Ramhorns: the students
RAMHORNS, the Royal Academy Horn Ensemble, is directed by Michael Thompson and is dedicated to the study and performance of music at the highest level. Through ensemble playing, the students develop the important skills of leadership, teamwork and communication. The group is flexible in number, typically ranging from four to sixteen players and all the members, from first year undergraduates to final year postgraduates, share equal responsibility for all aspects of the music without hierarchy. Every one learns to play all the parts; to lead and to follow. With regular rehearsals and performances in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Southampton and the USA, the ramhorns are establishing a reputation for musical integrity and excellence.
Rebecca Alexander
Rebecca is in her first year of Masters at the Royal Academy of Music studying with Michael Thompson, Richard Watkins and Martin Owen. She completed an academic undergraduate degree at Kings College London, where in third year she studied advanced performance and was awarded a high first for her final recital. Throughout her three years at Kings Rebecca was principal horn of the KCL Symphony Orchestra playing in venues across London including Cadogan Hall and St John’s Smith Square. In March 2011, whilst still at Kings, she was invited to play with the Royal Academy of Music Sinfonia performing the world premiere of ‘Kommolitonen’ a new opera by Maxwell Davies. Other orchestral experience includes the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland with tours across Britain and abroad. Rebecca’s first experiences as a chamber musician were as a student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama junior department. Now at RAM Rebecca is part of the Bryna Ensemble, a piano and wind quintet.
Elise Campbell
Elise Campbell is a fourth year student holding a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Michael Thompson, Martin Owen and Richard Watkins. Elise has been principal horn in all the major Academy ensembles including the Symphony Orchestra and Concert Orchestra, and projects have included a live radio 3 broadcast with Symphonic Wind and playing principal horn on the Symphonic Brass Ensemble ‘American Icons’ commercial CD recording. Elise was also the horn player in the RAM Brass Quintet for their performance of the Maxwell Davies Brass Quintet at King’s Place, and the group went on to make the only commercial recording in existence of the piece.
As a soloist, Elise has performed Strauss 1st horn concerto and Mozart’s 4th horn concerto with external orchestras, and performed solo recitals at St Martin-in-the-Fields and Colston Hall (Bristol). In May 2011 she performed Strauss 1 horn concerto with RAM Concert Orchestra, as a result of winning a horn department competition. She won the Dennis Brain Horn Prize and the John Solomon Brass Prize in her second and third year respectively, and additionally she is part of a successful wind quintet; the Marylebone Ensemble, who were the winners of the Nicholas Blake Wind Prize in 2011. Discretional awards for yearly achievement at the Academy include the Norma Simpson Award, the Joyce Anne Beckett Prize and the Larry Adler Award. Elise was selected to study under the Leverhulme Mentorship Scheme, beginning September 2011, which makes her the only brass representative from the Academy whose studies are supported by this prestigious scholarship.
Elise is currently starting to bridge the gap between being a student and a freelance musician. Engagements include work with the Nash Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, London Chamber Orchestra, English Sinfonia and BBC Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she is currently on trial with the Royal National Scottish Orchestra.
Anna Douglass
Anna Douglass is in her second year at the RAM, and is studying with Michael Thompson. In her first year, she performed with the Royal Academy Concert Orchestra under prestigious conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, and was Highly Commended in the RAM Brass Prize and Dennis Brain Horn Prize. Anna has enjoyed success in her solo playing around the country, including a recital in the Wigmore Hall when she was 16, in 2011 performing Mozart's famous Rondo around the country in the Battle Proms, and winning the BBC Young Musician Brass Category in 2010.
Anna spent seven years at Chetham's School of Music, during which time she progressed to playing Principal Horn with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, performing with the orchestra around the country with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder and Vasily Petrenko. She has also played with the Britten-Pears Orchestra at the Snape Proms, and with NYO at the Glastonbury Festival.
