0

Gary Curtin

Solo Euphonium

Gary Curtin was born in Cork City, Ireland. He began playing the Baritone at the age of 12 and moved onto the euphonium in 1996. Following his move to euphonium, he fell in love with the sound of the instrument and became more and more convinced that he wanted to dedicate his time to developing as a player and musician.

Gary was the first euphonium player to study at degree level at the Cork School of Music, and he went on to study at Masters level. During his time at the Cork School of Music he was also awarded the Yamaha Solo Prize.
During his studies Gary sought to find a teacher who specialised in euphonium, which lead Gary to seek occasional lessons in the UK. He had a lesson with world renowned euphonium player David Thornton and shortly after decided to move to Manchester.

Moving to the UK was a big change for Gary but his desire to play at a more advanced level got the better of him, and in 2005 he made the move. While studying for a year at the RNCM under the tutelage of Steven Mead, Gary began to immerse himself in the brass band scene and has played solo euphonium with Wingates Band and the Fairey Band before moving to the Principal Euphonium seat at Black Dyke Band in 2010.

Whilst at Black Dyke, Gary was awarded the Geoff Whitham Memorial Award for ‘Best Euphonium’ at the 2010 and 2014 British Open Championships at Birmingham Symphony Hall as well as a much coveted ‘Best Soloist’ at the 2015 European Championships.

Having spent 6 fantastic years with Black Dyke, and managed to win all of the major contests with the band on a number of occasions, Gary decided it was time to reduce the amount of travel he was undertaking for each rehearsal and concert. This change came in the form of a request from the fantastic Fodens Band, who are situated in his local neighbourhood. Gary was delighted to accept the position of Solo Euphonium in January 2017.

Gary has made numerous appearances across Europe and the wider world as a soloist. His recent travels saw him perform in Japan, Singapore, Norway and across the United Kingdom.

Having also enjoyed orchestral experience on both the euphonium and the bass trumpet, Gary has performed Wagner’s Ring Cycle (which is performed over 5 days) on two occasions as well as most orchestral euphonium repertoire.

Share by: