The Lancier Brass Quintet

The Lancier Brass Quintet is made up of five young professional musicians, who have been working as a group since the quintet’s formation in 2000. The quintet is made up of players who have worked at the top of their profession with renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as representing the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. The quintet has a vast repertoire list, which combines classical arrangements and jazz standards with the original repertoire written for this combination of instruments. This versatility helped them gain a place in the final of the prestigious Royal Over-Seas League Competition in 2003, and also led to them being signed up by the Chris Sheldrick Management Agency later the same year. Other recent highlights include a live BBC Radio 3 broadcast and UK Premiere of Zhou Long’s Five Maskers, a performance which prompted the composer to acclaim the quintet as "a fantastic group of players".

David Hilton - Trumpet

David grew up in Worcestershire, where he started to learn the trumpet with local teacher, Duncan Conner. He continued his studies at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama under John Miller, and subsequently gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He also gained the positions of Principal Trumpet with the National Youth Chamber Orchestra and European Union Youth Orchestra.

David graduated from the Guildhall School of Music in 2001 with a First Class degree after studying with Paul Cosh and Paul Beniston, and now enjoys a busy freelance career in and around London. He plays regularly with many orchestras, including the BBC Orchestra’s, London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and has just returned from a two-week tour of Germany with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently also on trial for the Principal Trumpet position with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Heidi Sutcliffe - Trumpet

Heidi was born in 1982 in Harwich, Essex. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in 2004, gaining First Class Honours. Whilst there she received tuition from John Wallace and James Watson, among others, and gave her the opportunity to represent Great Britain in the Kyoto International Music Student’s Festival. Having represented the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for four years, she went on to play with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the European Union Youth Orchestra.

She is now on the Postgraduate course at the Royal College of Music, and receives lessons from Andy Crowley, Paul Archibald, and Paul Beniston. She has obtained funding from the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, and also gained a scholarship from the Royal College to assist her financially.

Heidi also enjoys a busy freelance career, having worked with London Winds, the London Chamber Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. She has also enjoyed success further afield, when she was on trial for the Co-Principal position with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Rebecca Hill - French Horn

Born in 1981, Rebecca started playing the French horn at the age of 9. She subsequently studied at the Junior Guildhall, where for the majority of her time she learnt with David Bentley. In 1995 she became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain of which she became Principal horn in her final year and was awarded the John Fletcher Memorial Prize for outstanding brass playing and contribution to the orchestra. During this time Rebecca was also awarded the Junior Guildhall Lutine Prize and she was the 1999 Shell/LSO Silver Medalist, culminating in a performance of Mozart’s 2^nd Horn Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Barbican Hall.

In 2004, she graduated from the Guildhall School of Music, where she had studied with Jeffrey Bryant and Richard Bissill. Whilst at the Guildhall Rebecca joined the European Union Youth Orchestra and won the Guildhall Brass prize sponsored by the honorary company of Armourers and Braziers. Rebecca now enjoys a busy freelance career which has included trials with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and led her to play with, among others, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Matthew Gee - Trombone

Having started playing the trombone at the age of 7 with his local brass band, Matthew quickly became interested in orchestral music. He successfully auditioned for the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain while being tutored by Chris Jeans, then of the John Foster and Sons Black Dyke Mills Band, and progressed to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.  Three years of working with the Orchestra resulted in promotion to section principal, which he then held for a further two years.

Over this period Matthew commuted from Leicester to London every Saturday to attend the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  While studying for a degree in music at King's College, London, he reached the brass final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2002, achieved positions in the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the Janacek Youth Philharmonic, while also playing solo and chamber recitals in and around Leicester and London. After graduating from Kings with a 2:1, Matthew has continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London, and worked with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Since the age of 16 Matthew has studied with Ian Bousfield (principal of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), Dudley Bright (principal of the London Symphony Orchestra), Dennis Wick (ex-principal of the London Symphony Orchestra), and is currently under the tutorage of Lindsey Shilling (principal of the London Philharmonic Orchestra).

Studying at the Royal College of Music has been made possible through the kind assistance of The Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, and The Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Michael Levis - Tuba

Michael was born in 1982, and took up the piano at the age of seven. By the age of ten he had progressed to the tuba, and within six months had gained a place in the National Children's Orchestra, with whom he stayed for three years. Having been taught locally for four years, he then gained a place at the Junior Guildhall School of Music, to study under Graham Sibley, and was subsequently selected for a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

He graduated in 2004 from the Guildhall School of Music, where he studied under Patrick Harrild. During his time at the Guildhall he gained places in the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the National Musicians Symphony Orchestra, and was twice finalist in the Guildhall Brass Prize. He was also given a concerto by the college for outstanding performance.

Michael enjoys a busy freelance career, which includes a trial for Principal Tuba with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and is touring Europe with the London Symphony Orchestra later in the year.