A love of chamber music has also introduced Anna to the natural horn, on which she has lead sections performing Mozart’s Gran Partita and also Mendelssohn’s Elijah under Paul McCreesh. She has also played in overseas tours of the musicals 'Les Miserables' and 'Joseph'. Her recent recordings include the soundtrack to a 2012 Olympics promotional animation, and the 2012 film 'The Raven.'
Timothy Ellis
Timothy Ellis started the horn at age 8, learning with Emma Roberts. Since then he has enjoyed playing with the National Children’s Orchestra for four years, and has also performed regularly with local chamber groups and county youth and wind orchestras in Kent. He has also performed Mozart’s 3rd Horn Concerto on two occasions and has recently achieved the DipABRSM in performance.
Timothy now studies as a first year undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, as a first study Pianist. He studies Piano with Carole Presland, and in May, is performing the Grieg Piano Concerto back in Kent. He studies the Horn with Richard Watkins and Martin Owen
William Etheridge
Will is currently in his second year at the Academy where he learns with Richard Watkins. He began life as a Tenor Horn player switching to French Horn when he began his studies at Farnborough Sixth Form College where he was awarded a music scholarship. During his time so far in London, Will has played in Academy ensembles under conductors including Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Colin Davis.
Externally, Will has played as a member of the Orion Symphony Orchestra, including playing as Principal Horn at the Aberystwyth music festival. Will recently performed the Obligato solo in Mahler's 5th symphony with the Oxford University Orchestra.
An active chamber musician, Will has given performances in venues including Regents Hall and the National Portrait Gallery, as part of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Potrait Prize.
Carys Evans
Carys began playing the horn aged 9 and was a student at Chethams School of Music for 8 years, studying with Lizzie Davis and Richard Watkins.
She is a keen orchestral player, previously having been a member of the National Youth Orchestra (Principal Horn 2010-2011), Britten-Pears Orchestra, the National Youth Wind Orchestra, the National Children's Orchestra, Chethams Symphony Orchestra and numerous smaller ensembles including Britten-Pears Wind Ensemble, Chethams Brass Band and Chethams Senior Ten Piece. As a soloist she has performed with in venues including Peel Hall (Salford), La Mortella (Ischia), RNCM Concert Hall and Wellington College. Recent performances include Strauss' 1st Horn Concerto with the Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra and various platform concerts around the UK and abroad.
She has performed internationally in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall (BBC Proms 2007-2011), Birmingham Symphony Hall, Royal Festival Hall, La Mortella, the Children's Palace (Beijing), the Greig Concert Hall (Norway), the Sage Gateshead and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall.
Carys has always been particularly interested in outreach work having led workshops across the UK and in Jersey and Trinidad and Tobago. She spent August 2010 as a volunteer at The Mathieson Music School in Kolkata, India where she taught both music and academic lessons. She continues to fundraise for the school and hopes to return for the summer months of 2012.
Despite a busy playing schedule Carys turned her attention to Music Therapy and obtained a placement at the Royal School for the Deaf and Communication Disorders (the Seashell Trust) in 2010 where she worked weekly with 6 students aged 3-10. She believes that music is a universal language and that the power of music - with all its emotion, energy, resonance and rhythm - reaches people whose lives are constrained by illness, disability, trauma or exclusion.
Inspired by the students at Seashells Carys now hopes to pursue a career as a music therapist working particularly with children and young people. She is currently looking for a similar placement at a school in London.
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Francisco Gómez
Born in San Asensio 1986, Francisco completed his studies at the Higher Conservatory of Music of Aragón.
He has collaborated with the National Orchestra of Spain, National Orchestra of Catalunya and City of Barcelona, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Cadaques’ Orchestra and National Orchestra of Andorra. He has had the pleasure of playing with many distinguished conductors and musicians as Juan Manuel Gomez, Eric Terwilliger, Salvador Navarro, Sir Neville Marriner, Gianandrea Noseda, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Alexei Vitlin, Jusep Pons, Cristobal Halffter, Kazushi Ono, Pablo Gonzalez, Wenzel Fuchs, Ainhoa Arteta, Timothy Brown, Lars Vogt, Jaime Martin, Lucas Macias, Timothy Jones, Stefano Canutti, Ignacio García, Alexei Volodin or Montserrat Caballé.
