David Thornton | |
---|---|
Born | 1978 (age 45–46) Nottingham, UK [1] |
Origin | Nottingham [1] |
Occupation(s) | Band musician, solo musician, teacher, clinician, [1] Conductor [2] |
Instrument(s) | Euphonium [1] |
Website | www.davethornton.co.uk |
David Thornton (born 1978) is a British solo euphonium player for the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band.
Thornton began learning the euphonium at the age of eight [3] and was soon after accepted as the first ever euphonium student at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, England. During this time he held the principal euphonium position of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. David went on to the Royal Northern College of Music, where he studied with Steven Mead, graduating in 2000. In July 2000 he was appointed as principal euphonium of the Black Dyke Band. [2]
He left the band at the end of 2010.
Thornton has earned several awards including scholarships from the Countess of Munster Trust and the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, the National Euphonium Conference Solo Prize 1995, 1997 and 1999, first prize at the Verso Il Millenio International Euphonium Competition, and the International Euphonium Player of the Year 2001. [2] [3]
He has been featured on BBC Television, BBC Radio and Classic FM. David has performed as a guest player with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Birmingham's Royal Ballet, and Remix-Ensemble (Portugal's premier contemporary group). [2] [3]
Thornton teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music, the University of Huddersfield, the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester and Chetham's School of Music. He became Associate Conductor of the Longridge band, based near Preston, Lancashire, in 2003. [2] [3]
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word εὔφωνος euphōnos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced". The euphonium is a valved instrument. Nearly all current models have piston valves, though some models with rotary valves do exist.
The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is a low-pitched brass instrument in the saxhorn family. It is a piston-valve brass instrument with a bore that is mostly conical, like the higher pitched flugelhorn and alto (tenor) horn, but it has a narrower bore compared to the similarly pitched euphonium. It uses a wide-rimmed cup mouthpiece like that of its peers, the trombone and euphonium. Like the trombone and the euphonium, the baritone horn can be considered either a transposing or non-transposing instrument.
Black Dyke Band, formerly John Foster & Son Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and most well-known brass bands in the world. It originated as multiple community bands founded by John Foster at his family's textile mill in Queensbury, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the mid-19th century. The ensemble has become prominent in competitive band championships and through recordings for film and television.
The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. As of August 2023, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Joe Burgstaller and Ashley Hall-Tighe, hornist Jeff Nelsen, and trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.
The valve trombone is a brass instrument in the trombone family that has a set of valves to vary the pitch instead of a slide. Although it has been built in sizes from alto to contrabass, it is the tenor valve trombone pitched in B♭ an octave lower than the trumpet which has seen the most widespread use. The most common models have three piston valves. They are found in jazz and popular music, as well as marching bands in Europe, where they are often built with rotary valves and were widely used in orchestras in the 19th century.
The cimbasso is a low brass instrument that covers the same range as a tuba or contrabass trombone. First appearing in Italy in the early 19th century as an upright serpent, the term cimbasso came to denote several instruments that could play the lowest brass part in 19th century Italian opera orchestras. The modern cimbasso design, first appearing as the trombone basso Verdi in the 1880s, has four to six rotary valves, a forward-facing bell, and a predominantly cylindrical bore. These features lend its sound to the bass of the trombone family rather than the tuba, and its valves allow for more agility than a contrabass trombone. Like the modern contrabass trombone, it is most often pitched in F, although models are occasionally made in E♭ and low C or B♭.
The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. Along with the Black Dyke Mills Band, the band became the first to perform at the Proms. Grimethorpe Band achieved worldwide fame after appearing in the film Brassed Off.
James Lloyd Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician. Although his main instrument is trumpet, he has also performed on trombone, tuba, euphonium, flugelhorn, saxophone, clarinet, double bass, guitar, and piano. He is a composer, writing jazz charts for ensembles of various sizes and proficiency levels.
The Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival is an amateur tuba and euphonium festival and competition, held annually the second week in August at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp at Twin Lake, Michigan.
Johannes Abraham "Johan" de Meij is a Dutch conductor, trombonist, and composer, best known for his Symphony No. 1 for wind ensemble, nicknamed The Lord of the Rings symphony.
Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen is a Norwegian contemporary composer.
Harry Mortimer was an English composer and conductor who specialised in brass band music, one of the foremost cornet players of his era.
John Golland was an English composer. He is most famous for his works for brass band, such as Sounds, Atmospheres, Peace, Rêves d'Enfant, his two euphonium concerti and a flugelhorn concerto. He also composed incidental music for the 1983-84 BBC sitcom Dear Ladies.
Rothwell Temperance Band (RTB) are a Championship Section brass band in Yorkshire. Although they do not rehearse in Rothwell itself, they have strong connections with the town and hold many concerts for the local community.
The euphonium repertoire consists of solo literature and parts in band or, less commonly, orchestral music written for the euphonium. Since its invention in 1843, the euphonium has always had an important role in ensembles, but solo literature was slow to appear, consisting of only a handful of lighter solos until the 1960s. Since then, however, the breadth and depth of the solo euphonium repertoire has increased dramatically.
Paul Lovatt-Cooper is an English percussionist and composer. He currently holds the position of director of music at Factory Transmedia, and is the managing director of his music company PLC Music. Lovatt-Cooper is also 'composer in association' with the Black Dyke Band.
Nigel Clarke is a British composer and musician. He is a former head of composition and contemporary music at the London College of Music and Media.
Trygve Madsen is a Norwegian composer and pianist.
Nicholas John Childs is a Welsh musician, conductor, composer and brass educator.
Peter Aloysius Meechan is a British composer, conductor, and music publisher.