I first picked up the trumpet in my last year of intermediate school (mostly as a way to get out of class!) After three years, I joined NorWest Brass in 2016 on trombone. Not long after, I was found out and handed a cornet for my first contest, only to be switched again when my high school needed a tuba player.

Under the guidance of Bob Grimwood, I started plodding along on bass, and things quickly took off. Within months, I auditioned successfully for both the NZ Secondary Schools Orchestra and the NZ Secondary Schools Brass Band. By 2017 I was competing at my first National Contest on Eb Bass with Woolston Concert, only five months after switching instruments!

From there I continued playing with Woolston and NorWest Brass, developing through their youth programmes and then tackling the steep learning curve of A Grade banding after being offered a seat at Canterbury Brass.

In recent years I’ve held down the Eb Bass chair with Addington Brass and been part of the “Bras and Brass” bass team, where I’ve made lifelong friends across the country. That’s also where I met Vickie, who introduced me to Sumner. What started as filling a Bass seat for the Christmas season grew into tutoring, and eventually, just before Nationals, I was handed a euphonium and a new challenge. You could say the rest is history but really, it feels like the next chapter is only just beginning. (Don’t worry though, Euphos… I’ll always be a bass player at heart!)