In 2008 he won the “INJUVE Prize Circuits of Music” and in 2010 the Ibercaja Improvement Scholarship.
He has performed the two Cherubini’s Sonatas and the Beethoven’s Sonata in the Musica-Musica Festival in Bilbao, Mozart’s third Concerto with the Aragon’s Camerata and the Schumann’s Allegro und Adagio with the Barenboim-Said Academy Orchestra.
Currently, he is member of the National Young Orchestra of Spain and on December of 2010 he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music that allows him to be studying a Master of Arts.
Alex Hamilton
Alex Hamilton began playing the horn at the age of 9 and was taught by Liz Davis. At the age of 10, Alex began to study at Chetham's School of Music and passed the Performance Diploma of the ABRSM and the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music during his time there.
Whilst at Chetham's Alex played in the Chetham's Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder and Paul Daniel. Alex also travelled to Poland with Chetham's and performed in a recording of a Berlioz Requiem with the Gabrielli Consourt, conducetd by Paul McCreesh.
Alex was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and was a brass finalist in BBC Young Musician of the Year 2010. This year Alex has began studying at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was awarded a scholarship.
Oli Hickie
Oliver is a keen soloist, chamber and orchestral musician enjoying a diverse career as a horn player. He has performed as a soloist with Kent County Youth Orchestra performing Schumann’s Konzertstuck for four horns as well as performing Edward Gregson’s Horn Concerto earlier this year with Maidstone Wind Symphony. He is a member of a thriving brass quintet who have given recitals around the UK and in Italy. He has premiered a number of works for the medium including three pieces for quintet and solo Euphonium which were first performed at the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass with virtuoso soloist David Thornton.
From the back of the orchestra Oli has enjoyed performances with Manchester Camerata, the Britten Pears Orchestra and also as principal of the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra. He has participated on the BBC Philharmonic Professional Access scheme and has the privilege to work under conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle and Edward Gardner. He has also tutored the horn section of the South London Youth Orchestra and mentored the English Schools Orchestra.
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 and continued his education at the Royal Academy of Music. Here he is studying for a Masters under the guidance of Martin Owen, Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins and was highly commended for the Brass soloist Prize.
Adam Howcroft
Adam was born in 1989 and comes from Bridlington, East Yorkshire. Adam began his musical education at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester, where he studied for 10 years. Alongside his studies at Chetham’s Adam was also a member of the National Youth Orchestra and at 16 was appointed Principal horn.
Adam studied for four years at the RCM, where his studies were funded by RCM Foundation an ABRSM scholarships. During his time at the RCM Adam performed as principal horn with the Symphony Orchestra many times, highlights of which were performances of Brahms 1st and 4th Symphonies, and Mahler’s 5th symphony. Whilst at the RCM Adam formed the Scotney Wind Ensemble, and professional engagements have included performances at The Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Gallery, St. Martins in the Fields and Lincolns Inn. Adam made his Wigmore Hall debut whilst at the RCM, performing the Tippett Horn Quartet.
Adam is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins. His studies are kindly funded for by The Leverhulme trust and The Countess of Munster trust. Adam’s recent professional engagements have included work with The Philharmonia Orchestra, a trial as 3rd horn with The Ulster Orchestra and a summer tour with Opera a la carte.
Dewi Jones
Dewi is 18 and comes from Anglesey. He started playing the horn when he was 8. He has played with many youth orchestra's which include the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Hallé Youth Orchestra, principal horn with the North Wales Youth Orchestra and third horn with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. He has also performed as a soloist, recently performing Mendelssohn's Nocturne from a Midsummer's Night Dream. He has also won the Rotary's Anglesey Young Musician twice.
