Artist Insights

Nils Landgren has demonstrated how versatile a brass instrument the trombone can be since the 1980s, playing with legends as diverse as ABBA, Wyclef Jean, Joe Sample & the Crusaders and Herbie Hancock. Trying out his father’s trombone at 13, Nils was inspired by The Beatles to pursue diverse musical ventures. Initially classically trained, Nils toured with pop legend Bjorn Skifs (“Hooked o...

One of the world’s most sought-after brass players, Sergio Carolino has expanded the repertoire and popularity of the tuba, across a range of musical genres. Although wind bands were popular in his native Portugal, Sergio admits arrived at music as a secondary passion, behind his love of tennis and caricature. Largely an autodidact, Sergio began playing Dixieland jazz and progressed to fusion and...

Scottish flutist Stephen Clark has come a long way from his Glasgow beginnings, having toured in locations as far-flung as Jordan, Latvia, and Mexico and fulfilled a personal bucket list that included skydiving and swimming with sharks! From early beginnings playing the recorder, to failing at the violin, Stephen arrived at the flute as a last resort. He reveals how inspiring his first teacher pro...

Young French percussionist Adélaïde Ferrière has won several international prizes and performed in festivals and concert halls worldwide. Adélaïde remembers being inspired as a child watching her timpanist father. Now, she’s inspiring a new generation of percussionists with her solo marimba and ensemble performances. Adélaïde specialises in transposing classical repertoire for solo marimba and mak...

London-born tubist Theon Cross has been celebrated for “reinventing the tuba” and his music has garnered high praise from publications including The Guardian, The New York Times and NPR. He has toured extensively throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as scoring a number 1 jazz release with his debut album “Fyah.” Beginning his musical journey on the little-known tenor horn, Theon admits bein...

The saxophone might not be the first instrument you associate with dance music. However, international sax Player Ellie Sax has rocked gigs and parties from New Year’s Eve in the Maldives to European super-clubs like The Ministry of Sound. Like many artists these days, she uses video to share her music with a wider audience, including her single, one-take livestream from an Ibizan clifftop, togeth...

Our debut Artists Insight podcast is about the remarkable and life-enhancing journeys that music can take us on, and not just the exceptional and talented musicians featured here. Their stories will resonate with anyone who’s ever picked up an instrument and, we hope, inspire you to continue your musical journey and tell your own stories. This first season we've caught up with brass, woodwind and...

There’s no place for a long face in music. Acclaimed Belgian trumpet player Jeroen Berwaerts recalls the memorable concerts from an extraordinary career, provides unique insights into his practice routines and explains why you’ve always got to keep smiling. Why the last two bars are always so scary. Describing the trumpet as an extension of his voice, acclaimed Belgian trumpet player Jereoen Berwa...

The first-ever winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year, Clarinet virtuoso Michael Collins looks back on his multifaceted career as a soloist, conductor and professor, and forward to a time when the classical music business might become more equal. Clarinet virtuoso Michael Collins looks back on his multifaceted career as a soloist, conductor and professor, and forward to a time when the class...

Widely acknowledged as the leading baritone horn player of her generation, Katrina Marzella talks about her musical influences, growing up in an Italian-Hebridean household and being a woman in the male-dominated world of brass bands. And why playing at Sydney Opera House is no different to playing in Falkirk Town Hall. What it is that makes lawyers such great musicians. Widely acknowledged as the...

Holder of the world records for playing the highest and coldest concerts, Norwegian saxophonist and extreme athlete Håkon Erlandsen discusses his life in music. And what it’s like to hike 6 hours in the snow to a gig carrying your instrument, PA and a generator. What it’s like to hike 6 hours in the snow to a gig carrying your instrument, PA and a generator and what happens when you put a saxophon...

He’s played with Michael Bublé, Robbie Williams and Seal, and his big band has 15M views on YouTube. Pioneering young trumpet player and producer Louis Dowdeswell discusses his journey in music. The challenge of achieving consistency, the importance of getting the trumpet section on your side and how sometimes you can learn the most when you’re eating a taco. Pioneering young trumpet player and pr...

The first British winner of Amateur Live Night at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, singer, songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson discusses her earliest musical memories, the importance of personal development, and meeting Maya Angelou. What Maya Angelou told a young singer, songwriter and cellist that so inspired her. London-born Ayanna Witter-Johnson, the first British winner of Ama...