Gavin Osborne

Flute

Gavin Osborn is a flautist, teacher, composer & sound-artist based in Cheshire. He holds Graduate & Professional Performance Diplomas from the Royal Northern College of Music, a 1st Class MusB(Hons) from the University of Manchester, & a PhD in Composition (also from Manchester).

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Teaching occupies a central role in Gavin's work, with a practice spanning primary age through to adult. He has taught flute at HCCS for over 20 years, with students often going on to high achievement, & his pupils & ensembles play a strong role in the musical & wider community life of the school. Outside of HCCS, he is Tutor in Flute at the University of Manchester, & teaches privately. Other teaching posts have included Manchester Metropolitan University & as a Special Consultant in flute to the University of York.

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A specialist in solo & chamber ensemble performance, Gavin is best known as a performer of contemporary music, often working with composers to premiere new work, & regularly plays in many of the UK's top international festivals & venues. As a composer/sound-artist his work has been shown across the UK & online. He is currently co-director of Trio Atem, one of the UK's most dynamic new music ensembles, & co-director with Elizabeth Ditmanson of Geode, a creative duo specialising in cross-media installations & performances.

Mark Landon

Percussionist

Mark Landon is a professional percussionist and Teacher based in the Cheshire area. He studied at Huddersfield University under the guidance of percussion teacher Chris Bradley and gained a 2:1 Bmus (hons) music degree. He now teaches at many high schools in Manchester and Cheshire as well as teaching percussion at Salford University and Manchester Metropolitan University (Crewe). He has taught all ages and provided many percussion workshops based on Samba, African drumming, and Trash percussion.

Mark is currently the principal percussionist for the Fodens Brass band who are based in Sandbach. He has been a member since 1999 and toured both the UK and abroad playing in many well known and exciting venues as well as competitions. During the year Mark works with some of the country’s best young musicians tutoring them at the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and National Youth Brass band of Scotland. In addition he also works as a freelance musician playing in shows, local Orchestras and chamber music ensembles.

Steven Proctor

Guitarist

Steve has achieved his Associate of Trinity College in London. He has taught at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School for 8 years and teaches all styles of guitar including classical rock, jazz and blues. Steve is employed by many Cheshire and Staffordshire schools and has been teaching for over 20 years. He teaches all age groups from primary school children through to adults in his music studio at home.

Many of Steve’s pupils have progressed to have a career in music from music technology to appearing in various festivals and performing with rock legends, such and Jeff Beck and Robert Plant. He is also one part of the popular Jazz duo ‘The Blue Bossa’ which play various styles of Jazz and Blues in Venues around the area.

Wendy Nugent

Piano

Wendy Nugent studied at the Royal Academy of Music where she gained GRSM Degree (Hons), LRAM Diploma, Professional Certificate (Hons) and Post Graduate Advanced Diploma RAM (Solo Piano).
Wendy has a great love of teaching and has taught at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School since 2006.  She also teaches at Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College and Goostrey Primary School as well as having a thriving private teaching practice.

Wendy has worked with many professional musicians and performed throughout the UK and abroad.  She is in demand as an accompanist and is the top half of the successful piano duo (Dolby and Hughes’.  Wendy is the pianist and assistant Musical Director of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Choir with whom she has performed at the Millennium Stadium, Bridgewater Hall, Blackpool Opera House in the UK, and Carnegie Hall and Ground Zero in New York.

She is the accompanist for Matthew Brett who was a finalist in the percussion section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition 2016, appearing on BBC television and BBC Radio 3.
As a solo pianist, Wendy performed ‘Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2’ at the RNCM in 2012.
Wendy is also an ABRSM Examiner.

Tom Brookes

Electric & Bass Guitarist

Tom is a professional electric and bass guitarist and teacher in the Staffordshire and Cheshire area. He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Music and Sonic Arts.

Tom has been a teacher for the past 9 years, he teaches Electric, Classical and Bass guitar extensively across Staffordshire and Cheshire with a number of his students going on to high achievement. His students can be seen playing in bands across the region most weeks and one former student was recently appointed as the youngest ever Rockschool examiner.

Playing wise, Tom currently plays Bass guitar in original funk rock band The Rebellion and electric guitar in his own Blues Band. The Rebellion currently play live most weeks and have an album that Tom has co-written due for release in early 2015.

Jonathan Guy

Clarinettist & Saxophonist

Originally from Wrexham, North Wales, Jonathan Guy is a clarinettist and saxophonist based in Manchester. He is a graduate of the MMus Solo Performance degree at the RNCM where he studied clarinet with Nicholas Cox and John Bradbury. Whilst at the RNCM Jonathan participated in Professional Experience Schemes with the Halle Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in Germany, and now freelances with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic.Along with his brother he is a cofounder of the NEW Sinfonia, an orchestra based in North East Wales that runs a series of orchestra, chamber, new music and outreach concerts. He is also a member of the contemporary music group 'IMMIX' who are based in Liverpool and is the clarinettist with the welsh language opera company 'OPRA CYMRU'.

Ruben Crowther

Brass

Reuben Crowther is professional musician and freelance teacher working across schools in Greater Manchester and Cheshire. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and gained a BMus(Hons), a Postgraduate Diploma in Tuba performance and a PPRNCM with Distinction in Ensemble Performance studying under Brian Kingsley, James Gourlay and John Miller.

As a tuba player, he played for Fairey’s Brass Band for a number of years in venues as diverse as The Royal Albert Hall, on the steps of The Louvre in Paris and the Main Stage of Bestival (a rock music festival on the Isle of Wight!). He has also performed and recorded with Opera North and the Ulster Orchestra. He was a founder member of the Lowry Brass Quintet who performed extensively across the North West and also appeared on the BBC’s Songs of Praise.

Reuben has been teaching brass since he graduated and has worked at Holmes Chapel for 12 years. He has successfully taken many pupils from a complete beginner to grade 8 level and beyond. As well as teaching brass he is a keen singer and runs a choir in Manchester. In his spare time, he also enjoys playing the bass guitar, playing computer games and listening to an eclectic mix of music.

Juliet Montgomery

Vocalist

Soprano Juliet Montgomery has recently graduated with a 1st Class BMus(hons) degree, a PGDip with Distinction and a MMus from the Royal Northern College of Music.

 
Operatic roles include Susanna/ The Marriage of Figaro (Opera on Location), Countess/ A Dinner Engagement (Manchester Opera Ensemble), Valencienne/The Merry Widow (Preston Opera), First Lady/Magic Flute (RNCM Spotlight), Isobel/Pirates of Penzance (Heritage Opera) and Susan/Company (RNCM).  In 2016 Juliet joined the National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company for their UK tour and last summer she was a Young Artist in Buxton Opera’s production of Verdi’s MacBeth.

A keen recitalist, Juliet has performed at the Edinburgh Arts Festival, the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds.  She has also toured to the Notre Dame in Paris and the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Kiev as a soloist for the prestigious Bulava Chorus. Oratorio soloist performances include Faure’s Requiem, Goodall’s Eternal Light, Brahm’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. 

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Juliet enjoys teaching for Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, Waterhead Academy, Ramsbottom Music Centre, Little Voices UK and privately.

Peter Leighton-Jones

Strings

Information to follow shortly........