Dr L Brett Baker
“The name Brett Baker has become an established, household name in the world of brass, not least for the level of commitment and focus that this outstanding musician has given to his craft.” Professor David King
Englishman Brett Baker (born 1973), is viewed internationally as a leading brass performer and educator. He is passionate about encouraging composers to write pioneering new repertoire being one of the most recorded brass soloists. Brett is Programme Leader for Musical Arts (previously band musicianship) at the University of Salford (Manchester). He continues to be an ambassador for Michael Rath Brass Instruments and is Principal Trombone of the Black Dyke Band.
In 2000 he was invited to join the Black Dyke Band by Professor Nicholas Childs, achieving enviable contest successes. Now as well as a performance schedule of 60 concerts a year, Brett enjoys presenting workshops, specialising in solo performance and band training. Brett has produced over 30 solo albums, 8 under his own label of White River Evocations, which produces and distributes CDs. He has performed as guest soloist on a further 46 CDs. He regularly tours in the USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand as a soloist, teacher, conductor and adjudicator. As a consultant, Brett, has worked with Michael Rath Musical Instruments for over 10 years on instrument design and has assisted in production of a signature mouthpiece.
As a conductor, Brett has many associations with bands in the North of England, and has achieved contest successes with Northop, Ratby and Longridge bands. He has been guest conductor of the University of Salford Brass Band, the brass band at the Royal Northern College of Music, Thoresby Colliery, Carlton Main Frickley Colliery and the Leyland Band. In 2014 Brett conducted Tongwynlais Temperance at the National Finals of Great Britain in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Brett is currently conductor of the University of Salford Symphonic Wind Band.
For over 20 years, Brett Baker has been keen to promote new music for the trombone, commissioning over one hundred works from composers and arrangers such as Barry, Broughton, Clarke, Davoren, Dewhurst, Duncan, Ellerby, Farr, Fernie, Forgie, Graham, Gregson, Harper, Higgins, Lovatt-Cooper, Newton, Pankhurst, Price, Sparke, Wilby, Wiffin, Wills and Wilkinson
As an adjudicator, Brett, has judged the International Trombone Association in the USA, the National Solo Championships in Switzerland, many Association contests, the National Finals in the Netherlands and Lithuania, New Zealand and Australia, and most of the Area Qualifiers for the National Championships of Great Britain. He is trombone tutor of the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland, and the International Brass Band Summer School in Swansea as well as low brass tutor of the International Summer School in Dartington, Devon.