BETH RANDELL JOINS ROYAL ACADEMY HORNS

Beth Randell

We are delighted to announce that Beth Randell is joining the Academy horn team. From September 2011 Beth will be teaching at the Junior Royal Academy of Music. As a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe she performs internationally at the highest level and as a teacher she has great intelligence and experience. We are all very excited at the prospect of collaborating with Beth and forging close links between Senior and Junior Academy horns.

Alumni News

Michael Kidd

Michael Kidd

Since graduating from the Academy Michael has begun a busy freelance career in London. He has performed with London Brass and London Sinfonietta at the BBC Proms and as the horn soloist in Britten’s third canticle ‘Still Falls the Rain’ alongside John Mark Ainsley and Roger Vignoles in a concert celebrating the life of Peter Pears. Michael also worked with composer Heinz Holliger towards a performance of his solo horn work “Fury-Dream” at Kings Place.

Michael has performed with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, English National Opera, Philharmonia Orchestra, and BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as performing as guest principal with the London Chamber Orchestra and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra.

In addition Michael has also performed on film scores for composers such as Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestre, and Harry Gregson-Williams, and has performed throughout Europe with Peter Gabriel’sNew Blood Orchestra as well as on the BBC television programme “Later with Jools Holland”. He also toured Britain as part of the band for the Dr Who Live tour.

Michael is looking forward to future engagements with London Winds and the Nash Ensemble.

James Palmer

James Palmer

James Palmer is currently Principal Horn of the Irish Chamber Orchestra but still lives in London where he freelances in the west end on shows including 'Wicked' and 'Phantom of the Opera.' He performs regularly with the Birmingham Royal Ballet Orchestra and English National Ballet orchestra and has just completed a tour with the Heritage Orchestra supporting the comedian Tim Minchin.

Corinne Bailey

Corinne Bailey

Corinne Bailey is Co-Principal horn of ENO. Corinne had a busy and varied freelance career when she left the RAM , before joining the orchestra of the Birmingham Royal Ballet as 3rd horn. She was soon promoted to Principal horn , a position she held for five years before beginning her current job with ENO.

Lisa Donati

Lisa Donati

Lisa Donati has returned to her native Canada and is married to the horn player Michael Rosenberger. Together they form Duo Sogni and have performed in Italy, North America and the UK. Lisa is freelancing in the Toronto and Niagara areas and is the wind and brass coach for the Niagara Youth Orchestra as well as being part of the Artist Diploma Program at the Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School.

Francesca Moore-Bridger

Francesca Moore-Bridger

Francesca Moore-Bridger has returned from Chile, where she was Principal Horn with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago. She has been playing with Welsh National Opera and is busy with The Pirani Trio. These three Academy Alumni have just recorded their first CD and are taking part in the King's Place Chamber Studio and well as being musicians in residence at the Festival des Arts de Parisot in France.

For more information visit www.thepiranitrio.com.

Estefania Beceiro-Vazquez

Estefanía Beceiro

Estefania Beceiro-Vazquez has been appointed Third Horn with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra.

Grzegorz Curlya

Grzegorz Curlya

Gzregorz Curlya has been playing with the BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. In 2012 he will perform Mozart's 4th concerto with the Kielce Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland.

Tim Anderson, Sam Jacobs and Mark Wood

Tim Anderson, Sam Jacobs and Mark Wood were on tour recently with Sting.

Stinghorns

Here they are in one of the USA shows demonstrating their dance moves.

Stinghorns

They also toured extensively with the RPCO performing Star Wars in Europe and the USA. In addition they have been working with the Philharmonia, RPO, BBC NOW and London Sinfonietta.

Star Wars

Mark Wood, Sam Jacobs and Tim Jones are three of the five. A bottle of champagne or valve oil as a prize if you can identify them.

Sam Jacobs NZ

Sam Jacobs has been playing guest Principal with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The horn section are pictured here in Dunedin Town Hall NZ.

Etienne Cutajar

Etienne Cutajar

Etienne Cutajar is currently third horn in the BBC SSO. He has also been playing first horn with the Bournemouth SO. He recently performed Strauss second concerto with the Orchestra-Atelier Ostinato and also recorded Bach’s first Brandenburg concerto with Trevor Pinnock and his European Brandenburg Ensemble.

Tiffany Stirling

Tiffany Stirling

Tiffany Stirling has been appointed Third Horn with Scottish Ballet.

Kira Doherty

Kira Doherty

Kira Doherty has played guest Principal horn with the RPO and has been 2nd Horn with the Philharmonia for the whole of the 2009-2010 season. In addition to this she has appeared with the BBC CO, BBC SO, BBC NOW, English Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Opera North, and English National Ballet as well as chamber music with the Endymion Ensemble and Hebrides Ensemble and a solo recital in St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh.

Jocelyn Lightfoot

Jocelyn Lightfoot

In August 2010 Jocelyn was appointed solo horn of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Norway on a one year contract. In recent years Opera has been a large part of her career as principal of both the Garsington and Wexford Opera Orchestras.

This year Wexford had another first (last year was the European premier of the The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano) with the European premier of The Golden Ticket by Peter Ash (also a horn player) based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the new year Jocelyn is looking forward to playing Ein Heldenleben (a hero's life) with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra whilst braving the Norwegian winter!

CONGRATULATIONS TO SUZIE AND JASON

Jason & Susie

Suzie Koczur, nee Walker, (Post-grad 1997-1999) and Jason Koczur (Post-grad 1998-2000) were married in Norwich in January 2009 and now live in London. They are now the proud parents of Leo William Koczur, born 13 September 2010. Jason and Suzie performed several duo recitals in Norfolk last year titled The Horn Through Time. They are members of the new horn quartet COR! with Ian Stott and Kate Goldsmith. They are both actively free-lancing around London. Jason's recent work with the LSO has included the BBC Proms, Aix-en-Provence Festival and various recordings including the new Harry Potter soundtrack. Suzie has worked with the Brandenburg Sinfonia and English Symphony Orchestra among others. She also teaches instrumental and class music in southwest London.

Richard and Alex Carr

Richard and Alex Carr.jpg

Alex Stroud, nee Carr, has been appointed second horn with English National Ballet and continues to be a busy freelance player and a regular guest in Phantom of the Opera.

Richard Stroud's work includes: Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ulster Orchestra, RPO and BBC CO.

They were married in 2007 and are pictured here playing with the Brighton Philharmonic.

It's been another busy year in the recording studios. These are some of the films, computer game soundtracks and other projects involving Academy horn players.