Imogen Whitehead Trumpet Interview
Welcome to the show notes for Episode #145 of The Other Side of the Bell – A Trumpet Podcast. This episode features trumpeter Imogen Whitehead. Listen to or download the episode below:
About Imogen Whitehead
British trumpeter Imogen Whitehead is in demand across the UK and internationally, enjoying an increasingly diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal.
A passionate advocate for new music, Imogen serves on the International Trumpet Guild’s ‘New Works’ committee and has premiered numerous works by composers such as Sally Beamish and Stephen Dodgson. Many of these are featured on her recently released debut solo album, Connection. As a particular champion of the flugelhorn – an instrument often overlooked in the classical sphere – Imogen is dedicated to raising its solo profile through new commissions and arrangements. Her most recent commission, Ennui by Noah Max (for flugelhorn and piano), was supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation and premiered in June 2025.
Recent and upcoming highlights include concerto performances with Britten Sinfonia of Barry Mills’ Trumpet Concerto (world premiere, July 2025) and Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto (May 2025), the latter also featuring live on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. Imogen launched her solo album at London’s iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields (May 2025), with further recitals at Proms at St Jude’s (June 2025) and Wimbledon International Music Festival (November 2025).
In addition to her position as Principal Trumpet with Britten Sinfonia, Imogen performs regularly as Guest Principal Trumpet with other leading orchestras internationally. In March 2025, she toured Germany and Belgium with Aurora Orchestra and Abel Selaocoe and next season joins the London Symphony Orchestra for a European tour. In recent years, she has performed in London’s West End and played on major film soundtracks including Maestro and Saltburn.
Imogen is currently Artist-in-Residence with St Martin’s Voices and a member of the acclaimed wind and brass collective, Neoteric Ensemble. She is deeply committed to music education, community engagement, and equal opportunity, serving as an Associate and Mentor for GALSI (Gender and the Large and Shiny Instruments), an initiative promoting gender equality in brass and percussion. She is also involved in Britten Sinfonia’s pioneering outreach work, has worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Resound’ education and community programme, and regularly leads masterclasses at conservatoires across the UK. Based in South West London, Imogen also volunteers as a befriender through the Wimbledon Guild.
An alumna of the Royal Academy of Music, Imogen studied with professors including Mark David and Gareth Small and subsequently studied privately with Norwegian soloist Tine Thing Helseth. In April 2025, Imogen was awarded Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).
Imogen Whitehead episode links
Podcast Credits
- “A Room with a View“ – composed and performed by Howie Shear
- Audio Engineer – Ted Cragg
- Cover Photo Credit – Matthew Johnson Photographer
- Podcast Host – John Snell
Transcript
Please note, this transcript is automatically generated. It may contain spelling and other errors. If you would like to assist us in editing or translating this transcript, please let us know at info@bobreeves.com.
JOHN SNELL: Hello and welcome to The Other Side of the Bell, a podcast dedicated to everything trumpet brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. We’ll help you take your trumpet plane to the next level. I’m John Snell, trumpet specialist here at Bob Reeves Brass, and I’ll be your host for this episode. Joining me today is Trumpeter Imogen Whitehead.
We’ll get to Imogen’s interview, hearing a word from our sponsor and some trumpet news.
[00:01:00]
JOHN SNELL: Well, it is a rainy day here in Southern California, which of course means LA drivers are driving off the road and there’s floods and all kinds of fun stuff for everyone else in the world, it’s just about a quarter inch of rain. But [00:02:00] here it turns everything into chaos. but nonetheless, we are going to persevere and talk about the trumpet today.
What a fabulous guest we have. Just finished up my interview with Imogen and stay tuned. She’s got some amazing experiences, great stories, and we had a great, great conversation. Before we get to Imogen, though, I wanna, first of all, thank you everyone who came by.
We had a successful trip to North Carolina. Man, I can’t thank the guys at Greg Black mouthpieces enough. Greg Ben Strickland, Justin Spencer. I’m probably forgetting someone will uh, AMI, uh, thank you. But he, they have such a great crew at Greg Black Mouthpieces at Mount Holly. They made me feel at home for the couple days we were there.
And then I shared a booth with them at the North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference and had a lot of great podcast listeners come by. Scott, who I’ve given a few shout outs before. Drove all the way up from Atlanta to spend not one, but two days at the shop, hanging, telling stories.
He got a few [00:03:00] valve alignments picked up some great black mouthpieces. so it was a good one-Two punch, between Reeves and Greg Black great time hanging with Scott and telling stories. Uh, We had John, another John at NCMA, Justin Cameron, Renee, Lisa, and I, I’m sure there’s other few folks that came by and, mentioned they were podcast listeners, so if I forgot your name, I’m sorry. I need to make a list when I’m at these things. as always, we sold out on valve alignments. I was doing the last horn as we were getting ready to pack up. So thank you to everyone who showed up. Some mouthpieces, some Vin mutes, found some new homes.
And you know, the comradery we go not just to, you know, earn money and to do business, but to hang and to share stories. And speaking of stories Greg Black and Ben have a ton of them and the stories in their files you know, Greg has all of the or a lot of the original Elli files even I saw some of Zo Tola files, Claudia Roddy and Louis Armstrong and Bud sif.
And I mean, you [00:04:00] name it. So it was hard to get work done ’cause I, we kept going through the files. Lynn Viviano uh, you know, lead players, commercial players, classical players, you name it. Busy Gillespie. so, check our Instagram because we have took a couple photos and videos of Greg Black’s files that he had, so much history in there.
And for some it’s just some old led templates and old envelopes and things. But for us in the business, it’s like, it’s where we came from, you know, and it’s the tools that our, our heroes, our idols used. So it’s give gives us one step closer, to connecting with them and, seeing what they did.
So anyway, thank you again to everyone in North Carolina and Greg Black and the folks out there. I had unpacked my bags and I’m packing them right up again because I am heading right out to Tokyo, Japan. I’m flying out. I will be at Joy Brass in Tokyo, November 20th to 24th doing the same thing.
Valve alignments, day in and day out mouthpiece consultations. [00:05:00] We’ll have some Charlie Davis horns there. We’ll also have some vin mutes as well. So if you want a valve alignment, please make sure you contact Joy Brass. Email or call them, and set up an appointment ’cause they are limited and, walk-ins or also welcome if you want to come by and say hi.
So I will see you in Tokyo and come back just in time for Thanksgiving. Well, that’s all the news we have for this episode. I will be back with you once I get back from Japan, and I hope everyone here has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Whether you celebrate here in the US or around the world, I am eternally grateful to all of our listeners. actually one more I wanna bring up Jonathan just emailed he’s a.
Podcast listener. I talked about a few folks who had gone, you know, binge listened, 144 episodes. so I wanna give a little special shout out to Jonathan because he started on episode one and now as of November 8th, he was up to episode. 30. So, we’ll, we [00:06:00] should keep track of Jonathan to see how far along he is, because when he’ll get to this episode, he’ll have a little surprise ’cause he’ll have a special shout out.
but he is completely hooked on the podcast and he is on his journey to become an orchestral, symphony player. And he said the podcast is helping him fill in the gaps in his plane, both by learning and also when he is taking a rest and he listens to the podcast. which also he brought up a point and a few of you have as well about adding playing clips and musical clips from some of the guests we have.
