Biographies

Biographies

Musical Director Philip Robinson was born in Lancashire and was educated at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. He then studied horn at the Royal Northern College of Music under the tuition of David Cripps (former principal of both the Hallé and the London Symphony Orchestra), and graduated from Manchester University in 1998. He has held posts as Musical Director of the University of Manchester Chamber Choir, Training Choir and Orchestra, University of Keele Concert Band, Congleton Youth Orchestra and La Faminite Ensemble - a chamber orchestra made up of music students based in the North West. He is in demand as a composer and arranger for a wide variety of different groups, having many of his arrangements performed at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, The Sage Gateshead and most recently the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando, Florida.

He was Head of Music at Avondale High School in Stockport for three years and now combines teaching with directing three wind bands at Stockport Grammar School. In addition to the Manchester University Wind Orchestra, he is the Musical Director of the Stockport Youth Wind Orchestra and Sing Live North West, a choir of over 300 singers from the Greater Manchester area. He frequently works with the National Festival Orchestra and has recently been appointed Principal Conductor of the Warrington Youth Orchestra.

Born in Kent, the orchestra’s ex-manager and guest conductor Christopher Swaffer, was educated at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and is a freelance composer and conductor having recently completed his Masters degree at the University. Initially a trombonist, he went on to study composition with John Casken, Geoff Poole and Jeremy Pike and has received commissions from Kent Music School, the National Tuba and Euphonium Festival, the BBC Young Musicians Competition and from the Havoc Saxophone Quartet. Chris has also had pieces played abroad, by musicians in Rosario, Argentina and Alberta, Canada. He began his conducting career with an acclaimed concert of the chamber music of Stravinsky at Chetham’s School, and has since conducted with many ensembles, most notably the RNCM Rep. Orchestra, the Lancashire Students' Symphony Orchestra, Cambrian Philharmonic, Todmorden Orchestra, Chetham’s Contemporary Music Ensemble and three years with the University’s Sinfonietta.

The orchestra would like to thank Chris for his three years as Manager of MUWO, during which he has organised several major European tours for the orchestra as well as writing and conducting one of MUWO's new commissions, Rara avis, which was performed in April, 2001.

Programme note - Rara Avis

Rara avis is a short work exploring the darker and stranger colours of the wind orchestra, and depicts a mysterious and terrifying entity. The piece is dedicated to the Manchester University Wind Orchestra.

Born in Bellshill, Michael Spencer studied with James MacMillan and Judith Weir at the Junior RSAMD. He gained an MA Hons in Scottish Literature and Music from Glasgow University where he studied with Graham Hair. From there he moved to Manchester and completed a MusM with John Casken and is now studying for a PhD in composition with Geoffrey Poole. He also receives consultations with James Dillon in London. His music has been played at the Henze Festival in Manchester, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and his Saxophone concerto was recently premièred in Glasgow by the Kelvin Ensemble.

Programme note - The Song that Mickey Heard at the Bottom of his Pint Glass

The title is a paraphrase of the title of a poem by William McIlvanney. The composer, not that he can always remember, thinks the work is a relatively accurate transcription of the song he often hears at the bottom of his pint glass.

Gareth Parry was born in Yorkshire and educated in Harrogate and Manchester. He is currently studying for a PhD in composition here at Manchester University with Kevin Malone. Initially a horn player under the tuition of Russell Hayward, he still plays with MUWO and in various contemporary music groups in the University. As a composer he has had pieces workshopped by groups including the Lindsay String Quartet, Psappha, and Ensemble Eleven. He has had works performed by the pianist Adam Swayne, clarinettist Ruth Partington, the Kormorni Ensemble, and the University’s New Music Ensemble. In 2003 Laura Llewellyn and MUWO performed his Horn Concerto. Current projects include an ongoing set of piano etudes incorporating Boogie Woogie for Adam Swayne, and Epicentres for orchestra. He will also be contributing as an assistant composer on the 2004/5 SPNM Sound Inventors project.

Gareth began conducting whilst still at school where he directed the Junior Wind Band and the Brass Ensemble. As part of his Masters degree he studied conducting with John Casken. Whilst studying at Manchester he has conducted the Manchester University Wind Ensemble and is in demand as a conductor of contemporary music. He has conducted the UMIST Wind Ensemble, and also the Eccles Borough Band. He regularly appears as guest conductor with MUWO, including conducting the first Wind Orchestra performance of Kevin Malone’s Godzilla.

The orchestra would like to thank Gareth for all his hard work over the past few years as manager of MUWO, and wish both him and his wife Judith every success for their impending parenthood.

David Pearce was born in Essex, and was educated at Harlow College. He began playing the cornet aged five, under the instruction of his father, and later the piano and trumpet, both of which he studied at school. David has played in a wide variety of wind bands, brass bands and orchestras, namely Sale Brass, The Harlow Concert Band, Harlow Brass, and various ensembles in Mainz, Germany, where he studied for a year. David took over the joint management of MUWO with Gareth Parry in December 2000, but is no stranger to this kind of work, having managed the Harlow Concert Band for 18 months in 1996/7 prior to coming to Manchester. David is now Dr. David Pearce, and lives with his beloved Rachel in Austin, TX, where he still finds time to annoy the members of the Austin Community Wind Ensemble on a weekly basis. In his spare time, David enjoys travelling, reading, cooking and sampling fine ales and malt whiskies.

MUWO would like to thank Dr. Pearce for managing the orchestra with military-like efficiency since 2000, and especially for the concert tour to Germany, which he organised without getting too mardy!

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