Dan was born in 1983 and grew up in the Splott area of Cardiff. He started playing cornet at the age of eight under the tutelage of Matthew Thistlewood, and moved onto tuba at the age of eleven whilst attending Glantâf Comprehensive School, during which time he gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the age of fifteen.
Andrew is a renowned trombonist, conductor, and educator with an international career, holding principal positions with leading UK orchestras and currently directing the NSO Symphony Orchestra in Abu Dhabi.
Vickie is a trumpet and piano graduate of the Guildhall School and Royal Academy of Music, and a founding member of the acclaimed all-female brass quartet Bella Tromba. She has performed worldwide with top brass bands and toured with major UK pop acts. Now based in New Zealand, she is Musical Director of the National Secondary Schools Brass Band and an advocate for community music. A Yamaha and Denis Wick artist, Vickie is passionate about sharing the joy and power of music through performance and education.
Dan graduated from the Royal College of Music, London in 1992. In his final year at the college he was awarded the overall Brass Prize for his principal study, the French horn, and was also a finalist in the Royal Overseas League Competition in 1995. On leaving college he started his career as a freelance horn player and worked intensively with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle.