And today’s guest Imogen, she has an album out and I would love. More than anything to play clips from it. And there’s a few reasons why we don’t, we have done a few in previous, episodes through the years. and even if we have the rights, you know, either through fair use or just the, the artist says, yes, you can play clips from my album, the algorithms.
Don’t really care. So not to get technical, but our podcast is, broadcast, to so many different platforms podcast platforms, and then YouTube, video, [00:07:00] et cetera. and so many of them have copyright. Algorithms that will just look for, copyrighted music. And then you get a strike. And the thing is, even if you have the license, even if you’re allowed to play the music, even if it’s would be considered fair use here in the us, it still becomes, could be an issue, in which case your podcast gets taken down and then you have to take time to.
Fight it. And unfortunately, I don’t have a team to do that for me. which unfortunately means it’s, it’s not worth it. And don’t get me wrong, I think copyright protections are great and should be there for artists, because, if you create an album or recording or write something, someone shouldn’t be able to use it for free.
However, in instances like when, like our podcast, when you are able to use it, The pendulum is swung the other way where it’s a lot harder to use something, even if you’re rightfully allowed to. So. Thank you for the suggestions about playing music clips. What we do try to do is provide links where you can find [00:08:00] clips on YouTube or Spotify for the artists and kind of do your own research if you’re interested in hearing the artists we have on the podcast.
and then the other thing someone mentioned in North Carolina, about leaving reviews and show notes and things like that. I say check the show notes, check the description, and I realize, you know, I’m, I’m kind of. technologically inept, and I don’t know where some of those things are.
So basically what I’m saying, check the show notes or check the description. if you go to bob reeves.com/podcast or you go to bob reeves.com and click on the blog link, you’ll see all of the show note pages. For the episodes Reef released. So there’s pictures of the artist, there’s links where you can find the episode and listen to it on the different platforms by biography, you know, of the artist.
And then the links we talk about in the episode, so that you have to go to your browser and find the Bob Re site and go to our blog page. and that’ll get you. So any of the links we talk about in the episode, like I said, and if you wanna learn more about the artist, [00:09:00] and on, depending on the, the, the platform you use you know, the description will just be down below the episode and you might have to say, click, read more or see more, or something like that.
and that’ll be on YouTube and Spotify and Apple. There’ll be a little description and we try to put links in there. As well. So if you’re listening when I mention those things, you’ll know where to go.
Okay, so I mean, at this time, that’s all I have for today. Let’s get right to my interview with Imogen Whitehead,
JOHN SNELL: British trumpeter. Imogen Whitehead is in demand across the UK and internationally as a soloist chamber musician and orchestral principal trumpet. She is currently principal Trumpet of Britain Symphonia. She’s a passionate advocate for new music. Sitting on the International Trumpet Guilds new Works committee and as premiered works by composers including Sally Beamish and Steven Doon, and recently released her debut solo album Connection featuring new repertoire and her ongoing [00:10:00] championing of the flu Ahor.
Recent and upcoming highlights include Britain Symphonia Performances of Barry Mills Trumpet Concerto and Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto broadcast live on BBC Radio three, as well as concerto and recital performances at St. Martin in the Fields Proms at St. Jude’s and Wimbledon International Music Festival.
Imogen also appears regularly as guest principal with leading orchestras including tour in Europe with Aurora Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. She can be heard on major film soundtracks, including Maestro and Saltburn.
She is artist in residence with St. Martin’s Voices, a member of Neoteric Ensemble and Aram of the Royal Academy of Music, and is deeply involved in education and outreach through projects with Gals Britain Symphonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Resound Program. And now here’s my interview with Imogen Whitehead.
JOHN SNELL: Well, [00:11:00] I’m so excited to have joining me from across the pond all the way from the UK Imogen Whitehead. How you doing today, Imogen?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I’m very well, thanks John. Thanks for having me.
JOHN SNELL: actually, I should say, how are you doing this evening?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: True. Yep.
JOHN SNELL: Friday night talking about trumpet. Talk about a die hard brass player. I love it.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: It’s a dark and gloomy November evening, but pleasure to be here. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: well actually, we were having kind of UK weather here. It’s cold and a little bit of storm, which is unusual for la. So,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: welcome.
JOHN SNELL: my coffee,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Nice.
JOHN SNELL: And excited to talk about trumpet. And let’s start right from the beginning. How did you find the trumpet? Or did the trumpet find you, or did you start with cornet?
Like a lot of folks?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Well, I did not start on the corner like, yeah, that over here, that is really common, especially with the brass band traditions that we have in the uk. Lots of people start playing on the corner. But no, I, I think I would say the trumpet found me, I would say because I, I was so young when I kind of apparently became quite obsessed with the trumpet.
I, I don’t remember choosing [00:12:00] it in that sense. But my parents are both musical and my dad, not professional musicians, but very musical. And my dad was a sound engineer, sound studio manager at Radio Three, which is the BBC Classical Music radio station over here. And he was in that job for like 35 years.
But, yeah, through him, I suppose, I listened to lots of classical music and my parents took me to a concert in Central London when I was five. And it was one of these ones where you get to meet the instruments and meet the players afterwards. And apparently, I don’t remember this, but apparently I went to.
Meet the trumpet player and look at the trumpet. I think I tried the trumpet and could just make a, a good sound straight away near everyone around saying, oh, you know, that’s impressive or something, and that’s good. And I just kind of fell in love with it. And my parents, I mean, some people may have heard this story before who know me, but the, the story is that I, I have a letter.
My parents had the letter that I wrote to Father Christmas that year asking for all sorts of things, like a TV [00:13:00] with channels and a pink bikini and a Barbie and all sorts of things. And a real, at the end it says, and a real trumpet. And I was only a real trumpet and I was only five years old. and I think I was deemed actually a bit too young.
I think I didn’t, you know, I still have my baby teeth and so I didn’t actually start till I was seven, but just the fact that, you know, I don’t remember this, but the fact that I was so desperate for a trumpet from that age, and they, yeah, that’s the only thing they can imagine. That’s where it came from.
So I started
JOHN SNELL: that letter.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: they still have it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, obviously the real letter went to, went to Father Christmas. They have a copy of the letter, you know,
JOHN SNELL: they have a copy. So
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah,
JOHN SNELL: Christmas send a copy back. Uh,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Um,
But yeah, I mean, yeah, I start,
JOHN SNELL: We’re gonna be posting this in the holiday, so this a perfect uh, get us in the spirit.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Indeed. I don’t wanna burst anyone’s bubble if anyone’s still, you know about Father Christmas, but Yeah.
so yeah, so I started the piano when I was five. And I have an identical twin sister and an older brother. Both musical as well. but my sister, she has played lots of different instruments over the [00:14:00] years. She’s kind of got very good, very quickly at lots of things and got a bit bored, I think, and kind of moved on and think, you know, what’s the next challenge and, and tried different things, you know, cello or piano, cello, flute, saxophone, oboe, like guitar, all sorts of things.
