Opera North Horn Section

Principal Horn - Bob Ashworth

Born in Salford in 1955, Bob Ashworth started singing lessons at the age of eight. Trained privately as a chorister he was eventually encouraged to play the horn at the age of twelve, and gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He decided to stay in Manchester to study with Sydney Coulston at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he spent four successful years, gaining a 1st class diploma and the award of Laureate, and met his future wife, Debbie.

Since 1978 he has enjoyed playing Principal Horn with the Orchestra of Opera North, in the theatre, the concert hall and the recording studio. He has made several appearances as soloist and is a regular member of the chamber group The Music Serenade, whose acclaimed recording (BBC Radio 3 Record Review) of wind octets by Mozart, Beethoven and Hummel is available on CD. He is an active member of both the British Horn Society and the International Horn Society, performing at many of the former's local seminars and writing for their respective journals, The Horn Call (IHS) and The Horn Player (BHS). With his Opera North colleagues, he founded the Opera North Horn Club - providing a forum for professional, amateur and student horn players.

He teaches the horn at Leeds University and coaches at Leeds College of Music. In addition to his Opera North commitments has played with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. On the period instrument front (hand horn and baroque horn), he has played first horn for the Academy of Ancient Music, the Hanover Band, The Sixteen and more recently, The English Concert touring Germany and Austria.

Instruments: Alexander 403S and Paxman 40L

Second Horn - John Pratt

John Pratt was born in Newcastle in 1978 and studied the horn with Martin Shillito. He completed four years of study with Bob Ashworth at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has taken part in masterclasses with Ifor James (modern horn) at the Birmingham Conservatoire and Anthony Halstead (hand horn) at the RNCM. On graduating from the RNCM he has had a very successful freelance career which has included the Northern Sinfonia, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Opera North where he is now firmly established as second horn.

Instruments: Alexander 103 and Holton 180

Third Horn (co-principal) - Andrew Littlemore

Andrew began the horn at the age of 8 when he was a chorister at Salisbury Cathedral and studied with Simon de Souza. When he was 12 he became principal horn of National Youth Sinfonia for two years. He was the in NYO for three years, his last year as Principal Horn and went on to study with Jeff Bryant at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Since 2003 as well as being at school at Bryanston Andrew studied at the Royal Academy of Music’s junior department. In 2002, 03 and 04 Andrew broadened his experience of chamber music on ‘Chamber Music International’ at The Purcell School. Andrew has given several solo recitals in the South of England, and won the Senior Brass Prize Competition at RAMJD. He has given a recital at St. Martin in the Fields and St John Smith Square and performed Mozart’s 1st horn concerto in Salisbury Cathedral, Haydn’s 2nd Horn Concerto in Salisbury and Strauss’s 1st Horn Concerto in Dorset. Andrew also performed in a live broadcast in Cadogan Hall with the NYO sifonietta as principal horn. In his final year at RAMJD he won the concerto competition and performe Gliere’s horn concerto with the symphony orchestra. Andrew was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra worked with the London Symphony Orchestra but in Summer 2008 was appointed 3rd horn (co-principal) with the Orchestra of Opera North. In between the Opera North schedule he has been doing regular work with both the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras.

Instruments: Paxman 20M and Paxman 40

Fourth Horn - Max Garrard

I started to play the horn at 11 years old after a year or so playing the euphonium. This came through a change of teacher, to Nick Morgan who was a horn player and asked if I fancied having a go. I liked it and got on much better with it and that was that. Nick was very good and encouraged and pushed me in what turned out to be the right directions for me.

I am originally from Canterbury, Kent, and so my early experiences of orchestral playing came through the Kent County Youth Orchestra, which always had great horn tutors such as Derek Taylor and Pete Blake. Those early experiences really inspired me to go on and study music and aim at making it my career. I went to Birmingham Conservatoire from 1996-2000 and studied with Pete Dyson and Angus West, who were very good for building both low and high registers. In 2000-2001 I completed a postgraduate year at the Guildhall School of Music where I studied with a range of other excellent teachers: Richard Bissill, Jeff Bryant and Hugh Seenan. I also began to focus seriously on my low horn playing and studied this with Jonathon Lipton.

During my year at Guildhall I became a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra where I gained a lot of experience and a taste of touring with orchestras. At the end of this year I was appointed 4th Horn in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra where I stayed for a season and returned to the UK in summer 2002. I have since been based in London and have led a busy freelance career working with the London orchestras, with whom I have also toured extensively, as well a number of the other orchestras around the UK. My freelance career has progressively included more opera work including seasons with the LPO at Glyndebourne, ECO at Grange Park as well as operas at the Royal Opera House and with ENO.

Presently I am very much looking forward to a move to Yorkshire to become a member of Opera North as 4th horn, and I feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity. I regard myself as very lucky to be a musician, not only because I make a living through something I enjoy so much, but also because of the other aspects that come with it. I have met many fantastic people in the profession who have become my friends, and have had the opportunity to play alongside some of the very best and legendary players in the business. I have also been lucky enough to have travelled to many interesting and exciting parts of the world through playing. And now I am excited to be starting a new challenge and continuing my career in the North.

Instruments: Yamaha 668 but currently trialling a new Paxman 20L