David Hopkins

David is a freelance musician who has worked with many groups in Wales and the UK. 

He grew up with brass bands and wind bands, playing in the Kent Youth Wind Orchestra (principal euphonium). He has performed with the Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Kent Youth Choirs, as well as playing as a soloist for various local brass bands, and during 2003-2006 was Assistant Conductor to the UK Paper Concert Band, Sittingbourne. When he returns to Kent in the holidays, he plays with Kent County Youth Orchestra on principal trombone. 

After spending his teenage years playing in various groups in and around Kent, David won a scholarship to attend the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2006. He has lessons with Roger Cutts and Kevin Price, and plays regularly with the college brass band, brass ensemble, symphony orchestra and wind orchestra.

Outside of college, David often works freelance, mainly with orchestras, brass bands and ensembles in South Wales - including the Welsh Sinfonia, Welsh Baroque Orchestra and Sinfonia Cymru. As a guest player, he has recorded many CDs with brass bands; including the latest Cory Band CD, due to be released in June 2009 on the Doyen label.

He is a founding member of Pentatonic Brass, a brass quintet playing all genres of music from the Renaissance music of Thomas Tallis through to the Contemporary brass quintet repertoire of Lutoslawski and Maxwell Davies - with almost every genre in between. For further details please email pentatonic-brass (at) hotmail.com, or see the Pentatonic Brass page. 

Throughout his musical career, he has played under many famous conductors, including: Dr Robert Childs; Dr Nicholas Childs; Paul Daniel; David Jones; Philip Sparke; Peter Stark; Christopher Mowat; Brian Wright; Philip Scott; Adrian Partington; Timothy Reynish; Guillermo Scarabino; and Guy Woolfenden.

 Pictures on this page by James Harries