And I have just been on the, you know, blinkered, you know, I, I just want to play the trumpet. So yeah, that’s my origins with it.
JOHN SNELL: Amazing. What a great story. So you started with piano and then started trumpet at seven. Did you start right away with lessons or were you playing in a school band?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah, I started with lessons, yeah, individual lessons. And actually from, it started when I was seven, and between the ages of seven and 12, I think I’d had trombone playing teachers. So actually something I’ve always thought was probably quite interesting is that no one, I think no one ever played me a trumpet until I had done kind of what we do called grade seven.
You know, here I, I, I’d done, you know, almost all of the, the grades. And I just don’t think, apart from that, maybe that day where I met the trumpeter or [00:15:00] something that no one, I don’t believe anyone really played me a trumpet, said This is how it should sound from the start. so I, I think, you know, the sound that I made was, was really kind of came from me and no one, no one telling me how it should be.
JOHN SNELL: Interesting. So, well, I mean, would you do any listening? I mean, obviously with your, your parents
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah, I mean, I’m sure I, I, I don’t really remember. I, I wasn’t like super into orchestral music or, you know, at that kind of age or anything like that. I didn’t really have any kind of trumpet heroes until I was a little bit older. but yeah, it was just, I, I, I had just, these teachers were really brilliant.
So I had this trombone teacher, trombone playing teacher from when I was about seven till 11 at my primary school. And that school really valued classical music, which was amazing. So the head teacher of that school really had a great love for classical music. And so the school orchestra was a really, you know, major part of school life.
And we had assemblies every morning you know, singing hymns and things. And there was an assembly [00:16:00] orchestra, I think every day. So they would arrange, they. These hymns for, for the orchestra, and it’s quite a random, you know, eclectic mix of players. But I would play pretty much every, every morning in, in, in the assembly orchestra, and I loved it.
JOHN SNELL: How cool. So I mean, was there, I obviously you were enthralled with the trumpet. was there a point where you thought this is something you could do for your whole life or like as a career? Was that at ever end of the picture or was it just something you enjoy doing?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: It was something I just enjoyed for a long time, I suppose with my dad being in, in the classical music industry, but not as a performer, I suppose. I did know that, you know, it was very much an option that people, you know, did. Have their full-time work in, in, in orchestras and, and performing on instruments.
but I mean, there was a, I, I really remember there was a clarinettist who lived on a street next to ours when I was growing up, and I so often used to walk down the, the road and hear her, she must have been in her fifties or something. I used to hear her practicing and I [00:17:00] used to think, oh my gosh, she’s still practicing and she’s, you know, in her fifties and she still has to practice.
I know she probably loved her practice, but I think growing up I always, to be honest, I found practice like a real chore. It was quite hard work. I wasn’t really someone who would just want to play for hours and hours a day. I think it was quite hard for my parents, you know, they, they wanted to encourage me and they could tell that, you know, it was, it was worth it to, to push me to do it.
But, I certainly wasn’t like all these people who say, oh, I just, you know, wanted to. Just wanted to play all the time. So practice as it. I still feel a bit like that, to be honest. I still, I wish I had it like tattooed somewhere. You know, you like playing because the idea of practice every day it feels like a bit of a mountain to climb.
And as soon as I’ve started, I, I love it. And as soon as it’s just the idea of it, and that’s been with me since childhood, I think.
JOHN SNELL: Interesting. Well, I appreciate your transparency. You
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: just assume someone at your level, just like, I can’t wait to get in and start practicing and wood shedding and all
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: different days [00:18:00] depends what, what I’m working on, I suppose. But yeah. it’s just something I’ve, that’s how, kind of how I’ve always felt. But I, I always enjoy, I never went to a specialist music school or I never did kind of, I had amazing music opportunities from when I was growing up, so a really great local concert band big band, and a, a brilliant local youth orchestra.
So I was kind of very well catered for in terms of like extracurricular playing. And my teachers were fantastic. So I did have a trumpet playing teacher when I was from, when I was 12 till 18.
JOHN SNELL: you, you got to hear the trumpet
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I did, and we got to we, and, and one of his favorite things was playing duets. And that was suddenly just such a, such a joy to, to actually get to play with someone because yeah, for my whole start of my playing life, I’d never really played alongside anyone.
Another trumpeter. and actually I, I was Ashley Hall Ty, who’s a good friend of mine who you interviewed. I remember her talking in her interview about a teacher that she went to and maybe someone who sort of said, oh, I’ll listen to her, but you know, I, I don’t [00:19:00] really take on, you know, young students or whatever it was.
I think someone was saying maybe they only take college students, not children or something. And we had quite a similar thing. There was a, there’s a, a brilliant trumpeter who lived very locally and my mom got in touch with him to say, you know, would you consider teaching Imogen? And he said, well, I, I’m not sure I’ve got space or the the time, but you know, I’ll, I’ll hear her kind of thing.
And yeah, my mom says she does remember the feeling of us going around there and this guy seeming quite sort of reserved and not really wanting to get involved. And then basically as soon as I played, he just said, yep, I’ll take her on. And I think it’s the same thing happened to Ashley. So I remember enjoying hearing that, thinking that she was a very similar story.
But yeah, he just wasn’t sure until, didn’t wanna commit. And then actually once he’d heard me play, he was, was interested.
JOHN SNELL: So there was something there, obviously he heard in your plane that,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: think so. Yeah. And I think, and I think my mom felt a bit like, I did try and tell you, you know, she just, she wasn’t, I guess maybe it’s a British thing. You don’t, you know, don’t, we don’t big, big ourselves up too much or, you know, we’re quite reserved sometimes with that.
And I think [00:20:00] especially, you know, someone thinking, oh, a, a parent saying, oh, my daughter’s, you know, this amazing trumpeter. I think most people would just roll their eyes and think, you know, that’s a, a very, you know, a mother who thinks that, but actually I think Yeah, of course. But I think she, she felt quite vindicated when he sort of said, oh yeah, I see what you mean, kind of thing.
JOHN SNELL: So tell me what kind of stuff did you work on, now that you’re studying with the trumpet teacher properly? I mean, is it the gen general Arban, Clarks, things like that.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Well, he, he was actually a he’s trained as a jazz trumpeter. He went to the Gil Hall Guild Hall School of Music as a jazz player. And his dad actually was quite a well-known jazz double bass player. Who played with like Sinatra played on like the original guys and Dolls recordings and some amazing amazing stuff.
So we did, we actually did a lot of jazz and I loved kind of playing like jazzy duets and things, but he did encourage me to improvise pretty much every week. And I don’t think I ever really got comfortable with it. I, I dunno whether it’s [00:21:00] a, I don’t know what it is, maybe a female thing, maybe just a me thing, but I just, I just had this kind of, I hated doing anything that I thought might be wrong or might be, yeah, just, just I liked to do what was on the page and do what I was told type of thing, especially at that age.
