Biography

Rebecca began playing the cornet at the age of eight and emerged from a brass band background to take up the Trumpet. She was principal in the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain for six years, a soloist with the European Youth Brass Band and a finalist in BBC Young Brass Player of the Year. She went on to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge, during which time she held a Music Exhibition Award from Jesus College and was principal trumpet in the CUMS I orchestra. Following this, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music to complete an MA in Performance where she studied with the late Jim Watson, Rod Franks and Mark David before graduating with distinction last year.

Since graduating, Rebecca has worked with various orchestras in the UK and Europe including the London Sinfonietta, Opera North and Opera South. She is a keen chamber musician performing regularly with her brass quintet and busy as a soloist, recently performing on both trumpet and baroque trumpet in the Spitafields Festival. As well as classical playing, Rebecca has played on a number of pop albums, most notably with Rumer and Lucy Rose with whom she also tours. Lucy and the band will be back in the studio in 2014 to record a second album following on from the chart success of the first album ‘Like I Used To’ in 2012.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

What’s on your playlist right now?
Bit of an eclectic mix! Earth, Wind and Fire and the OAE recordings of the Brandeburg Concertos- can’t get enough of Mark Bennett playing trumpet!

If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
I did a Psychology degree before going to Music College so probably a Clinical Psychologist!