| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Occupation: | Trombonist |
| Current Member Of: | Orchestra of the Royal Opera House |
| Instrument: | Trombone |
Michael Hext (born c.1961) is a trombonist in the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.[1] In 1978 he was the inaugural winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition.[2] [3]
Michael Hext was educated at Bedford Modern School.[4] In 1978, at the age of 17, he became the inaugural winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition.[5] Following study at the Royal College of Music with John Iveson, Hext has become a successful orchestral trombonist but performs on occasions as a soloist, including a tour with the European Union Youth Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado.[6] He has performed recitals and concertos at the Wigmore Hall,[7] the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and many other concert halls.[8] He has also had a number of pieces written for him including a concerto by Edward Gregson (pub. Novello).[9]
Amongst a wide variety of freelance performances he played with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble.[10] In 1983 he joined the Halle Orchestra as Principal Trombone.[11] After one year he took up the same position with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for nine years.[11]
For a period Michael Hext was Professor of Trombone at the Royal Academy of Music and then the Royal College of Music.[11] Since joining the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House on Principal Trombone he moved to Sub-principal Trombone in 2000.[12]