Richard Bissill studied horn and piano at the Royal Academy of Music, join ing the London Symphony Orchestra at age 22. He has been Principal Horn of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since 1985 and Professor of Horn at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 1983. As a freelance session player he can be heard playing on numerous film tracks including 'Return of the Jedi', 'Chicken Run', 'Gladiator', 'The Mummy', 'Shrek', 'Harry Potter' and 'Lord of the Rings'. He has performed Britten's 'Serenade' and Mozart's 4th Horn Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and the concertos of Haydn, Teleman, Mozart and Strauss at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Barbican. Solo recordings include Bach's 'Brandenburg' Concertos 1 and 2 with the Consort of London for Collins Classics, Frank Martin's 'Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments' for Chandos and Balfe's Cantata 'Sempre Pensoso e Torbido' for Opera Rara.

Since its 1986 commission by the London Philharmonic Orchestra 'Christmas Carnival' has established itself as something of a Christmas classic, receiving countless performances - it went on to win the first Peter Knight Award, sponsored by the Musicians' Union and Yorkshire TV and has since been recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This award led to a string of commission s from the BBC Concert Orchestra including 'East Angliana' in 1988, premiered at the Norwich Festival. As a member of London Brass since 1990 he has taken part in some of the world's major music festivals and has taught and given master-classes in Europe and the USA. Many of his virtuoso arrangements for the 10-man ensemble have been recorded for Teldec. A London Brass CD 'Surprise' featuring four of his arrangements was released in 2005.

In 1990 The British Horn Society commissioned 'Three Portraits' for horn octet to celebrate its 10th anniversary and followed this up with a further commission in 2001 of 'Time and Space' for two horns and piano. 'Lone Call and Charge' was commissioned in 1994 as a test piece for The Charles Leggett Award, and has since become firmly established in the horn repertoire and has been performed on BBC TV's Young Musician of the Year. The Ulster Youth Orchestra commissioned 'Timeslip' for large orchestral wind section in 1995. Richard was chief arranger on the hugely successful 2001 London Horn Sound CD, voted the best French horn CD ever by the International Horn Society.

The LPO has commissioned several compositions including 'Grand Opening', 'Philharmonic Fanfare' and, most recently, 'Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra', premiered in 2003 by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the Royal Festival Hall with Philip Fowke as soloist. The London Symphony Orchestra commissioned a new 'Sinfonia Concertante' for its centenary that was premiered in September 2004 at the Barbican under Sir Colin Davis and recorded for LSO Live. Richard has also written music for television, including Channel 5's 'One to Win', music for BBCTV Sport, and The Open Century and The Oranje Goal documentaries for Trans World International. Richard was made a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2005.

Rachel Brown was born in 1975 and began playing musical instruments at the age of seven. By the age of ten she was composing small pieces on a keyboard. Rachel played flute as her main instrument and has attained Grade 6 in theory and Grade 7 in practical. Rachel obtained an 'A' at GSCE music and has also completed a studio recording course, now having a small record label which sells relaxation music. Rachel would like to spend more time on her full orchestral works, and being at the start of her career she hopes to continue for many years.

Terry Johns started musical life at the age of ten in the brass band of Tower Colliery in South Wales where his father worked as a miner, and with piano lessons given to him by the local chapel organist. His first composition was a fanfare for the opening of the Youth (URDD) Eisteddfod in Aberdare during his time at Grammar School. He won a Glamorgan County Scholarship at the age of eighteen, going to the Royal Academy of Music to study the French horn with Barry Tuckwell and composition with Manuel Frankel. Terry became a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of twenty-one, and during his time there composed music for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Brass, and the incidental and theme music for Harlech TV's ‘The Pretenders' conducting the orchestral sessions himself at EMI's Abbey Road studios. Terry also arranged music for Merlin Records series ‘On the Lighter Side' and composed a set of solo horn pieces (Island) which he recorded himself for De Woolf Music.

