Artists & ensembles

Brett Baker - Trombone

Brett Baker is viewed internationally as a leading performer and educator. He is passionate about encouraging composers to write pioneering new repertoire and is one of the most recorded brass soloists.

Previously Brett was Programme Leader of the Brass Musicianship Degree at the University of Salford and since January 2024 has been Sales Director for Denis Wick & Alliance Products. He continues to be an Artist for Michael Rath Brass Instruments. He served for 24 years as principal trombone of the Black Dyke Band and now plays solo trombone with Cory Band.

Brett is a Past Chair and Past President of the British Trombone Society and increasingly works as a conductor and adjudicator in festivals and competitions, he is currently Chair of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators (Aobba). Brett has commissioned over 100 trombone solos with both wind and brass band accompaniment. In 2020 he won the ITA Presidents Award for services to the International Trombone Association where he has featured regularly as a soloist.

Helen Williams - Flugelhorn/Cornet

Regarded as one of the finest flugel horn performers in the banding world, she has enjoyed a hugely successful career, gaining many individual accolades to go with her contribution to championship winning contest performances.

Helen began playing the cornet at the age of ten encouraged by her father who played cornet with Poynton Band where she also played for 10 years.

She joined The Marple Band in 1986 as Principal Cornet, performing with the band in many concert and contest successes, culminating in Helen becoming the first and (so far) only female principal cornet to win the 1996 British Open Brass Band Championship title in its 149 year history. She was also awarded the Stanley Wainwright Memorial Trophy as the day’s best soloist.

In December 1999 Helen was appointed as Flugelhorn Soloist with Foden’s Band where she stayed for just over 15 years enjoying many contest and concert performances. Contest successes with Foden’s were many, including 6 successive years as North West Regional Champions, English Nationals Champions, All England Masters Champions, US Open Champions, 3 British Open wins and ofcourse the historic “double” when the band also won the National Championships in October 2012.

In the Summer of 2015 Helen was invited to take up the Flugel seat at the Cory Band, subsequently becoming a part of the unprecedented Grand Slam band winning the European, British Open, National and Brass in Concert titles in 2016. She was also awarded the Best Instrumentalist Prize at the Open & the Nationals, Best Flugel Horn at Brass in Concert and earned the accolade of Player of the Year from her peers at Cory. Topping off an incredible year of personal achievements Helen was also named as Player of the Year by 4barsrest.com. Ofcourse history does have a way of repeating itself and in 2019 Cory again achieved the Grand Slam, but this time also added the title of Brass Pass UK Band of the Year to their crown.

Tom Hutchinson - Cornet

Tom Hutchinson is the principal cornet player of The World Famous Black Dyke Band and is an Oldroyd Artist.

Tom Hutchinson is one of the most distinguished cornet players of his generation- renowned for his technical mastery, musical sensitivity, and leadership of brass bands at the highest level.

Tom first picked up the cornet aged nine, beginning in his local band Stannington, and by his teens he was already making his mark. He went on to become principal cornet of the Barnsley Building Society Band, then at 15 joined the Rothwell Temperance Band in the same position. Early in his career he was a soloist and leader with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain – a formative time during which his talent was first recognised by Dr Nicholas Childs.

Invited by Dr Childs to join the Black Dyke Band, Tom spent four years at Queensbury, initially on repiano cornet and later on solo cornet. During that time, he contributed to major contest successes, toured across Europe and Australia, and featured on multiple CD, radio and TV appearances.

After graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2009 (studying under Richard Marshall), Tom was appointed Principal Cornet of the Cory Band by Dr Robert Childs – a move that launched one of the most successful eras in Cory’s history. Under Tom’s leadership, Cory won four British Opens, four National Finals, five European Championships and nine Brass in Concert titles. Cory also achieved the historic ‘grand slam’ in 2016 and 2019 under the band’s current musical director Philip Harper. Tom earned the band’s “Player of the Year” award on five occasions and released two acclaimed solo albums (‘In Principal’ and ‘This Way’) during his sixteen-year tenure.

In November 2025, Tom was appointed Principal Cornet of the Black Dyke Band, succeeding Richard Marshall after his distinguished twenty-year tenure. His return to Queensbury signalled a major professional milestone, placing him once again at the forefront of one of the world’s most celebrated brass bands.

Describing the role as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity”, Tom approaches the position with a commitment to both artistic excellence and the development of emerging talent. His outstanding musicianship, breadth of international experience, and dedication to education continue to establish him as a respected performer, mentor, and advocate for brass banding on the global stage.

Philip Harper - Conductor

Philip Harper became Musical Director of the Cory Band in 2012. Since then he has won all the major trophies many times, including an unprecedented Grand Slam of major titles in 2016, repeated in 2019: the European, the British Open, the Nationals and Brass in Concert, all won in a single calendar year. Philip won the coveted 4barsrest.com Conductor of the Year Award in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020. In recent years he was a guest conductor of the Manger Musikklag Band in Norway, the National Youth Brass Bands of Great Britain, Switzerland, Wales and The Netherlands, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Symphonic Brass, amongst many others. In 2021 he was awarded the Iles Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to brass bands, and in 2023 was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

A resident of Gloucester, Philip was the Editor of Brass Band World magazine between 2009 and 2015 and, since 2005 has been the Music Editor of the historic Wright and Round publishing company.

Philip is a prolific composer and his original works and arrangements are played all over the world. In 2016 he composed A Shakespearean Triptych for a 650-strong joint ensemble and choir conducting the first performance in a packed Royal Albert Hall at the Last Night of the Schools Prom.

En route to this point in his life, Philip graduated from the University of Bristol in 1994 before going on to take a Masters Degree in Composition and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education. He had a successful performing career and was the principal tenor horn of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and the Sun Life Band in Bristol, as well as winning through to the Brass Final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1991. Between 1996 and 1998 he lived in Japan and was a guest soloist with most of the 'British-style' brass bands with whom he still keeps a close connection, visiting annually.