Steven Mead (born 26 February 1962 in

Bournemouth, England Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

) is an English

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

soloist and teacher.

Biography

Mead has played an important role in achieving worldwide recognition of the instrument. He has played solo concertos with many symphony orchestras, including: the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, the

Trondheim Symphony Orchestra The Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera ( Norwegian: ''Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera'') is a Norwegian orchestra based in Trondheim, Norway. Its principal concert venue is the Olavshallen. The orchestra is organised as a trust and receives ...

Lahti Symphony Orchestra The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'') is a Finland, Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipali ...

and

Helsinki Philharmonic The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (; ; literal English translation: Helsinki City Orchestra; commonly abbreviated as HPO) is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic Orchestra was the first pe ...

Capella Cracoviensis Capella Cracoviensis is a period instrument ensemble and a chamber choir based in Kraków, Poland. It was formed in 1970 by composer and music conductor Stanisław Gałoński (b. 1936), its first director and general manager. Capella Cracoviensi ...

, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the Japan Chamber Orchestra. He has premiered works by Martin Ellerby,

Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen (born 11 January 1964) is a Norwegian contemporary composer. Life Aagaard-Nilsen was born in Oslo and grew up in Kabelvåg on Lofoten in northern Norway. From 1986 to 1990, he studied at the Bergen Conservatory of Mus ...

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist, who has made his career in France and the United States. He was born into a family of Jewish musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, h ...

, Goff Richards, John Reeman, Rolf Rudin and Philip Sparke, amongst others. Goff Richards' ''Pilatus'', Aagaard-Nilsen's ''Concerto for Euphonium and Orchestra'', Reeman's ''Sonata for Euphonium'' and Ellerby's ''Euphonium Concerto'' were all written expressly for Mead. He is married to Misa Mead ( Akahoshi) who is also a renowned euphonium soloist, additionally active as a freelance composer and orchestrator.

Selected recordings

Joseph Horovitz Joseph Horovitz (26 May 1926 – 9 February 2022) was an Austrian-born British composer and conductor best known for his 1970 pop cantata '' Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo'', which achieved widespread popularity in schools. Horovitz also com ...

: ''Four Concertos'' :Ensemble: Royal Ballet Sinfonia; Soloists: Andrew Haveron (violin), Steven Mead (euphonium), David Owen Norris (piano); Conductor Joseph Horovitz; Label: Dutton Epoch. *''Concertino'' :Ensemble: The Lillestrøm Musikkorps; Soloist: Steven Mead (euphonium); Conductor Gert Buitenhuis; Label: Polyphonic. *''Euphonium Virtuoso'' :Ensemble: Brass Band Buizingen; Soloist: Steven Mead (euphonium); Conductor: Luc Vertommen; Label: Bocchino. *''Dreamscapes: Wind Music by Ellerby, Clarke & Josephs'' :Ensemble: Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra; Soloist: Steven Mead (euphonium); Conductor: James Gourlay; Label: Polyphonic. *''Audacious'' :Soloist: Steven Mead; Accompanied by Tomoko Sawano, piano; Label: Bocchino. *''Fandango'', released 1 June 2011; Accompanied by Tomoko Sawano, piano; Label: Bocchino.

References

{{Eau Claire'', January 25, 2001. Accessed 10 September 2008. *Ronald Holz
Review: ''Euphonium Virtuoso'' (Bocchino CD BOCC107)
''The Brass Band Bridge'', North American Brass Band Association, Issue 101, October 2006. pp. 21–22. Accessed 10 September 2008.
Steven Mead biography
on the Besson company web site. Accessed 10 September 2008.

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.euphonium.net, Steven Mead's official website
Video
of a live unedited performance, most of the third movement of the Hallows Concerto (Rolf Rudin) in a performance given by Steven at The Capitol Theatre, Offenbach, on Sunday 15 March 2009, with the Neue Philharmonie Orchestra, conductor

Roland Böer Roland Böer (6 December 1970) is a German conductor with a focus on opera. He has worked at leading European opera houses, including the Oper Frankfurt where he began as répétiteur in 1996, was Kapellmeister from 2002 to 2008, and has often ap ...

{{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Mead, Steven English classical musicians Euphonium players 1962 births Living people Musicians from Bournemouth