Chaconne Brass was formed in 1984 and have established a reputation as one of Britain's most versatile ensembles. Their repertoire spans from Praetorius to Steve Reich, from Gershwin to Miles Davis, from Acoustic to Electro-acoustic and from Brass to Beyond...

Chaconne Brass have an ever-growing list of over 50 works written for the group, a large part of which they have recorded. In addition to extensive touring with Chaconne Brass, members work as guest principals and soloists with some of the top orchestras and ensembles in Britain. Several members are also teachers as well as successful composers and arrangers with a large number of commissions, concerts and broadcasts in Britain and other countries.

A combination of entertainment, creativity and excellence has allowed Chaconne Brass to develop a totally unique style that appeals to audiences of all ages and backgrounds; whether it is a a recital at London's South Bank, a radio or TV broadcast, a workshop for college students or a performance for very young school children, Chaconne Brass are always met with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Chaconne has a large and diverse repertoire of music spanning 600 years including many works specially written for the group; these have been commissioned to fit in with Chaconne's aim of pushing forward the musical boundaries as well as of presenting entertaining programs of the highest musical standards.

A typical Chaconne Brass performance will range from renaissance to modern, classics to experimental and from the profound to the downright silly.

Chaconne Brass have performed to audienences at the Queen Elisabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Conway Hall, St John's Smith Square and St Martin's-in-the-Fields London, St David's Hall Cardiff, die Philharmonie Berlin, BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, BBC1 TV and Classic FM

Simon de Souza (horn) studied with the international virtuoso Ifor James at Colchester Institute, where he also won many prizes for chamber music, before going on to a post-graduate year at Trinity College of Music.

Since leaving college, Simon's career has encompassed a wide variety of freelance playing: as a recital and concerto soloist, in orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Bolshoi Ballet (though only as a horn player!), West End and touring shows, chamber groups and, of course, Chaconne Brass!

Simon is also among the most highly regarded teachers of the horn in Britain, holding specialist posts at Wells Cathedral School, The Purcell School and the Junior department of the Royal Academy of Music, and acting as a consultant and coach to many other establishments and organisations. Most recently he has been appointed to the horn teaching staff at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

He also writes extensively on horn playing matters and is Vice-Chairman of the British Horn Society. When not playing the horn he reads, cooks, cycles, makes highly detailed models of railways and Chairs the Highland Railway Society!

James Doherty (tuba) joined the National Youth Orchestra at 16 and was a finalist in the Shell London Symphony Orchestra competition, before gaining a scholarship to the Royal College of Music.

He enjoys performing with orchestras and ensembles (becoming a member of Chaconne Brass in August 2000), and has also appeared as a soloist several times. Alongside a busy playing schedule, James holds teaching posts at a number of Independent Schools and with the Berkshire Young Musicians Trust where he also conducts a variety of ensembles.

James has worked as Orchestral Manager, Librarian and Stage Manager for the New London Orchestra (of which he was co-founder) and the European Community Youth Orchestra, including tours to all the European Capitals, America, Russia, Scandinavia and India.

He now assists Mark with the administration of Chaconne and between them they attempt to keep the others under control! [editor's note: Ha!]

Torbjörn Hultmark (trumpet) was born in Sweden in 1957 and came to live in England in 1985. He currently works as a musician, teacher and composer. He has dual Swedish and British citizenship and lives with his family in a rural village in Berkshire.

Torbjorn Hultmark studied trumpet, conducting and composition at the Gothenburg Conservatoire of Music and at National Centre for Orchestral Studies, Goldsmith's College, London - his main teachers were Bengt Eklund (Gothenburg) and John Wallace (London).

Alongside his work as a member of Chaconne Brass and the Headspace Ensemble, Torbjorn Hultmark works with orchestras and ensembles such as the London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and many others as well as film and TV session work. Torbjorn has worked as a soloist with the Northern Sinfonia, Bournemouth Sinfonietta as well as with the BBC Philharmonic at the 2007 Albert Hall Proms.

Torbjorn's music has been performed extensively and recorded on CD (CBCD597 and CBCD 1101) as well as broadcast in Britain (BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM) and abroad. His output is wide-ranging and includes works for large orchestra and choral music as well as scores for different types of chamber ensembles.

Torbjorn runs TootProductions, a small specialist recording business. He is a teacher at the Royal College of Music Junior Dept.

Mark Kesel (trumpet) was inspired to pursue a career in music by his first teacher Jimmy Norden and continued his studies with Sidney Ellison at the Royal Academy of Music.

After obtaining a degree in music from the University of Reading, Mark was appointed their trumpet teacher. He conducted a series of performances of the rarely staged opera by Stanford called The Travelling Companion was principal trumpet with the touring opera company Opera East for twelve years and has worked as a freelance trumpet player and guest soloist.

Mark founded Chaconne Brass in 1984 and was the driving force behind the group in its early years. He was responsible for devising their popular family and educational programme ‘Oh Good Chips for Tea!’ which has been performed to tens of thousands of children in Britain and abroad. Mark directed two lottery-funded educational projects with Chaconne Brass in his home town of Reading and has composed and arranged several works for the group, a number of which are recorded on their CDs ­ Chaconne Brass (CBCD597) and We Are Not Alone (CBCD1101).

Mark lives in Reading with his wife, two children and dog, is a keen supporter of Reading Football Club and enjoys his tennis and mountain walks.

Emily White (trombone) Emily was inspired to play the trombone at Wells Cathedral School by Alan Hutt, and went on to study at The Royal Academy of Music. She studied with Ian Bousfield, Dudley Bright and Sue Addison. Emily gained a Masters Degree from Guildhall School of Music and Drama where the professors included Simon Wills and John Kenny.

Emily has gone on to work as a freelance trombonist and sackbut player with orchestras such as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, The Kings Consort and The Academy of Ancient Music. She is a member of the English Cornette and Sackbut Ensemble, and directs the group Musica Antiqua of Dursley. She has played as a musician at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre since it opened in 1997, and was musical director of Much Ado About Nothing in 2007.

Emily's main love is chamber music, and has recently broadcast the Stravinsky Octet and recorded Poulenc Trio with the Fibbonacci Sequence. As a contemporary trombonist Emily has premiered the 'Secret House' sonata written for female trombonist by John Kenny. They recently formed a Duo and they are currently recording a trombone CD with the British Music Label.

Emily was Musician in Residence for Deveron Arts, in Aberdeenshire, 2007, where her debut composition, Trio for Trombone, Bicycle Wheel and Voice was premiered.

Emily teaches sackbut at the Royal College of Music, Trinity College of Music, and is visiting trombone teacher at Wells Cathedral School.