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Quintessential Brass is a London based brass quintet compromising five young and exciting musicians who are all graduates of the Royal Northern College of Music who have gone on to further study at some of the UK’s leading music conservatoires (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama). Having developed from the Manchester based Groves Brass Ensemble, Quintessential Brass have begun to enjoy an enviable reputation for promoting new music within the brass quintet medium and regularly perform recitals and provide background music for any occasion, being fortunate enough to have their own prolific arrangers, Oliver Hickie and Cai Isfryn.
Having performed three world premiers at the Festival of Brass at the RNCM in January 2010 at a recital with the euphonium virtuoso David Thornton, a commissioned piece for the group soon followed in the form of Fanfaronade by Tom Harrold which was performed at a recital at the Motepulciano Cantiere Festival in Tuscany (2010).
Performances have included appearing at the RoyalScottishAcademy of Music and Drama, Bridgewater Hall Foyer, Millennium Centre (Cardiff), LSO St. Luke’s (London) and enjoying a residency with the City of Manchester Stadium for all corporate functions since 2010. The group are heavily involved in numerous educational projects including Live Music Now, Education Group, and LSO Discovery. Individually, the group’s members are all freelance musicians working with some of London and Manchester’s finest ensembles and are striving to reach out to new audiences through the brass quintet medium.
Cai Isfryn trumpet
Born in North Wales in 1987, Cai graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2010 with a BMus (Hons) degree and is currently continuing his studies with Paul Benniston and Paul Cosh at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (MMus) having received awards from Guildhall School Entrance Scholarship Scheme, the Musicians Benevolent Fund and the Arts Council of Wales.
Cai’s accolades include winning the Gregynog Young Musician of the Year (2005), National Eisteddfod and Urdd Eisteddfod of Wales (2005-07) and being assistant principal and soloist with the European Youth Brass Band (2005). He was also principal cornet of the National Youth Brass Band of Wales (2005-09), principal trumpet of the National Youth Wind Orchestra (2004), and a member of the National Youth Orchestra and National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Wales prior to attending the Royal Northern College of Music.
During his time in Manchester, Cai became a solo cornet player with the Black Dyke Band (2007-09), performing at the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Kkl Lucerne, and touring most of Europe as well as Australia. His time at the band included winning the National Championship of Great Britain twice, the English Nationals and winning the Norwegian National Finals as a guest and a soloist with Eikanger Band. He has also appeared as principal trumpet of Sinfonia Cymru (2010), Amadeus Orchestra (2010), RNCM Symphony Orchestra (2009), Guildhall Symphony Orchestra (2010) Ensemble Cymru (2010), and performed with the Britten-Pears Orchestra and the International Regions Symphony Orchestra (Germany) in 2010. Cai is frequently in demand as a soloist and has performed with brass bands in Canada, Holland, Sweden and Norway, as well as appearing with his brass quintet, Touch of Brass, who are active members of the Live Music Now project and are regular commissioners of new music for the medium.
In addition to his playing, Cai has a keen interest in composing and has had his works recorded by artists such as the Cory Band, Willebroek Brass Band and Black Dyke Band and featured on compilation discs such as Now That’s What I Call Brass Vol. 7. Cai was a registered artist with the publishing company Prima Vista, and also won the Ohio Brass Festival Composition contest in 2010 with his first piece for brass band, Vengeance.
Victoria Buddin trumpet
Victoria started playing the cornet at the age of eight for her local brass band and attended many summer schools which led her to audition for Chetham’s School of Music.Victoria began studying at Chetham’s in 2001 under the tuition of John Dickinson and David Chatterton. Victoria went on to further study at the Royal Northern College of Music where she received a scholarship. At the RNCM her teachers included John Miller, Tracey Redfern and Gareth Small. In the year of 2010, Victoria was successful in auditioning for the Halle Professional Access Scheme. She is currently on the orchestra’s extra work list.
In September this year, Victoria received a full scholarship to study for her Masters degree in performance of the trumpet at the RoyalScottishAcademy of Music and Drama.
