prodigy, obtaining Grade 8 Piano with Distinction at the age of 12 years, and Grade 8 Horn with Distinction at 13. Ellie won the Royal College of Music Junior Department Brass Prize and also competed in the prestigious LSO Shell Brass Competition, amongst many other awards. She has played with the Amadeus Orchestra, and the National Musicians Symphony Orchestra. These days she has a bewildering range of jobs, ranging from Musical Coach for Stagecoach Youth Theatre to Piano and keyboard teacher at the Marist Convent School, Sunninghill.

Dawn Hughes was our first Recording Engineer - she completed the first Surrey Brass recordings in February 2002, with the Bliss "Research Fanfare" and the Blues March from the Premru Divertimento. You can hear these on our soundbites page. Dawn has just completed her final year in a Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) degree at Surrey University. She spent her third year on work placement with K&A Productions Ltd., and was involved mostly with classical music post production as well as some session work. Her final year has included undertaking a variety of recordings, from small chamber works to jazz and pop, as well as a research project in monaural localisation.

Aidan Geary was our first talented principal percussionist. Originally from Cornwall, Aidan studied in London at the London College of Music, where he was the recipient of the ‘Lilian Simpson’ percussion prize. Upon graduation 1997, Aidan moved to Yorkshire to take up a playing career with the Black Dyke Mills Band and Yorkshire Building Society Band, featuring regularly on recordings and broadcasts. Now based in London, Aidan is in high demand as both a player and a teacher, holding the positions of ‘principal percussionist’ with the Amadeus Orchestra, and Head of Percussion at Benenden School in Kent.

Paul Farr (Tuba) Paul has played the tuba since he was 11. (He did start on Violin, but was wisely informed that he was more likely to drink beer and eat curries if he was a member of the tuba section.) He studied Music at Huddersfield University, and whilst there played with various ensembles, orchestras and brass bands (Brighouse & Rastrick, Besses O' Th' Barn, and Sellers Engineering to name a few), as well as being involved in the infamous 'Tuba Week' extravanganzas, including performances with the 'Dancing Tuba Quartet' (ask Michael Chapple, he'll back it up!). After moving back home to East Anglia, Paul played regularly with orchestras in the area, and for 2 years was a member of the Anglian Brass Academy, a 10 piece ensemble under the watchful eye of George Reynolds. Paul was a founder member of the Real Brass Quintet (based at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama) which made a successful ground breaking trip to perform at MIDEM 2000, in Cannes. Having moved to sunny Purley, he is now an adopted 'Surrey-er' and by day can be found trying to sell computer games to any one who will have them! In 2003 Paul moved back to Suffolk permanently with his wife Carol (see below!)

Carol Goodwin (no relation!) has has great experience of playing percussion with brass bands, including stints with Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Sellers Engineering Band - as well as studying music at Huddersfield University, and joins us whenever we put on major concerts that need extra percussion. Moved to Suffolk in 2003 with her husband Paul Farr - what a loss!

Warren Ringham, a talented young trumpet player, is our principal deputy trumpet when he is not at zooming round the workld withthe RAF Central Band. A graduate of the Royal College of Music, he has already set up his own bands, The London Showband and The Bond Band. He is growing a solid reputation as a classical player in the London area. Warren comes from a family with several generations of famous brass players with Salvationist links, including his late father, Paul, who for many years played co-principal trumpet for the RPO, and great aunt Masie, a very famous trombonist. Warren has close links with the Surrey Youth Music and Performing Arts organisation, having played for all of their leading youth ensembles at one time or another. He's too busy to play with us right now!

Zoe Kilb was our first ace promoter, PR, publicist and marketeer, joining us from Surrey University. She has been doing a placement year with RC Sherriff Rosebriars Trust and knows everyone important in Surrey.