Michael Hext (born c. 1961) is a

trombonist The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

in the Orchestra of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. In 1978 he was the inaugural winner of the

BBC Young Musician of the Year BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010. The competition, a former member of the European Uni ...

Competition.

Career

Michael Hext was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

. In 1978, at the age of 17, he became the inaugural winner of the

Competition. Following study at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

with John Iveson, Hext has become a successful orchestral trombonist but performs on occasions as a soloist, including a tour with the

European Union Youth Orchestra The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is a youth orchestra with members drawn from the 27 members states of the European Union. Since its foundation in 1976, it has connected music colleges and the professional music world for generations ...

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

. He has performed recitals and concertos at the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and many other concert halls. He has also had a number of pieces written for him including a concerto by

Edward Gregson Edward Gregson (born 23 July 1945) is an English composer of instrumental and choral music, particularly for brass and wind bands and ensembles, as well as music for the theatre, film, and television. He was also principal of the Royal Northern ...

(pub. Novello). Amongst a wide variety of freelance performances he played with the

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones (musician), Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It ...

. In 1983 he joined the

Halle Orchestra Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), or Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (electoral district) ** Halle (region), a governmental district 1952–2004 ** Bezirk Halle, a district 1952–1990 ** Halle-Neustadt, a former ci ...

as Principal Trombone. After one year he took up the same position with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

for nine years. For a period Michael Hext was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Trombone at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

and then the

. Since joining the Orchestra of the

on Principal Trombone he moved to Sub-principal Trombone in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hext, Michael 1961 births Living people People educated at Bedford Modern School British classical trombonists British male trombonists Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music 20th-century classical trombonists 21st-century classical trombonists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Players of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House