top of page

Simon Desbruslais

Trumpet Soloist / Author / Academic

Discography

Simon Desbruslais is a British trumpet soloist, whose performances have been critically acclaimed as ‘steel-lipped’, ‘musically compelling’ and possessing ‘supreme confidence and flair’. Equally active in baroque and contemporary music, Simon has recorded extensively for Signum Classics including Psalm: Contemporary British Trumpet Concertos, an album of trumpet works written for him by John McCabe, Robert Saxton and Deborah Pritchard, and most recently The Art of Dancing which includes new double concertos for trumpet, piano and string orchestra by Toby Young, Geoffrey Gordon and Nimrod Borenstein. Radio and Television broadcasts form an integral output to Simon’s work and over the last decade he has performed live on BBC 1 Television, BBC Radio 3 & 4 and German Radio SWR2 to millions of viewers and listeners worldwide.

 

A crucial element of Simon’s career involves working with composers to create and champion new works involving the trumpet. This has ranged from chamber works, such as trumpet and piano, to full-scale concertos and more unusual combinations such as trumpet with choir, or with string quartet. Simon has a particular commitment to British music – composers who have written with his sound and technique in mind include, among others, Edwin Roxburgh, John McCabe, John Traill, Deborah Pritchard, Lola Perrin, Luke Bedford, Toby Young, Tomas Yardley and Tom Armstrong.

 

Since his breakthrough season in 2012/13, Simon has given concerto performances in China and Brazil, appeared as soloist with Royal Northern Sinfonia, English Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Swan, Charivari Agréable, Brook Street Band, Ensemble Diderot and London Concertante, and as a guest chamber musician with the Ligeti Quartet, Austral Harmony, Little Venice Ensemble and Ensemble Perpetuo. He has given solo performances at the Ryedale, Wymondham, Bangor New Music, North York Moors, Deal, and Rheine Vokal festivals, and appeared as a concerto soloist on the natural trumpet at the Wigmore Hall. He has also developed lasting overseas collaborations with the Iceland Academy of the Arts, Tianjin Normal University in China and the Janáek Academy of Music in Brno. Simon is fortunate to maintain active duo partnerships with pianist Clare Hammond and organist Stephen Farr, among many other fine musicians.

 

Simon was educated at King’s College London and the Royal College of Music, winning numerous prizes and scholarships. He was then a private student of Eric Aubier in the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Rueil-Malmaison. Keen to expand on the relationship between performance and musicology, Simon holds a doctorate from Christ Church, Oxford, on the music theory of Paul Hindemith, which will soon be published in monograph form. He is Lecturer in Music at the University of Hull, where he is also Director of Performance, having previously taught at the universities of Bristol, Nottingham, King’s College London and Surrey. His research into historical trumpets led to a recording on artefacts held by the Oxford Bate Collection, which included the first recordings of music on the nineteenth-century, long ‘Bach’ trumpet, among other historical curiosities. Simon acknowledges the generous support of Arts Council England, Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust, Britten Pears Foundation and Help Musicians UK.

Published Works

(contributor)

photo by Michael Desbruslais

Fanfare

Simon Desbruslais, trumpet / Clare Hammond, piano

As 'Fanfare', trumpeter Simon Desbruslais and pianist Clare Hammond are quickly establishing themselves as an adventurous and distinctive duo with a strong commitment to new music. Individually, they have received international acclaim for their ever-growing discography and engaging performances, and in 2011 they decided to form a musical partnership in order to promote and expand repertoire for trumpet and piano.

To date, Fanfare have commissioned over six new works for trumpet and piano, from composers including John McCabe and Edwin Roxburgh, as well as three new double concertos. In May 2015, they gave the world-premiere of Geoffrey Gordon’s ‘Saint Blue for Piano, Trumpet & Strings’ and performed Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano, Trumpet & Strings with the English String Orchestra. They have recorded Gordon's concerto and two by Toby Young and Nimrod Borenstein for release by Signum Records in 2017.

Anaphora (clip) - Tomas Yardley
00:0000:00

Anaphora by Tomas Yardley

(clip)

Trumpet Sonata (clip) - Paul Hindemith
00:0000:00

Trumpet Sonata by Paul Hindemith

(clip)

Before the world premiere of 'Saint Blue' by Geoffrey Gordon for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings.

13 May 2015

bottom of page