He is starting his first year at the Academy after four years of tuition with Richard Bourn of the Hallé and is now studying with Michael Thompson.
Carly Lake
Carly Lake initially studied at Trinity College of Music with Stephen Stirling and Jeffrey Bryant. She became interested in community music after an invitation to work with displacement victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, and has since gained a notable reputation in this field.
Upon graduation she took a position within the Education Department of the Royal Opera House and then as an Apprentice on the Spitalfields Festival Animateur Scheme. Her freelance work in education and outreach has included the Royal London Hospital and National Youth Orchestra amongst many other organisations.
Carly was awarded the Ann Driver Trust scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, where she currently studies with Richard Watkins, Michael Thompson and Martin Owen. Last year Carly performed in the premiere of Peter Maxwell-Davies’ new opera and a recording of Frank Zappa arrangements soon to be released on the Academy label. Outside RAM she performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Sinfonietta.
Carly’s Masters research experiments with contextualised performance space for contemporary music. She writes about her fieldwork online, so if you’re curious to hear how Messiaen sounds in a tunnel or to sculptures on the beach you should check out:
www.urbancanyons.wordpress.comCarly’s studies are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
Meredith Moore
Born and raised in Connecticut, Meredith Moore immigrated to London in 2007 and has had an active performing career in the United Kingdom ever since. Her professional experience includes trialing with the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Ballet and freelancing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, Oxford Philomusica, London Concert Orchestra and numerous other ensembles across the UK. She can be heard on the soundtrack to the movie Thor and Patrick Cassidy’s Mass, both recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, in addition to Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet with Valery Gergiev recorded on the LSO Live label, and with the BBC Philharmonic for Chandos Records.
Meredith is also a keen natural horn player and in 2010 won a fellowship on the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Scheme. She has played natural horn with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (as part of the OAE scheme), Classical Opera, the Brandenburg Classical Players, Musical Compass and the Serse Ensemble. In 2011 Meredith founded Evolution, a period instrument chamber music company dedicated to historically informed performances of chamber music from the classical period to the early 20th century. Meredith is looking forward to upcoming concerts with Evolution at the King’s Place and as part of the Brighton Early Music Festival.
As a soloist, Meredith has appeared with the Helios Chamber Orchestra playing Strauss’ Horn Concerto no.1 and in 2007 was the winner of the Northeast Horn Workshop Solo Competition. In 2008 Meredith was a top finalist in the International Horn Society’s Solo Competition and the 2008 Audi Mozart Italia Solo Competition. .
An avid music educator, Meredith has collaborated and performed on education projects with LSO Discovery, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Guildhall Connect. She also maintains a private studio in East London.
Meredith’s studies have taken place at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music where she is currently pursuing a Master’s Diploma. Her principal teachers have been Jonathan Lipton, Richard Bissill, David Pyatt and Andrew Clark (natural horn) . In additin, Meredith will be studying with Michael Thompson and Martin Owen while at the Royal Academy.
Edmund Morgan
Eddie began his musical life as a chorister in the Dunstable Priory Choir at seven-years old. From there he gained a deep interest in music and took up the French horn at middle school. It was not long before Eddie reached high standards in his two main disciplines, achieving Grade VIII distinction (ABRSM) on horn and the St. Nicholas' Award (RSCM). After many years of singing and playing Eddie decided to concentrate his efforts on the horn while his voice was breaking.
