Stephen Stanley

Stephen’s first serious foray into learning an instrument was at age 7, learning violin through his primary school. 3 years later, Stephen was one of the first beneficiaries of Gloucestershire Music’s “Endangered Instruments” scheme, whereby schoolchildren who played “common” orchestral instruments could receive free hire and tuition of a rarer instrument for a year. Through this, he learned trombone, which has become his principal study – though in the meantime, he has also learned viola, and is a keen baritone singer.

He has also performed at the Royal Albert Hall twice; premiering Philip Harper’s Journey with the Gloucestershire Massed Ensemble in 2012, and performing the March of the Toreadors at the Last Night of the Proms in 2016 with the BBC’s Virtual Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop.

He graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BMus (Music) degree in 2019; after auditioning for professional orchestras in mainland Europe and for the Royal Air Force, he started his MMus (Performance) degree at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in September 2020. He has interrupted his studies for the 2021-22 academic year to focus on the duties required as President of TLSU.