Gary MacPhee

Professor of Tenor Trombone

Currently Sub Principal Trombone at BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Gary started his performance career at his local brass band in his home town of Poulton-le-Fylde and continues to be a passionate advocate for grassroots music. A seasoned Freelancer with a career in the industry spanning twenty years, Gary has played regularly with Orchestras both in the UK and internationally in Principal and Second Trombone seats including; The Halle Orchestra, Opera North, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, English National Ballet, Manchester Camerata, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Kristiansund Opera, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

A former pupil of Chethams School of Music and University of Leeds graduate, Gary went on to gain a Post Graduate Diploma in Performance from the Royal College of Music and a Master in Music Degree with Distinction from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Studying with Kevin Price, Lindsay Shilling, Simon Johnson and John Kenny. Gary has a long history of associate work with Brass Bands. In 2004 he won the Soloist Prize at the Grenland International Brass Festival. Between 2000 and 2008 he held the Second Trombone seat with the Black Dyke Band, Principal Trombone seats with Brighouse and Rastrick Band and Grimethorpe Colliery Band and won the Don Lusher Memorial Prize at Brass in Concert in 2008. His collaboration with the Woolston Brass Band and the National Brass Band Championships of New Zealand led to an international residency in 2010 and the start of many fruitful collaborations.

After a move to Norway he worked as a Teacher, Conductor and Performer with Romsdals Orchestra, Molde Brass Band, Molde Brass Quintet, Kristiansund Opera Company, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Stockholm Brass, working across Scandinavia for several years. Gary still has strong ties to the amazing Fjordlands and regularly travels for work and leisure with his young family, participating in Fjord Cadenza and many locally
based music initiatives for children and young people.

Gary has a keen interest in new music for Trombone and has commissioned several projects both in the UK and in Scandinavia with composers and instrumentalists. In the last 12 months he has aired solo broadcasts for BBC Radio 3; Nordheim ‘Return of the Snark’, Matre ‘… Since I say it Now’ (commissioned piece in association with Norwegian Arts Council) and Tveit, ‘Velkomne med Aera’ (G. MacPhee arr). His contemporary/pop work
includes John Grant’s UK Tour, Efterklang’s UK Tour and ongoing projects across the BBC Radio network with internationally renowned contemporary artists