Adrian France (bass sackbut)

Adrian’s career has spanned 25 years and has covered a broad spectrum of trombone playing ranging from Baroque, Classical & Romantic periods on original instruments through to the modern orchestral trombone. He has performed with some of the world’s finest period instrument orchestras such as The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Hanover Band, King’s Consort, English Concert, Collegium Vocale Gent & Cappella Mediterranea as well as working with modern symphony orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia (CLS & Opera Holland Park), The Ulster Orchestra & The Royal Northern Sinfonia.

In 2018, Adrian was appointed Professor of bass sackbut at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (the first such appointment in the UK) and for several years has held the position of head of brass studies and trombone tutor at Newcastle University. He has also been invited to adjudicate for The Royal College of Music, The BBC Young Musician of the Year and in 2019 as a judge for the International Brass & Woodwind competition, Varaždin, Croatia.

Adrian is a founder member and co-director of the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble which celebrated it’s 25th anniversary in 2018 with a new CD release, Music for Windy Instruments, and in the same year he was invited to become a member of the Austrian period instrument ensemble, Musica Antiqua Salzburg. The Concert Trombone Quartette, a new ensemble founded and directed by Adrian, specialises in historically informed performance practice based on a group of the same name founded in London in 1892. Performing on original instruments (or copies of) from over four centuries, the Quartette aims to further the work of its predecessors and sees there debut concert in June 2019.

Photo - richardwashbrooke.com