“I can’t remember a time when music wasn’t a huge part of my life. For me it was never a decision I made, I never chose to be a musician it was always accepted that I would be.

Like most children I started piano studies whilst at school. I never really enjoyed it, found practicing boring, hated the music I was given to play, so after a year my mum cancelled my lessons. From that day, oddly, I developed a love of the piano and taught myself to play by ear, basic harmony, jazz improvisation and slowly over time began to develop my musical knowledge.

On starting secondary school the opportunity to learn a wind instrument was offered and I chose the trumpet - rather the trumpet was all that was left. That turned out to be a great thing for me. Unlike the piano I loved to practice everyday and would rush home after school to play for hours on end. While many of my peers would practice what had be set for them, I wasn’t happy until I could play the whole teaching method we were working through. I also began to pick up other instruments and at one time or another performed on Trombone, Saxophone, French horn, Tuba, Tenor Horn, Euphonium, Cornet, Double Bass, Guitar, even Drums! By the time I was 16 I had already started to work as a musician, my first real paid gig being a radio broadcast on BBC Radio. That summer I sat in a theatre pit for the first time on a six week run of “West Side Story” playing principal Horn.

My love of jazz music began at school, playing in the Big Band and later joining Geoff Miller’s Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra. I was there for five years playing regularly in live shows, jazz festivals and tours. I got so much out of those years and have always gone back to play with the band and support the up and coming talent the band still finds.

I studied for my degree at Leeds College of Music under Graham Hearn, Simon Barnes, Omar Puente, Trevor Vincent, Al Wood, Tony Faulkner and Ronnie Bottomly, each professor teaching me something different about music and working in the business.

The next few years I spent gigging, working, touring, studying for a PGCE, and beginning to make a name for myself in the UK. I had a great base of musicians surrounding me and found myself working hard but playing 6, 7 even 8 “one nighters” every week.

I decided that I enjoyed the stability of regular work so went to work at sea in 2008, for Cunard Line, on board Queen Mary 2 performing nightly with the Dance Band, Big Band and Symphony Orchestra. I spent time working as a lead trumpet player in the theatre as well as a soloist in small group settings.

I left Cunard in 2013 and returned to the UK to continue work as a free-lance player. I was fortunate to work with some great artists and be featured with a number of musical projects. I felt like I’d paid my dues and was qualified to teach and write and direct how the music should sound, based on ten years working flat out as a performer.

I now live in Southern Spain, where I work hard as both an educator and performer. I am head of Faculty at the English International College and balance my teaching with a busy performance schedule. I’ve been lucky to meet some amazing musicians here and have built up a network of performance opportunities. I still travel back and forth to the UK maintaining a busy private teaching schedule, which includes SKYPE lessons to pupils from Singapore and Japan to USA and Australia. For me nothing beats that feeling of live music making and am happy to say that this year looks to be a very busy one.