Oliver Hickie French horn
Oliver is a keen soloist, chamber and orchestral musician enjoying a diverse career as a horn player. He has recently performed the Gregson Horn Concerto with Maidstone Winds and in 2008 he was a soloist with Kent County Youth Orchestra appearing as a member of the quartet to perform Schumann's impressive Konzertstuck for four horns. He is also a member of a thriving brass quintet who have given recitals around the UK and in Italy. The Quintet has premiered a number of new works for the medium in Scotland and Manchester and also enjoy a lot of educational workshops working with the charity Live Music Now.
Oli has enjoyed performing with Manchester Camerata, the Britten Pears Orchestra and the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra as well as participating on the BBC Philharmonic Professional Access Scheme. He has also had the privilege of working under conductors such as Edward Gardner, Sir Simon Rattle and Oliver Knussen.
Oli was born into a musical family and was soon aching to get involved. After a brief spell on the tenor horn he soon turned his attention to the French horn. He went on to study with Lindsey Stoker at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He performed as principal horn in their Symphony, Opera and Concert Orchestras as well as recording two CDs with their prestigious Wind Orchestra. He continued his education at the Royal Academy of Music, studying for a Masters under the guidance of Martin Owen, Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins. Here he has worked with artists such as Radovan Vlatkovic and Mitsuko Uchida as well as taking part in a 'side by side' scheme with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Simon Lodge trombone
Simon’s most significant musical training took place at the Royal College of Music Junior Department with Simon Hogg and Peter Harvey and at the Royal Northern College of Music where he studied classical trombone with Christopher Houlding and Roger Cutts whilst specialising in jazz trombone with Jiggs Whigham.
Since graduating from the RNCM last year Simon has been enjoying a very varied freelance performance schedule. In October he was invited to join the cast of the West End show The Original Tribute to The Blues Brothers on a three month tour of Europe and just last week, as part of the Beats & Pieces Big Band, Simon competed in the final of the European Young Artists’ Jazz Award in Burghausen, Germany.
Aside from the trombone Simon is also an accomplished singer with a catalogue of previously performed classical and musical theatre roles including: Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus) and Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd).
Edward Leech tuba
Edward Leech is currently studying tuba on a Master of Arts course at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was awarded an entrance scholarship and the Mark Elliott Low Brass scholarship, after achieving a 1st Class honours degree at the Royal Northern College of Music. Before this he attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department for six years.
In 2010 Edward was the winner of the Newark Brass Festival Competition and was also made a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Before this Edward obtained a distinction in his LRSM Diploma exam and came second in his class, the open wind class, in the Computers in Personnel Marlow International Concerto Competition. Edward has twice reached the finals of the British Open Solo competition and was the highest placed brass player in the Concerto Competition at the RNCM. Previous to this he was invited to play a concerto with the European Youth Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, the Windsor and Maidenhead Symphony Orchestra and the Penzance Symphony Orchestra. Edward has two upcoming concertos with the Henley Symphony Orchestra and the Reading Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the Britten-Pears Orchestra, Young Musician Symphony Orchestra, the Amadeus Orchestra and recently performed in the Wratislava Cantans Festival in Poland with the Gabrielli Consort and Players.
Edward also plays piano on which he recently won the Woodley Piano Concerto Competition, has played for the Duke of Edinburgh, was awarded the piano accompanying scholarship for four consecutive years at the RNCM and is currently on a second study scholarship at the RAM. A composer as well, Edward has had his pieces performed by the RCMJD Symphony Orchestra and had a piece performed in collaboration with the Royal Ballet School in London's Covent Garden.
Edward would like to thank his sponsors for their generous support of his postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music. He was awarded the Charles Leggett Award for the most outstanding brass or woodwind player heard at the week long auditions by the Musicians Benevolent Fund. Edward was also awarded money by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Harold Craxton Memorial Trust, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund and the Amaryllis Fleming Trust towards the cost of study. Without this help Edward would not be able to study at the RAM so he is incredibly grateful for their help.
Quintessential Brass appears by kind permission of the RNCM
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