Thomas Aitken

Aitken, Thomas

The Brass Sections of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

An international brass section takes shape in post-war New Zealand, where orchestral careers mingle with touring bands, immigration and some remarkably unconventional detours.

Aitken, Thomas

At the Sign of the Serpent

All sorts of old, rare and unusual musical instruments bought and sold by Tony Bingham

Behind a Hampstead shopfront, Tony Bingham’s trade in ophicleides, natural horns and cornets kept rare instruments circulating between collectors and players.

Aitken, Thomas

A major chamber music work for brass?

Quintet, by Peter Maxwell Davies

A BBC studio session turns Maxwell Davies’s brass quintet into a test of virtuosity, balance and whether brass could claim a new place in chamber music.

Aitken, Thomas

Melvyn Poore

Tuba britannica

A tuba becomes a laboratory for circular breathing, reeds, strange mutes and music theatre as Melvyn Poore pushes beyond the orchestral role assigned to it.

Aitken, Thomas

John Fletcher

Is Big Always Beautiful?

As brass instruments grew larger and louder, John Fletcher saw something being lost: the individual voice, clarity and character that make a player heard.

Aitken, Thomas

Ernest Hall, OBE (1890-1984)

A principal trumpet, influential teacher and formidable musician remembered through the voices of pupils who experienced Ernest Hall’s uncompromising standards.

Aitken, Thomas

What's your proper job?

A social portrait of the British brass player

Four British brass players confront a profession transformed by orchestras, freelance work, social prejudice and the shrinking certainties of musical life.