The Team

The course is run by an established and successful team. All our staff members have full DBS clearance and are familiar with safeguarding in education settings.

Read more about them here!

  • Peter started playing the horn at the age of 12, and before long was eagerly taking every opportunity to play in his local youth and amateur orchestras. At the age of 17, he commenced lessons with Iain Harper, who was then co-principal horn of the Royal Opera House Orchestra.

    Some years later, embarking on a career in music, Peter realised how incredibly valuable those formative orchestral experiences had been. And so they can be, today, for any young player, keen to explore the challenges and delights of the orchestral repertoire.

    In his final year at school, Peter won an instrumental scholarship, to read music at Oxford. For the next three years he embraced the academic world with enthusiasm, yet this would not deflect him from his long-held ambition to become a performing musician.

    Peter went on to spend a year as a post-graduate at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Nick Bush of LPO fame, followed by a totally inspiring fifth year in education, thanks to being selected for a place on the ‘National Centre for Orchestral Studies’ postgraduate course. Just one snapshot: a week rehearsing Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony with Simon Rattle – what an experience! Although the funding for this full-time orchestral training course lasted for just ten years, in its time it proved its worth as an invaluable ‘finishing school’ for orchestral musicians, serving its purpose by facilitating numerous successful careers in the music profession.

    Out in the real world, Peter’s career soon took off, initially with English National Ballet, Scottish Opera, the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. He also started to work in the pit for West End productions, over the next ten years performing in West Side Story, Me and My Girl, Starlight Express, Evita, Miss Saigon, 42nd Street, The King and I and Cabaret.

    A long and happy association with the Orchestra of St John’s began during the 1990s, and over the course of 25 years, Peter took part in many truly memorable performances playing 2nd and 4th horn with some of the country’s busiest freelance musicians.

    In parallel with his performing career, Peter had begun to build a reputation as an inspirational horn teacher, and has since worked with countless students, inspiring them to realise their full potential. A regular tutor for many orchestral courses, he has created, promoted and coached horn ensembles wherever and whenever he has been able to make them happen.

    Peter established the annual French Horn Summer School in 2019 as a natural extension of his experiences of working with students. On our courses, the various strands of Peter’s life in music - his academic background, his wide experience playing professionally in many genres, and his work teaching and coaching – are brought together, for the benefit and inspiration of today’s young players: our Summer School was created with a mission to encourage students to explore the challenges and delights of the orchestral repertoire.

    Post-pandemic, the ‘French Horn Summer School’ has gone from strength to strength, with over 30 students experiencing one or more of our courses – indeed, our many returning students offer the clearest endorsement of the value we aim to offer.

  • Becca grew up in a musical family and developed a passion for music from a young age. She attended Wells Cathedral School as a Specialist Musician for her final two years of school and played in many prestigious ensembles and concerts. Becca then went on to study French Horn at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she was taught by Simon de Souza, Beth Randell, Jeremy Bushell, and Dave Bentley. Becca is now leading a freelance music career and is enjoying the variety of playing in orchestras and chamber groups, teaching brass instruments in schools, and facilitating SEND music sessions.

    The Pastoral Lead role suits Becca perfectly, due to her caring nature and constant drive to make sure everyone around her is happy. She has experience of working in school boarding houses and has successfully fulfilled a pastoral role on previous courses. At the French Horn Summer School, Becca is the person to turn to if you need cheering up or have a concern. You may also find her sneaking into the ensembles to enjoy playing alongside the other eager horn players on the course!

  • Simon studied with the virtuoso Ifor James at Colchester Institute, winning several prizes for chamber music and then undertook postgraduate studies at Trinity College of Music in London. Since graduating he has developed a busy schedule as a freelance performer with orchestras such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestras of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and The Bolshoi Ballet, West End and touring shows, chamber music and recitals. Simon currently holds the position of second horn in Southern Sinfonia and Southern Pro Musica. He has a major commitment to the brass quintet Chaconne Brass, with whom he has frequently been heard on radio and TV and has made five recordings, the most recent of which ‘Dancing in the dark’ was awarded four stars in a review in the Independent. Simon has performed virtually all of the standard horn concerto repertoire, a highlight being a performance of the Britten Serenade in the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank.

    Simon has an unrivalled reputation as a teacher and has been the specialist horn tutor at Wells Cathedral School for thirty seven years, and Professor of Horn at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for twenty years. In addition he spent ten years as the horn teacher at The Purcell School and fifteen at the Junior department of the Royal Academy of Music. Few, if any, horn teachers nationwide can equal his breadth of teaching experience. Many of his former students have gone on to successful careers as performers, holding principal positions in major British orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Orchestra of Opera North, Welsh National Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Royal Ballet, and also in orchestras as far afield as Canada and Lapland, while others are busy freelance players or working in West End and touring shows. As an orchestral and chamber coach Simon has worked for the National Youth Wind Orchestra, National Children’s Wind Orchestra, National Schools Symphony Orchestra, National Children’s Orchestra, National Youth Wind Orchestra of Wales, IAPS Orchestras and many county groups. Many of his pupils have won awards and scholarships to conservatoires, and he numbers two under-18 winners of the Shell/LSO prize and a winner of the British final of the prestigious Paxmans International Horn Competition among many competition successes. He undertakes seminars and master classes on horn teaching and also writes regularly on horn teaching matters for a range of publications including Music Teacher and the Hornplayer magazine. Some of these articles have also been published abroad. Simon was the Vice-Chairman and educational consultant of the British Horn Society for ten years.

  • A keen cook for as long as he can remember, Ben used to work as a chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant, where he gained invaluable knowledge and training. He has experience catering for large parties and has been the chef on the French Horn Summer School since it began in 2019.
    Ben’s brownies have become something of a course staple!

    Ben’s day job is a professional accordionist and choral conductor, and he holds performance degrees from the Royal Academy of Music and University of Cambridge. He has a busy schedule as an accordion teacher and performer, and is conductor of several choirs in the south of England.
    It is not uncommon to see Ben wielding a baton on the horn course, as he frequently conducts the large ensembles during the week.

“I really enjoyed the friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere between the pupils and teachers.”