During his membership of the London Symphony Orchestra he composed and arranged music for the London Symphony Orchestra Brass, and arranged the final hymn for the memorial service for Richard Burton at St. Martin in the Fields in 1984, sung by the Rhos Cwm Tawe Male Voice Choir and Brass. Now resident in Scotland Terry composes music for the talented soloists of the BBCSSO (British Broadcasting Corporation, Scottish Symphony Orchestra) and commissions by Scottish Brass and Wind Groups, notably ‘Le Cor' for the Glasgow Brass Company and narrator, and the Trumpet Concertino ‘To an Irishman' for Mark O'Keife and The Dumbarton Wind Band, performed and recorded live at the Mid Europe Festival in 2004.

Terry's trombone solo ‘One Day' was recorded and broadcast by Simon Johnson and the BBCSSO in 2004 and his music is performed and broadcast in Europe and the U.S.A. and at one time featured in the examination syllabuses of Trinity and London Colleges. 'Aye Flutin", the first piece of Terry's published by Broadbent & Dunn was performed by the group of the same name at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow and broadcast by the flute quartet ‘Zauberflöte' on Radio Scotland. His brass band concert piece ‘Hard Hats and Cornets' was commissioned by Maltby Miners' Welfare Band in 2000.

Norman Kent studied at the Royal College of Music, London, studying viola with John Dyer and harmony and composition with Herbert Howells. Norman joined the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at age 20 and was rapidly promoted to the front of the section. He joined the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra in 1960 and held the second desk position for 26 years. Norman continued playing and touring with other orchestras performing in some 25 different countries. Solo performances with orchestra include the Telemann Concerto and the two Max Bruch Romances, and recitals have included the Paganini Viola Sonata, Wieniawski's Reverie and of course his own Sonatinas. Norman doesn't play the viola anymore, but amuses himself playing and writing for the organ.

John Marson was born in 1932. He studied the harp with Marie Goossens at the Royal College of Music in London, and in 1958, while still a student, began his professional career with the Carl Rosa Opera Company. A week after leaving college he joined the London Symphony Orchestra for two years before embarking on two decades of freelance work, during which he played solos, chamber music and concerti, worked with all the London orchestras and spent much time in recording studios. He played in many outstanding feature films including the original ‘Star Wars'. In 1982 he was appointed principal harp of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently resumed his freelance career while increasingly engaging in composition, both for the harp and for other instruments and voice. He played for many West End and National Theatre productions including over three years as harpist in Lloyd Webber's ‘Aspects of Love'.

The roll call of artists with whom John has worked include the Beatles, Richard Rodney Bennett, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Benjamin Britten, Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, John Dankworth, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Liberace, Martha Graham, Hans Werner Henze, Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Zoltan Kodaly, Lorin Maazel, Neville Marriner, Pierre Monteux, Jessye Norman, Laurence Olivier, Luciano Pavarotti, Gennadi Rozhdestvenski, Frank Sinatra, George Solti, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, George Szell, William Walton, John Williams, Stevie Wonder and countless others.

In 1964 John was one of the two founders of the United Kingdom Harp Association, edited its magazines for many years and became President of the Association in January 2005. His book 'The Complete Guide to Harp Glissandi', is published by Lyra Music of New York, while his other major work 'The Book of the Harp - techniques, history and lore of a unique musical instrument', was published by Kevin Mayhew Ltd. In 2005.

Ronald Read was born in London in 1924. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II he completed a degree in mathematics at the University of Cambridge and took up a position at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. In 1970 he accepted a post as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada - a post which he held until his retirement in 1990. A keen amateur musician from an early age (he started to learn the violin at age 6) he has been active in many kinds of music: solo, chamber, orchestral and early music. He also plays several instruments including strings, piano, guitar and lute. Since retiring he has devoted much more time to music and now has diplomas in Theory and in Composition from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He currently lives in Oakville, Ontario, where he teaches piano and music theory, as well as playing viola in the local symphony orchestra and in a string quartet. His compositions include three works for orchestra and a number of pieces for small ensembles.

