Rod Franks

He began to study trumpet with Maurice Murphy at the age of 15, he joined Brighouse and Rastrick and was appointed assistant principal cornet of Black Dyke Mills Band at 17. He continued his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester where his teachers included Philip Jones and was awarded the Hiles Gold Medal in 1977. In the same year, he was appointed principal trumpet of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra a post he held for seven years. During this he was soloist with the Orchestra every season, conducted a number of concerts and founded the Norwegian Brass Band Club and Championships. In 1983, Philip Jones invited Rod to become principal Trumpet of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and he maintained a busy free-lance schedule until 1989, when he joined the London Symphony Orchestra becoming principal trumpet in 1990.