Matt Harrison

I was born in Cornwall, and after trying out a variety of musical instruments, I eventually settled on the trombone as I seemed to have quite long arms.  I was a member of the prestigious Bodmin College Jazz Orchestra, (which won many national awards) and Cornwall Youth Orchestra and Cornwall Youth Jazz Orchestra.

I gained a place at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester studying with Chris Houlding, Andy Berryman and John Iveson.  Whilst at the RNCM I was also a member of the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Britten-Pears Symphony Orchestra.  I was also involved with Manchester's Punk/Ska/Pop Band Grimace (now Sonic Boom Six). 

I graduated from the RNCM in 2002 winning the Terrance Nagle Prize for Trombone and worked as a freelance musician in Manchester, with the Hallé Orchestra, Opera North and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.  In 2004 I was appointed Co-Principal Trombone of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa. This was a fantastic time for me to learn the orchestral repertoire and improve my playing.  The orchestra was heavily involved in educational outreach projects which I found to be extremely rewarding.

Returning to the UK in 2006 I was lucky enough to marry my wife Marion and we moved to Stratford-Upon-Avon.  I continued  to work as a trombonist, working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.  I toured the UK with theatrical productions of Guys & Dolls, Anything Goes, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Scrooge and Evita.  I also tour a stage show of The Blues Brothers every year, which we took out on a 6 week tour of Japan in 2009.

In 2011 whilst continuing my freelance work I returned to my roots in Cornwall and established Big Bang Music.  A company designed to provide music workshops to primary level children.  We have also been commissioned to design, construct and install musical instruments for  school's outdoor classrooms.