Eddie joined Bedfordshire Youth Orchestra at thirteen and has since played with Dacorum Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia among other well-known groups, as well as singing with the Southern Cathedral Singers. At Bedfordshire Youth Orchestra Eddie was lucky enough to be coached by Christopher Larkin (4th horn BBC Symphony Orchestra), Derek Taylor and Brendan Thomas. Eddie has played with many London orchestras and has been on tour with the World Youth Orchestra on their tour to Italy and Slovenia. He was the principal horn of the CBSO Youth Orchestra & Academy. He has been fortunate enough to perform with singer-songwriter Imogen Heap; perform alongside Joe McElderry and Diversity for the Queen at Buckingham Palace; and play in a concert broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
As well as orchestral playing, Eddie enjoys chamber music and is a member of the j5o Brass Quintet which he founded in 2008. He has been fortunate enough to perform with them in concerts in Canary Wharf and LSO St. Lukes and the group have been guest performers at the BBC Gardeners' World Live and BBC Good Food Shows at Birmingham NEC since 2009. The ensemble have toured twice to Denmark where they performed at the gala concert for the brass band festival AaMuk 11 and will be returning to again to perform a series of concerts early 2012.
After two years at Trinity College of Music studying with Mike Murray and Roger Montgomery, Eddie now studies at the Royal Academy of Music under Martin Owen and Richard Watkins after receiving the Bancroft Clark Award and an entrance scholarship. In 2011 he won the prestigious Drummond Sharp Prize and has recently been accepted on to the Birmingham Royal Ballet Mentor Scheme.
Hugh Sisley
Hugh Sisley is 18 years old. He began horn lessons in 1998 with David Bentley at the Junior Guildhall, where he held the paxman horn scholarship. He has played with the National Children’s Orchestra, the National Youth Wind Ensemble and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. In 2004 he won a music scholarship to St Paul’s School. When he was 15 he spent two months at the Tanglewood Institute in Massachusetts, where he studied with Eric Ruske. In the same year he began lessons with Richard Watkins. In 2008 he won a place at the LSO St Luke’s Brass Academy. The following year he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He has performed Strauss’ First Horn Concerto with the Junior Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Fourth Horn Concerto with the Colchester Symphony Orchestra and Telemann’s Horn Concerto in D with the Brandenburg Sinfonia in St Martin’s in the Fields. He is a member of the Docklands Sinfonia.
Becky Weldon
Becky began playing the Tenor Horn at the age of 8 in her local brass band. She was Solo horn in the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. At the age of 14 she began to study at Chetham's School of Music with Lizzie Davis where she began to play the French Horn. During her time there, Becky performed with Chetham's Symphony Orchestra, with various conductors such as Sir Mark Elder and passed the ABRSM Performance diploma. She also went to Poland with Chetham's to record Berlioz Requiem with the Gabrieli Consort, conducted by Paul McCreesh.
Becky was a member of the National Youth Orchestra for two years and performed with them at the BBC Proms. She is a first year undergraduate at the Royal Academy and studies with Michael Thompson.
Emily Wiggins
Emily won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in 2008 where she is currently studying under Martin Owen, she has previously learnt with Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins. Since joining the Academy Emily has been awarded the Richard Merewhether Award. She is in her final year of a four year Bachelor of Music course.
In 2000 Emily won a DfEs scholarship to attend the Purcell School of Music where she studied with Martin Owen. In the past Emily has performed Mozart’s fourth horn concerto with the Purcell Chamber Orchestra in the Constance Pilkington Hall. Both in 2007 and 2008 she won the Purcell Wigmore Hall Chamber Music Prize. In 2008 Emily won a place on the London Symphony Orchestra‘s Brass Academy and was awarded the John Fletcher Brass Prize by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
From Emily's orchestral opportunities she has played in Orchestras including the City of London Sinfonia, the Orion Orchestra, the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Academy of Music Symphony and Concert Orchestras, the University of London Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and the Docklands Sinfonia. From these she has had the pleasure of working under the direction of conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Vasily Patrenko, Richard Hickox, Sir Mark Elder, Sir Neville Marriner and Antonio Pappano. Performing across the country in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, St. John Smith Square, the Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Royal Festival hall, the Royal Opera House and the Cadogan Hall, as well as at the Glastonbury festival. Emily has also performed a solo recital at the Wigmore Hall, future solo recitals include the Regents Hall and the Dart Music Festival.