We’re pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Berry to the role of Head of Jazz and Improvisation.
A composer, arranger, songwriter, jazz bassist and session musician, Steve came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a founder member of the 21-piece jazz orchestra Loose Tubes, with which he toured and recorded internationally.
Since then, he has collaborated with numerous ensembles, including those led by Mike Westbrook (in particular his Rossini and William Blake projects) and Robert Ziegler’s Matrix Ensemble (with Ute Lemper), and continues to work alongside many of Europe’s finest jazz players.
With a lifelong interest in improvisation, Steve joined the RNCM in 1990 as a jazz double bass tutor, before leading cross-genre improvisation classes, initially for bassists and later for all instruments. These became an integral part of the College’s ground-breaking musicianship course, which remains a core element of study for first and second year undergraduates.
As Head of Jazz and Improvisation, Steve will now direct advance awareness and practical opportunities for College-wide improvisation, support the creative development of smaller student-led ensembles, and take responsibility for jazz performance, including programming and directing the well-established RNCM Big Band.
