Born: UK

Studied: Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and a performance diploma at the Royal Academy of Music.

Joined: 2003

Career before the Royal Ballet Sinfonia: Guest Principal Trombone with almost all the major UK orchestras, plus ensembles in Germany and Spain. Founder member of Onyx Brass.

Favourite pieces of music: It changes from week to week, but one piece that would always be on my desert island list is Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé. It’s the most incredible combination of emotion and spectacular attention to detail. The couple of good runs of it we did at BRB are a career highlight.

First ballet or concert you saw: First concert was a violin and piano recital in Bristol when I was five (Maurice Hasson and Ian Brown), and it blew my mind. My mum was (rightly) scared about how I might behave in a live Radio 3 broadcast concert, so we sat in the front row: being so close was spell-binding.

First album: It was an album called Mettez M’en Deux Casses by a Swiss New Orleans band called Hot Calbut, that we bought off them when we saw them busking. Jazz is where my heart lies, and this was my first introduction. I still have it somewhere, even though I can’t play it currently, as I don’t have a cassette deck!

Favourite ballet to perform: Tricky one! Daphnis and Chloé and Romeo and Juliet are amazing (albeit hard!), and I LOVE the last section of The Two Pigeons, such a beautiful tune, and it’s nicely orchestrated with some soft chords underneath. Slaughter on 10th Avenue was a riot too.

Why the trombone? I wanted to play something loud, went to a brass concert, loved the trumpet, and my mum persuaded me that I could get more opportunities more quickly on the trombone. I still have slight trumpet envy, but I love the expressive nature of the trombone and playing it together as a section: Three trombones and tuba playing softly together can be just a beautiful noise, for example the lovely chords that lead into the big Act I pas de deux in The Nutcracker.

Most challenging non-musical thing you have done: Being a parent is up there. Also, the London Marathon and the Thames Path Ultra challenge (100km walk in one go).

Most challenging piece you have played: Either Jagden and Formen by Wolfgang Rihm (with London Sinfonietta) which had a required range of nearly five octaves, or a piece called Modulor for trombone, piano and electronics by Ian Willcock (rhymically intense, so much so that the person turning pages got lost!).

A place that inspires you: Mountains – I love the feeling of reassuring insignificance they give me. Also my two favourite Brummie restaurants: Malaysian Delight and the Chilli Kitchen. Life must be good when things taste so nice!

A person that inspires you: David Attenborough (civilised, educated advocacy and complete passion for what he does) and Gisèle Pelicot for being braver and stronger than I could ever imagine it’s possible for a human to be.