So I found it quite hard to liberate myself from that and just play and, and think, you know, there’s no wrong answer here, or there’s no right answer and there’s no wrong answer. so I’m sure it was really good for me doing all the improvising, but I, I never, I say I’ve never really got comfortable with it, but the thing that I was, have always been so grateful to him for is that, and his name’s Andy Bush, by the way.
He’s brilliant. And. I’ve been so grateful that he just, he could tell how much I just loved playing tunes and he kind of just indulged me with that. I think for most of those years he just was always suggesting new concertos, new new books where you have the kind of play along CD that makes me, I feel like it already makes me sound old.
’cause people, what’s a cd? Some young,
JOHN SNELL: Oh yeah.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: my students say we don’t [00:22:00] own any, you know, have no way of playing CD anymore. But yes, I, I used to adore playing those books and just like, I would, my parents would be having dinner and I would actually, in terms of practicing, I suppose, I never really considered it practicing, but this is, that’s the kind of thing I would sit down and just play the whole book through, serenade them while they were having dinner, whether they liked it or not.
and I used to ad Adore doing that. So Books of Gershwin arrangements or oh, all sorts of things. Bob Miza, jazz book. Jazz books. Yeah. I used to love all of that. So he, this teacher really encouraged me with all of that. And. We didn’t actually do much technique work at all. I do remember him introducing me to, you know, triple tongue, double tongue and, and some slightly more, you know, technical things.
But actually, ’cause I, I went to study at the Royal Academy of Music after learning with him, and I did have a co, I did own a copy of the ar but it was very pristine. It hadn’t really been touched very much and I, I had played a few things from it and he, you know, he, it wasn’t like he [00:23:00] was setting me up to not be prepared, but I, I just I think I wasn’t so interested in doing that stuff.
So by the time I got to music conservatoire, I realized I had quite a lot of catching up to do. But the musical side of that, I think was, was always strong from me.
JOHN SNELL: Interesting. So, I mean, it sounds like during grade school, you know, after 12, so you’re, I mean, you’re getting introduced to all kinds of different styles and, performing for your parents as they’re having dinner, things like that. I mean, do you think that, not doing the, was it, did you already have strong fundamentals and is that, you think why you didn’t do too much of that, like the arban and that sort of thing?
Or
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I guess I probably picked it up as I went along, I suppose. I’m sure there were things I, I did have to work on and, and I just don’t really remember, you know, I never did the A studies, I never did any Clark any, any other, any other thing than the than the AR book, I suppose. yeah, it was just a, just not a priority I suppose.
And I got a long way I think doing, not doing that and [00:24:00] yeah, it never kind of really came to kind of shoot me in the foot or whatever that I hadn’t that, I hadn’t done that, but I, it just meant that I did recognize that I was a bit behind other people in that sense. But yeah, I mean, it was just, it meant that I really loved all the playing I did and, when I got to about, I think I was 17 and. Kind of wasn’t sure what I wanted to do university wise, and my si as I said, twin sister. We both knew that music was the thing we, we loved doing, but she decided to do an academic music degree and I knew that I wasn’t really interested in doing that, so I was more interested in the performance side of it.
And so, one of our teachers at school music teachers told me about, you know, music colleges and conservatoires and that was just something, a world I didn’t know at all. I’d never been to a music college before. I never stepped foot in one. So, you know, with, with this teacher and with the encouragement of my trumpet teacher, went to the open days of these conservatoires, went to just get a [00:25:00] feel for the place. I had some lessons with Michael led, who’s a trumpeter. He kind of, he pioneered the, the four hole system on the natural trumpet. He’s an incredible British player. long retired now, but he was someone who was a local player and.
Had taught at the Royal College of Music for years and my trumpet teacher said, I think you should go for a lesson with Michael led. And my parents, who also didn’t really know much about the, the music colleges, they came to pick me up after this lesson. And it was just such a amazing, thing to have done because he, you know, he opened the front door and just said to them, she will get in everywhere.
She has to do this. This has to be her, her path. And it was just the kind of, and for me to hear that as well, it’s like, alright, okay. Like, and for someone like that to feel like they really, he really believed in me, but he just said, you know, she absolutely has to do this. yeah, it was, it was an incredible to, you know, just push in the right direction.
And I think that’s what we needed just to give us all the confidence of like, okay, because, [00:26:00] because university was so the trodden path with all the, you know, with my school especially. So yeah, it was a really amazing moment that.
JOHN SNELL: What a moment and what, so have somebody go to bat for you.
Like that this what? Incredible. So you, you prepared for, you have to audition for the,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: and
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. So I applied, yeah, I applied for the four main London colleges, so the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music Guild Hall School, and Trinity Conservatoire. And yeah, Michael led was right. I did, I got, I got into the mall and, and it was pretty amazing to have that, the choice.
I had had one consultation lesson in advance of the auditions at the Royal Academy with professor James Watson, or Jim Watson, and he was the head of brass at the time. And yeah, my parents had said, you know, we’ll pay for you to have one lesson. We can afford one. And so I chose, I chose that, and yeah, it was, it, that was an amazing afternoon.
I went, went to play to him. And [00:27:00] he also, I suppose, yeah, in a similar way, just sort of said, you know. I want you to come here kind of thing. Already before I’d even really done the audition it was very incredibly encouraging. And so that, that kind of was already in my head, like my, my favorite one.
and the audition process. Yeah, I had to play different things for each, each college. But the quite nice thing about it was all the auditions are kind of before Christmas in your last year of school. So while most people are waiting for, you know, to have done their exams, to get their results and find out if they’re going to university, you get the result before Christmas and you know, whether you’re going or not to, and, and I think you had to get the equivalent of two E, you know, or you, you just about had to scrape a pass in your exams to get into these places.
So that was, I remember that being a great feeling, you know, getting to Christmas thinking, okay, I know what I’m doing, you know, I know where I’m going. And, and I’d accepted. In fact, just before accepting my place at the Royal Academy, I rang Jim Watson and said, I want to come to the academy, but I only want to come if you’ll be my teacher.
And he said, yes. [00:28:00] That’s, that’s amazing. And yes, that’s what’s gonna happen. And very sadly, about two weeks after that, he died really suddenly he had a heart attack. Yeah. Tragic and
JOHN SNELL: geez.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: just kind of, I think he was 59. It’s, it’s ab it was just like completely outta the blue, devastating for everyone. I didn’t even know him well at all, but for everyone there.
And so that kind of threw me a bit, a lot. And I thought, I, I dunno what I want to do now. Do I even want to study there? I dunno, any of the other teachers maybe I want to go to the Guild School where my, my trumpet teacher that I had at the time where he’d been, and he was very encouraging about that school.
yeah, it kind of threw me into disarray, but I kind of ended up thinking, well actually. I, I’m sure any of the teachers, and I was, I was right. Didn’t thinking that any of the teachers at, at the Academy would be amazing. And um, just felt, actually, I just had a feeling when I was in the building as well that I just felt like it was right for me.
