Brett Baker
Brett Baker, Black Dyke’s principal trombone is viewed now as
one of Europe's leading brass players and teachers. Having won every
major brass band title before the age of twenty five; he is currently
the most recorded trombone soloist in the brass band movement, a past
trombone solo champion of Great Britain, an Associate of the Royal College
of Music and a postgraduate student of the Royal Northern College of
Music. In March 2001 he became a clinician for Besson Musical Instruments
Ltd.
Brett was introduced to the trombone at the age of ten by his father. He was a finalist in the British Open Solo Championships in 1992 and 1993, and Trombone Solo Champion in 1993 and 1994 and was trombone tutor at the brass course of University College Salford from 1993-1996 studying under David King. During his tenure as principal trombone with Fairey's Brass Band he won British Open, the National and European Championships, the North West Area and the All England Masters and also won the Spennymoor, Brass in Concert where he was the featured soloist.
He returned to his native Gloucestershire in 1997 rejoining the Flowers Band as Chairman and principal trombone. He moved to Manchester in 2000 studying at the Royal Northern Conservatoire under Chris Houlding, John Iveson and John Miller, and consequently joined the Black Dyke Mills Brass Band. Under the baton of Dr Nicholas Childs, Brett has played on over a dozen CD's, toured the USA and Bermuda and won the National Championships in 2001 and 2004.
His first solo recording "Bone Idyll" was completed in 1996 and since then Brett has been featured as a soloist on over twenty CD recordings including five solo albums. As a brass clinician Brett has toured Ecuador, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and most of Europe. He has been a guest soloist with dozens of bands including the National Youth Band of Switzerland, Kew Band in Australia, Woolston Band in New Zealand, Bazuin Oenkerk in Holland, Mississauga Temple in Canada, Illinois Band and the Band of the Western Reserve in the USA. Brett has been involved with over twenty commissions including composers such as Rodney Newton, Robin Dewhurst, Philip Sparke, Philip Harper, Darrol Barry and Martin Ellerby. (Rath)