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The
Royal Northern College of Music
(Great
Britain, Manchester)
Since
its formation in 1973 the Royal Northern College of Music has
established itself as one of the principal international
conservatoires in Europe. Today over 600 students from more
than forty countries are prepared each year for professional
careers in music by a distinguished international staff.
During
their four-year undergraduate courses students are given
regular opportunities to perform in a full professional
environment both within the College (which is also a thriving
arts center) and externally. Over 100 public student
performances are mounted every year. These, together with a
wide range of other events staged at the College in its
enviable performance facilities – a Concert Hall seating 500
and an Opera Theatre of similar size – create an atmosphere
of public involvement unique among conservatoires.
The
RNCM’s former students have a formidable reputation in the
music profession and are to be found in opera houses,
orchestras and concert halls throughout Europe. They include
the opera singers Jane Eaglen, Amanda Roocroft and Simon
Keenlyside, the opera director Graham Vick, the conductors
Sian Edwards, Paul Mann and Garry Walker, and the pianists
Peter Donohoe, Stephen Hough and Steven Osborne.
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Tubalaté
 Formed
in 1991, Tubalaté
is considered one of the country’s finest exponents of the
brass medium. Their wide range of styles and flexibility of
performance has gained them an international reputation for
promoting the dynamic development of chamber music.
New
works are the life-blood of any ensemble. Michael Finnissy and
Howard Skempton are just two of the many composers who have
written for Tubalaté,
whose repertoire now boasts in excess of 100 original works.
In
addition to the concert platform, Tubalaté
maintains a high profile with appearances at music festivals and
at venues throughout the UK, Europe and the USA, as well as
giving regular radio broadcasts. Compact disc recordings of Tubalaté
are available: Light
Metal, Episodes, Move
and a CD of contemporary works entitled Earth
and Moon.
Educational
projects are an important facet of Tubalaté’s
portfolio. The ensemble has worked in collaboration with organisations
such as the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), Live
Music Now! and Brass 2000. The quartet also offers a range of
educational concerts, workshops and master classes.
Tubalaté
has also published a number of works for tuba-euphonium ensemble
(a selection of new commissions and arrangements), through Da
Capo Music Ltd. and Breakthrough Music.
The
four members are: Paul Walton and John Powell (euphoniums), Ryan
Breen and Ian Anstee (tubas) – their vision has brought Tubalaté
to the forefront of brass playing, with innovation, musical
intelligence and sparkling performance.
Ryan
Breen
Ryan
Breen was principal tubist with the National Youth Orchestra and
studied at Chethams School of Music under Stuart Roebuck and Brian
Kingsley. Ryan won the brass prize in the Northern Guild Music
Competition in 1993. The same year saw him move to London to study
with Patrick Harrild, Jim Anderson and Oren Marshall. In 1996 Ryan
returned to his homeground of Manchester to study further at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Ryan’s high standards of performance have received recognition,
encouraging composers such as Jennifer Glass to write for the tuba.
In 1996 Ryan accepted the invitation to become a member of Tubalaté.
He is highly experienced within the brass band movement playing
with bands such as BNFL and Desford Colliery. He also has an
impressive record in the orchestral world and has worked with many
of the country’s leading orchestras.
Paul
Walton
A
former member of the National Youth Brass band of Great Britain,
Paul Walton graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music
in 1994. He was appointed as a Junior Fellow of the College and
a year later was awarded a Post-Graduate Diploma in Advanced
Performance. During this time Paul was also awarded the
Cronshaw-Lancaster Award. His background is largely that of the
brass band movement playing for bands such as Black
Dyke and Britannia
Building Society. As well as being a founder member of Tubalaté,
Paul is currently in demand as a freelance euphoniumist,
dividing his time between chamber music, orchestral and brass
band playing, solo recitals, master
classes
and conducting. He also plays trombone for Ẻclat,
a contemporary music ensemble and with an 80’s cover version
pop band, Give it Up.
Paul has recently launched Breakthrough Music – a publishing
company specialising
in music for low brass ensembles.
John
Powell
John
Powel graduated with an Honours Degree and two Professional
Performance Diplomas from the Royal Northern Academy of Music –
the first euphonium player to do so. As one of the leading
exponents of the euphonium, John is dedicated to expanding the
boundaries of the instrument. He has helped in refining the
euphonium and has commissioned many new works by leading British
composers including Michael Finnissy. John has performed as a
soloist throughout Britain, Japan, America and Europe as well as
playing with most of the country’s leading brass bands. He is a
founder member of Tubalaté
and of Silk and Steel (euphonium,
flute and piano). He is a tenor tuba and bass trumpet specialist
and has played with many orchestras. More recently John has
recorded a CD of Percy Grainger works with the BBC Philharmonic
Orchestra. John is also the musical director of Besses
Boys Band.
Ian
Anstee
In
1990 Ian Anstee entered the Royal Northern College of Music to
study tuba with Stuart Roebuck and Brian Kingsley. He gained a
Music Degree and was awarded a Distinction in his Professional
Performance Diploma. Ian has also studied with some of the great tubists
of our era including Bob Tucci and Roger Bobo. He has used his
experience to develop a great understanding of the tuba, which he
uses, along with his communication skills, to help to popularise
this most under-rated of instruments. He has an interest in the
needs of the people requiring learning support and every year
helps develop music projects for many institutions. Ian is a
soloist and an active orchestral musician with orchestras
including the Hallé,
Opera North, English National Ballet and Manchester Camerata.
Ian is a founder member of Tubalate and is a lecturer at the Royal
Northern College of Music for the course “An Introduction to
Music Therapy”. Ian also performs with the Thalia
Ensemble, with his wife, Karen Slack, on clarinet and John Gough, on
piano.
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