So I still stuck with that decision. But it was certainly a very [00:29:00] strange way to kind of get there. And, and the start of my first year was this, you know, this new head of brass who, you know, it was, it was, it was very different than what it could have been.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah. Yeah. So who did you study with At the Royal Academy?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: So my main teacher was the head of Brass. He’s Mark David. He’s, yeah, he was principal trumpet in the Philmon Orchestra for many years now. Principal Trumpet Academy St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. so yeah, he was my main teacher. I think, I dunno what this is, like, what it’s like in, in the US but certainly in British conservatoires.
For brass or maybe even just for trumpet. You, you have quite a lot of different teachers, so you’re not kind of anyone’s particular student. So I think I had
probably seven teachers across my four years there or something. Like lots of different people. Lots of different input, which kind of has its pluses and negatives, you know, good things and bad things about that.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah. So yeah, I, I mean it’s, I think it’s a little different here. Generally you [00:30:00] have, I mean, some of the bigger universities may, might have two or three trumpet faculty. and I know some students that’ll switch midcourse, but some of them are just for the four year undergrad degree, you’re with the same teacher, and then maybe go on to someone else for graduate studies.
So seven teachers, I mean, were they all trumpet players or was it brass faculty that you’re,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: no, all trumpet teachers, and I think that there were, there may have been more than that or maybe there are now, but, it’s incredible. They’re all often principle trumpets of, of the major orchestras. Um, Or they were, we had to do the natural trumpet. We had to play Barack Trumpet as well as part of the course.
That was compulsory. And yeah, I, I, I really enjoyed the mix of different people. I, I do remember think in my second year I had Mark David, I also had another different teacher who I got on very well with and, and then someone else for natural trumpet as well, but someone who I got on well with on for modern trumpet.
But I have to say, I was quite, I think I was quite scared of Mark, you know, he, he, [00:31:00] it, but in a way that kind of meant that I worked very hard for him and, and tried very hard and meant that I was, you know, I did not want to turn up to my lessons unprepared, but it actually meant that I gave all my energy and focus to my lessons with him.
And then I’d suddenly look in my diary and be like, oh, Yik, because I’ve got a lesson tomorrow with this other person. And I hadn’t even really thought about it. And I sort of ended up thinking actually. I’d repeat, you know, the things I’d done in my lessons with Mark, basically with this other teacher.
And I think I ended up saying, well, actually that’s not efficient. That doesn’t, that’s not gonna work. So the, the following year I did just have Mark. and then in my last year I had Mark and then a different, another different teacher as well. And it was, it was nice to have the, have a balance of, of more than one person I found in, in the end I did like to mix it up, have a few different opinions, play different repertoire with different people.
But yeah, overall very positive Experience studying, studying with him. Studying there.
JOHN SNELL: Now, did you start freelancing at this point? or were you just purely academic [00:32:00] doing your studies? Doing your practicing at school?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: yeah, well, I. I started freelancing started working professionally in my third year outta four years of undergraduate. And I only did an undergrad. I didn’t do a postgrad there. So it was Mark actually who gave me my first, my first big break, I guess. But it was playing third trumpet in for the Academ St.
Martin in the fields, this chamber orchestra. And I was playing third trumpet in Hayden’s Nelson, mass. And if anyone knows that, that piece or that part, you basically double, you play, you play about. I don’t know, 20 bars or something. And you are, do, you are doubling the second trumpet for all of, it’s just like little fanfares that you play.
So you never play anything on your own or anything exposed. And, and I think it’s all on a bottom C or something. So it was like the, the most perfect thing to have as like my first piece of work. and actually I was playing second, I was playing third trumpet and Michael led this, trumpet who I’d spoken about before.
He was on second trumpet. So that was really special to kind of actually with my, my first ever piece of [00:33:00] work to be with him. And he, he was just about to retire, I think that, that year or something. So that was very special. And yeah, I did a, I did a tour with them, and it was with Sir Neville Mariner who, who had founded the orchestra and it was really incredible.
And it was also quite funny because Neville was quite old by this point. I think it was one of, I don’t think he did that much after this tour, but, because of, you know, age and stage and things. it was quite a Cushty tour because we would, you know, we would travel and then we would never do a concert on the day that we traveled anywhere.
We’d, it was very civilized and we were in very nice hotels. We all looked after super well, and I remember people saying to me, it’s only downhill from here. You know, you’ve, you’ve started, your first bit of work is kind of the most comfortable thing you’ll ever do in this orchestra with, with this conductor.
Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: I was gonna say, yeah, Your first gig is with St. Martin’s in the fields.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. I mean, it was pretty amazing. But then, you know, nowadays you do other, you know, big symphonic orchestra tours where, you [00:34:00] definitely do a concert on the day that you travel and you, it’s all a lot more economical than it was with with that particular tour.
JOHN SNELL: but,
and what an honor to, to be one of the last, to play under Neville Mariners, sir Neville.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: So never mar Yes. I never married it.
JOHN SNELL: Can’t forget the sir.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. So that, that was amazing. And then I, I did do some auditioning when I was at the academy. there really weren’t that many jobs I felt that came up when I was there. It was really few and far between. And then once I left, it suddenly felt like in, in, you know, in, in an amazing way.
Lots and lots of jobs in the UK became available. And yeah, I suppose I was sort of right place, right time for some of those. So, yeah, I mean, I left, I had planned to do a postgrad actually in Germany. That was, that was my original, original plan. And for various reasons that just kind of never, never came to fruition.
It never happened. But I sort of created my own or decided that I created my own post-grad because I was part of a. Kind of graduate training [00:35:00] orchestra, I suppose you’d call it. It, it was called Southbank Symphonia. It’s now called Symphonia Smith Square. I’ll never remember to get the right name. But it’s a chamber orchestra that you, you, you audition for and it’s, it is a one year program.
You get paid a, a small salary I suppose. And yeah, you, you rehearse and do concerts every week with different conductors, different venues. You, you go on tour and I was part of that for the, for the first year when I left, left the academy. And that was just a, for me, just a perfect experience, just to get this experience of playing all this different repertoire, but with the same group of people.
So you kind of get to know your colleagues, you get to play, in a certain way with them. And I did that. For a year. And then I actually had some funding to do some studying, for my solo playing. And I chose to go to Norway to study with Tina Ting Helseth. I’d done a course with her and decided that I loved her playing and I loved her.
Just her whole, her whole presence was just [00:36:00] so wonderful. She’s such a, just a lovely, lovely person. And yeah, so I was able to spend this money to go study with her.
JOHN SNELL: I mean, did, did it just fall from the skies? How, like
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: The, no, well that,
JOHN SNELL: fund something like that?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: well that was um, well it, it actually came, was I think called the Royal Philharmonic Society, which is based in London. And when I had originally planned to go to Germany, I had applied for some funding from them to buy myself a German trumpet, a rotary trumpet. And they had offered me 5,000 pounds towards that, which was amazing.