Carol Steingold originates from the North of England. She spent her childhood in the lovely countryside of the Fylde Coast, close to the beautiful mountains of the Lake District National Park. After training in classical music from the age of seven Carol furthered her studies, majoring in piano and singing at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, where she obtained the Graduate Degree (GRSM) and Teaching Diploma (ARMCM). Since leaving College, Carol has enjoyed a career in the music profession as a performer, not only as a classical musician, but also in the fields of Jazz and Country music. She has worked as a session musician in recording studios, fronted Country bands playing in the UK, Ireland and Holland, sung with many Jazz bands and was resident singer with the Vernon Gallery Big Band for a number of years, besides giving classical recitals.

Carol's contact with recording studios led to commissions to compose and arrange commercial 'jingles' and 'backing tracks' for TV and radio, and also film programme music. Carol has also written for the Country music scene, and many of her songs have been published world-wide. An album of her songs has been produced in Denmark and USA. In recent years, Carol has returned to her roots, and has furthered her studies at Lancaster University, Lancashire, obtaining a Master's Degree, majoring in classical piano performance. She also began teaching piano and singing, and has earned a considerable reputation as a versatile, popular and accomplished teacher of beginners to advanced level students.

Professional oboist, composer and arranger. Ex-director of Music at Dulwich College Preparatory School, and Head of Woodwind Teaching for the London Borough of Croydon. Founder and Director of Croydon Flute Harmonic and of Croydon Young Musicians Centre. Some of his pieces for oboe and piano are included in the Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music Examination Syllabus's and he has made many arrangements for Wind Quintet.

Bill Thorp started arranging music, while still at school, as a member of a folk group in which he played string bass. More experience followed with a college based acoustic folk-rock bank, playing violin, viola and piano, which went on to work professionally for two years. Later in a varied career performing with string quartets at some of London's Pizza Express restaurants, he was prompted to arrange music especially for that grouping and situation. Nowadays his playing career ranges from appearing on Renaissance, Baroque and Classical Violin with most of London's period instrument groups, to odd recording sessions on country and western fiddle.

A leading free-lance tuba player, he comes from a family of brass players and started his professional career at age 17. He studied music at the University of Surrey and graduated with 1st class honours. He has worked with major symphony and chamber orchestras. In 1992 he took up the post of Professor of Tuba at the London College of Music.

Described by the London Times as "one of the most exciting and versatile British conductors of his generation”, Martin Yates made his conducting debut with Bizet’s 'Carmen' at the Israel National Opera aged 24 and has since had a busy career that has included conducting many of Europe’s major symphony orchestras and at many important opera houses including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Royal Flanders Philharmonic, Gothenberg Symphony Orchestra and Opera, Royal Opera House in Convent Garden, Royal Swedish Opera House and the Rome Opera. He has appeared with such leading performers as Montserrat Caballe, Bryn Terfel, Barbara Hendricks, Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna and Yo-Yo Ma and has conducted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo three times.

Intending from the outset to pursue a career as a composer, Martin studied with Richard Arnell and Sir John Taverner and has written four string quartets 'LA Beach Music', 'New York Night Music', 'Frisco Bay Music' and 'Nashville, Tennesse'. The ever-popular 'Café Music', a 'Harpsichord Sonatina', 'Divertimento' for oboe, bassoon and double bass and a considerable amount of music involving the flute, most of which was written for the British flautist Anna Noakes. These works include the Sonata 'Fire Island', 'Sonatina 1 and 2', 'Sonata for Flute and Harp' and 'Concerto for Flute, Harp and Strings'. The Guardian described Martin Yates as a composer of confident and engaging music that has a style and colour that is both immediately appealing and rewarding to listen to.

Martin has also written several scores for theatre productions including the plays 'Jane Eyre', 'The Woman in White' and 'Dear Octopus', three musicals 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Soap Opera' and 'Nothing Doing Tonight' and later works include 'Brass Quintet' and 'The Promise' for Flute Ensemble. Players as diverse as flautist Anna Noakes, harpist Gillian Tingay, pianist Kathron Sturrock, flautist Emily Beynon, double bass payer Duncan McTeer, soprano Jean Glennon and conductor Kent Nagano have played his music. His very popular arrangements of the two Gershwin classics 'S’Wonderful' and 'I Got Rhythm' for horn quartet are played all over the world.