And then when, in the end, when the Germany. plans fell through. I sort of, I contacted them and said, look, I’m, I’m not going to Germany anymore. But you know, I understand that this money was, was speci was technically for the, for this instrument. but I’m just wondering whether you’d consider, you know, still allowing me to do something else with it.
And thankfully they were really encouraging and said, you know, we, we want to support you, whether that’s, whether, [00:37:00] you know, wherever you’re studying and what you’re doing. So yeah, they said you can choose to do something else with it. So I decided I wanted to go and still do some studying abroad, but just in a very different way to what I’d planned.
And yeah, I went and lived in Oslo for two months, got on Airbnb for two months and yeah, went and had lessons kind of privately with Tina, but also lessons with other people there from the Oslo Philharmonic, Oslo Opera Ballet. It was amazing. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: incredible. So why, why I mean, it seems like an obvious question, but I mean, ’cause I love Tina’s
plane, but uh, like what was it specifically about her that made you want to go study from her and spend those, the two months up there?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Well, I’d been to a course, a summer course that she was teaching on just this is summer of 2016, kind of during my year of my south Max Symphonia residency. And I, yeah, the pianist, who I work with most regularly, she was a accompanist on, on this course and she’d done it the year before when Tina was there as well.
And she said to me, I really think you’d get on. I think you’d really [00:38:00] like her. You should come next year. So I asked this, you know, Royal Philharmonic Society, could I please spend 500 pounds of this, of this 5,000, or, you know, a bit of this amount going on this course. ’cause I really think this might be who I want to study with.
So they said yes, and I, and I went out there to, to Oslo and spent the week with Tina and. I mean, I just think, I mean obviously her playing is, is so kind of natural from the heart just kind of flows out of her. But even things like the fact that she, you know, doesn’t like wearing shoes when she plays.
’cause she just likes feeling grounded. And, I just loved her kind of openness, I think really open vibe and her energy. It was just really kind of like, you just wanted to be around her and she was, you know, she’s a big deal. She’s a star and, but you didn’t feel that, you didn’t feel like that when you, she never made you feel like she was, you know, on a different level to you.
And I just found that really wonderful. I felt like we kind of became friends that week. We were both super into [00:39:00] nail painting, so I’d give her, we’d have pictures, I’ve got pictures of me giving her manicures and choosing different colors. And we just had a really fun time and. Her musical ideas as well.
When I’m teaching people now, there are so many things that I always make sure I credit to her, but I say, this is a Tina thing. This is a Tina thing. She just yeah, uses lots of ideas and, and lots of imagery in her teaching that I, I found that I could really get on board with, which was fun. So at the end of this that week, I just said to her, so I happen to have this money, you know, I was very lucky to have this money kind of sitting there waiting for me to decide what to do with it.
And I really believe that coming to learn with you would be the best use of this money. Is there a time that you, ’cause you know, she sort of had a very busy performing career, but I said, do you know if there’s any time in the next year or something where you might be based in Oslo for a, for a certain period of time?
And she said, well, yeah, I think next, the start of next year, January, February, would be the best time. So yeah, I flew out on the, I dunno, 4th of January or something for seven or eight weeks, and it was, yeah, very [00:40:00] dark, very cold, very snowy, but an amazing thing to do.
JOHN SNELL: So well, but then you’re stuck inside to learn from, from one of the best. So, I mean, you brought up some of the, some of her ideas that you would share and credit her. Can you, can you share some of them,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh gosh. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, things that make me, sometimes that make me laugh. ’cause they sound very Norwegian. She, I’m sure she’d laugh at this as well, or very Scandinavian things like, you know, looking after every note in the phrase, even the last note she said, she, she describes it as, don’t leave any of your children out in the forest, you know, alone, look after them all.
Which I, I like thinking about that. And she does thing all the time. Little gestures not so good for the listeners of this podcast, but anyone watching, she, she sort when she wants you to play with a super sweet, you know, beautiful sound, she’ll just sort of like rub her cheek with her back of her fingers and that kind of gesture of just like, oh, that, that softness like, almost like rubbing a baby’s cheek or something, you know, that kind of, that soft skin and just that feeling of like.
I think for me, that’s just [00:41:00] immediately I can, I can think of the, the kind of sound or the, the softness that I wanna get in my playing when I just think of that. So I do that a lot or use that a lot. she also talks about things like when you want to start a phrase and it’s quite a hard one to start, you know, sometimes you gotta take the breath and then just start. But you, you almost want to imagine you, you are already going, like you’re already on, on the.
You’re already on track. So she talks about it like walking along and picking up a big bag, a heavy bag of shopping off the ground and just swinging it straight up into the air as you’re walking. So you’re striding along, you pick up this bag of shopping and you just keep walking and it swings along with you.
And so that kind of, the breath in is like the pick up the shopping and go, it’s kind of like that momentum. I think that helps you start a piece sometimes or helps you start a phrase. Yeah, they’re quite niche. They’re quite like interesting ideas, but there’s a lot. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: I, I love that. But how she’s connecting to the senses, the visuals or the touch,
like,
you
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. And I think actually the one I remember, I [00:42:00] think that the, taking a breath in the middle of a phrase or something, she talks about it a bit like, if you’re running a marathon and you have to take a, you gotta take a drink of water, you know, people are holding the water out for the side, on the side for you and.
You don’t want to stop and then take a drink and then hand the water back and then carry on running it or start running again. You need to take that water. You’re not stopping running. You swig it back, you chuck it over your shoulder and you carry on running. And that kind of idea of like, you know, when you need to top up in a phrase, you, you can’t just let the music stop flowing or the air stop flowing.
You have to keep it going, but in a very, yeah, organic way. It’s just, I just, there’s so many things that, you know, she just, that, that just stuck with me and, and I, I think they always seem to help other people when I mention them to them as well, so.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah, I can’t, I can’t relate to that last one. ’cause I’m, when I run a marathon, I stop at the water table, I pour it over my head. I go, ah. And as I sit there chugging as people are running past me, and then I, no,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: But you’ve run a marathon, have you?
JOHN SNELL: I mean, it’s been a [00:43:00] while. I,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: amazing. I have not.
JOHN SNELL: I shuffle, I finish marathons.
I wouldn’t
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: That is great. A com complete, not a computer. That is great. Yes.
JOHN SNELL: Get out and do something. Right. But not to take away from the imagery. ‘ cause I get exactly what she’s saying. I just had to laugh I’m like, Nope, I’m not that person. So, well, so that I brings up the question. So you’re, I mean, you’re playing in orchestras, you’re playing doing chamber music now you’re, you know, studying with Tina, develop your solo playing.
where did you see your career going at this point? Did you wanna do a little bit of everything or were you going, did you have any particular goals, career goals that you wanted to go for?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. Well, I mean, things kind of changed for me during my time studying because when I first went to the Academy, I was really pretty dead set and wanted to be a soloist, like massively inspired by Alison Bsso. I think I was 12 when I first heard of her. In fact, on my hen Trump hide and trumpet concerto part, I’ve got, you know, this teacher who I started with when I was 12, he, he just wrote.
On it alison [00:44:00] bso.com, question mark. And I’ve still got it there in this pencil from him just saying, I think you should check this person out. You know, I think, I think she must’ve been quite newly on the scene or just, you know, really her star was rising at that point. And I just remember looking her up or hear about and thinking, oh my gosh.
And, and buying her album and playing along to it all the time and thinking that’s exactly what I want to do. And when I got to the academy, I was quite open about that and saying, I want to be a soloist. And, and I thought there’d be, I thought everyone would be like saying the same thing. And actually almost no one was interested in being a soloist.
Everyone was interested in orchestral playing. so in some ways it was good for me. I got a lot of opportunities as a soloist. ’cause they said, oh, Imogen, you know, I was always at the forefront of people’s minds when there were solo opportunities. But the more playing I did in orchestras, you know, the, the work I started doing professionally in orchestras, I thought, I really love this.
And I, I love being part of this team, but I still kind of knew that I got the biggest thrill out of playing. At the front or being, being a soloist. So I always knew I wanted to do [00:45:00] both, I suppose, or I never wanted to lose the solo side of things. But yeah, the more playing I started doing, the more I was doing auditions and getting trials, in jobs over in the uk.
You know, the trial process is quite a, it’s maybe quite different to anywhere else in the world, I think. But the, the trials, you know, you can, it is quite lengthy. They can go on a long time. and I was getting, yeah, quite lucky with those, but
JOHN SNELL: So, so like you went and audition and then you’re not really in the group yet kind of thing. Is
that that
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: So you don’t really, yeah, I suppose winning an audition is, is not, in the uk we don’t really ever say that because, it’s very rare that, you know, one per, only one person from an audition would, would get offered, a trial. Normally I’ve done auditions where, you know, maybe there’s. 10 or 15 people offered a trial from the audition day.
And you’re each given patches of work and often they need to hear each of you in different repertoire, different scenarios. So these, these trials can go on for years and, and I’ve, I was on trial at English National Opera for their principal trumpet job [00:46:00] for six years. And I loved the, the work that I did there, but it’s, it’s an incredibly yeah.
Interesting. Maybe is the word, but I don’t know what, I don’t wanna say it. It’s, it’s, it’s a kind of bizarre thing because you, you go, you, you, you prepare, you go and do the work and give it your all. And then at the end of that. Patch of work, especially opera when you’ve been there, you know, consistently for a few weeks.
then they just say, thanks Imogen. You know, see you soon. And you just think, oh, I hope so. You know, thank you. And you either wait for an email to say thanks, but no thanks. Or, you know, here’s would you, are you free for this next patch of work? and it’s a quite a volatile way to exist, I think, being on trial like
JOHN SNELL: Yeah. God, that sounds miserable.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. And some people, you know?
JOHN SNELL: your life around that, you know.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. And especially like thinking of future and things. It is, it is tricky. And I certainly know one trumpeter who, he was offered a principal trumpet job and he had to call around, I think six other orchestras that he was also on principle Trump on a trial with as principal trumpet and, and you know, [00:47:00] kind of say, I’ve, I’ve decided to go for this job, whatever.
But the stress I think of for him of being on what these five or six principle trumpet trials, Over a period of time and, and, and every time you go to work thinking, I need to do my absolute best because I want to get this job. So the audition is obviously a big part. You need to get through the audition to get a trial, but it’s very, very much only the start of the process over here, rather than winning anything on the day.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah, that sounds brutal.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah, it’s tough.
JOHN SNELL: on, you said six years you were on trial with that
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Six years. Yeah, no. Yeah. And I, I mean, part of that was during COVID, so it wasn’t exactly like it was consistently for six years. But, but certainly the process was ongoing for that whole time. And they did have bits of, you know, different work and, and, and I enjoyed it. And in some ways you just have to think this is just, you know, it’s, you’re, you’re paid properly and, and it’s paid, it’s, it’s normal work with a possible bonus of a job at the end of it.
You know, you kinda have to slightly detach yourself. It’s very hard to do, but detach yourself from what might be the outcome and just enjoy the actual work that you’re [00:48:00] doing. But yeah, it’s, it’s a tricky one. I think they’re, they’re definitely trying to make it a less vague process or make it a bit more, a bit more transparent across orchestral boards, you know, in the uk.
’cause maybe now there’s a rule about trials have to be maximum two years or something like that. Or, or aim to be decided after two years. But that’s. There’s also a bit of pushback on that. ’cause people are saying, well, we just can’t possibly get through all the trialists we want to hear in that time.
And it is really very, yeah, it’s quite contentious actually. Yeah,
JOHN SNELL: Terrifying, and fascinating. The same, you know, so it’s a thing if, if you make it in through the trial and you’re on in that group, but you’re still auditioning, right? ‘ cause you don’t know yet,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: yeah. Well, exactly. You, you trialing for the job. So Yeah. They, they have no kind of stake hold over you. You know, you, you can trial for as many, you audition and trial for as many orchestras as you, as you want to, or as you can deal with cope with the pressure. But in some ways the, a good thing about it, I suppose, is that as a [00:49:00] kind of fresh, young graduate, you know, you might not necessarily.
Play an audition and someone think they, you know, that was the best audition of the day, but you might be in the best 10 auditions of the day, in which case you would get a trial probably and, or five or 10, you know? And so you, yeah, I think you, it’s probably helpful in that way to kind of start building that work and people to, to give you a chance.
’cause you know, they’re not just looking for that one person on the day, they’re looking for people who, they like the sound, they like the potential, and then they want to get you in to hear you for real in, in, in context. So yeah, I think that probably does help in a way, but it’s also as a in for the mind, it’s quite, it’s quite tough psychologically.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah, because you get those, the, the professional auditioners, you know, that are just, can nail the audition but then can’t actually play in a section, you know, so I guess it does allows you if, and so, and then on the flip side, the folks that can’t really audition well, or they’re more hit or miss at auditions, but they’re great in the section.
So
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. Or the [00:50:00] people who might do a perfect audition, but you wouldn’t want to sit in an airport lounge with them for three hours or waiting for a delayed flight on tour. You know, there, there’s a, it, it does make sense in terms of just trying to find, you know, who’s the best fit musically, but also socially and there are lots.
There are, yeah. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: There’s gotta be something in between
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: a deadline, I think. A deadline. Yeah, exactly. So, and I think it happened to me recently actually, that I was, on trial for a job with a different orchestra for about three years for their principal trumpet job. And actually things, you know, in that time I’ve, was offered a job in a different orchestra, Britain Symphonia, which is the chamber orchestra that I’m, I’m Prince of trumpet of.
So. I, I stayed on trial with this other orchestra anyway, just because I thought, well, I already had that. I’ll just wait and see, you know? ’cause you can have more than one job. Britain Symphonia is not a full-time job. any trumpet chamber orchestra job is not necessarily full-time. So I thought I’ll stay with, you know, stay with it and see, and then in that time, I mean, we can talk about [00:51:00] this later maybe, but you know, I’m, I’m expecting a baby and um,
all
sorts.
JOHN SNELL: newsletter.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yay. Exactly. Well, we
JOHN SNELL: we can’t, we can’t go too long with this interview because but we’re not that close, so hopefully,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: No, no. That would be pretty bad luck if it was tonight. But thank you. Thank you very much. but I mean, I think it’s, it’s just kind of funny how sometimes with these trials, it feels a bit like you know, the ball is in their court kind of thing, and it feels a bit like they’re the ones choosing you. They’re the ones deciding after each patch of work. But this particular one, you know, I love playing with this orchestra. I, I hope I will work with ’em as a guest player in many times in the future.
But I think various things changed in my life, you know? Yeah. So, so it was a mixture of the job, the pregnancy. I, again, we can come onto this later, but I, I have a solo agent now. Management and all these sorts of things combining actually made me realize actually I’m in a very different place in my life and my career to when I auditioned three years ago.
And that’s quite natural that that can happen at my age or, you know, [00:52:00] whatever. And, and it just made me think, actually this is not. It, it is not the fit for my life that I thought it was anymore. So I pulled outta that trial and said, you know, thank you so much. It’s been amazing. And yeah, I’d still love to work here.
It is not personal, it’s just really about the fact that my life is, is now very different to how it was three years ago. And I think that can happen quite a lot as well. That when it takes such a long time to make a decision, actually, you know, the tables can turn a bit and it’s the, the audition e who can say, or the try list who can say, yeah, actually this doesn’t work for me anymore.
So it’s, it is kind of, it’s a risk the orchestras take to take a long time because it means that they can lose people. you know, I, I might not have got, got the job anyway. I, I, I will never know and that’s okay. But if I just, it, it was kind of quite liberating for me to make that decision and think, actually thank you.
But no, thank you.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah, I mean, we’ve had folks on the various podcasts that got in, you know, they won their dream position and realized that it was a toxic situation. They didn’t like the orchestra, they didn’t [00:53:00] like the md or they didn’t like the section or, or a combination of those things. And here you are, you know, you’ve won this, position and now with a salary and benefits and things like that.
And it’s like, well, do I stay in this? That’s like ruining my sanity just for, ‘ cause I’ve made it and it’s my dream.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. And
people think you’d
JOHN SNELL: there is two sides to that coin, you know?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: People think you’d be crazy to leave it, but then actually you, you are the only one that knows how it makes you feel. Yeah. It’s
interesting.
JOHN SNELL: so you now you’re doing a little bit of everything, right? So you’re playing with the Chamber, the Britain Symphonia, you and you sub and all kinds of different groups as guest principal. And, how has that developed? Was that since you won that audition, or is it just being in, the
UK for so long in London,
you know, getting your name out there?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: yeah. I mean, I certainly think it’s a case of, you know, being. Established freelancer, I suppose, in, in the London scene particularly, I, I do do some other work outside of London, but actually for me, most of my work really is London based, which is convenient, [00:54:00] is where I live, and it’s actually where I grew up as well.
So I, I really love that I. But for my job actually at Britain Symphonia, it’s a slightly, it’s a slightly different, way to get that job because I had played with them for the first time, I think in 2021. We did some performances of the Messiah and I was on principal trumpet, a guest principal.
their principal trumpet actually was living abroad at this point, kind of during COVID. So it wasn’t around very much. But as I said, you know, you can probably get away with quite a lot with, in a chamber orchestra ’cause you’re just not needed so often on the trumpet, especially during COVID you know, didn’t need to be around.
but I, I performed as principal trumpet in this patch of work and I was really keen to impress them ’cause I knew it was an orchestra, was really excited to work with. So I, I memorized the trumpet, she sound and I thought I, you know, just, it means that I can play, I can stand anywhere. The conductors can tell me to go anywhere and I can just play it and stand up and do it and not faff around with the music stand and stuff.
So I think that, that sort of got noticed. I think that I’d, I [00:55:00] suppose, gone to that extra effort, but also it felt like something that really played to my strengths, like playing pic, those beautiful piccolos trumpet arias and things. so I really enjoyed that and that was my first time with them.
And then I did other patches of work with them over the next couple of years. But when their principal trumpet job then became vacant, the manager of the orchestra actually called me and just said, kind of out of the blue, he just said the principal trumpet job is now available. And if you would like the job, we would already like you to have it.
And we’ve decided that we don’t want to go through the normal process of auditions and trials. If you’d like it, it’s yours. And I think some people, I can definitely imagine, some people would think that’s unfair. You know, she was handed it on a plate or, you know, No one else got a chance to, you know, to be offered it.
But I think, and, and that wouldn’t happen with a symphony orchestra. they have rules and, and things that they have to abide by, But I think the chamber orchestras, I think, a bit more of a law unto themselves. And it [00:56:00] was just so, it felt obviously incredible that they just decided that they would rather just ask me outright.
And after I’d been through all of these trial processes and was still on trial and other places and things, yeah, it just, I was like, well, you know what, I’ve been through quite a lot with those process. I’m pretty happy to, to take what I’m offered, you know, to say Yes, please. And, and I knew I loved working there.
So it was, it was a complete dream come true basically to be offered that, and that phone call. I, you know, get goosebumps thinking about it. ’cause I just never imagined that would happen. Yeah. So that was how that job came about. but as I said, it’s not it’s not full-time at all. So I get sent the schedule, but maybe.
I’m probably needed for a couple of days a month, if that sometimes, or it, it goes in waves sometimes. There are quite a lot of projects on, they, they’re a very busy orchestra, a lot loads of string only work and, and things with the wind, but not always with brass. and actually I’m the principal trumpet, but there is no second trumpet, so there’s just one position in, in the trumpets.
And so that’s quite nice for me. I always get to choose who plays with me. There’s no kind of, [00:57:00] I didn’t inherit anyone in a, in a sense, in terms of having a second player. So that’s also really lovely thing about it. but yeah, through freelancing and having done auditions, it meant that I was on, on the fixing lists of lots of different orchestras and yeah, the main orchestras I work with, certainly in the last couple of years, my main one is the London Symphony Orchestra, where I had done an audition.
For second trumpet, I think it was before COVID and that audition, I thought it was the best audition I’d ever done actually. I was really delighted with it. And and I didn’t get a trial from that. And I remember being like, super disappointed because I just thought, oh, I really thought, my perspective or perception of what was good clearly isn’t, isn’t right because they didn’t think it was good. Anyway, when I ended up talking to them and finding out some feedback from that audition, they’d said, well, it was a brilliant audition.
It just wasn’t a second trumpet audition at all in the sense of, I, I played so soloistic and hadn’t really give, and, and kind of naively completely naively hadn’t really given any thought to thinking, well, [00:58:00] what might they be wanting to hear as a second trumpet? I just didn’t think, consider that, and I, I certainly use that as a bit of a kind of warning story to students now, or saying, you know, do make sure you think about, obviously you can’t know what the panel are looking for, but do try and consider.
what they might be looking for a principal audition as opposed to a third trumpet audition or, or second. And so, that was sort of my downfall there. But they, I’d never worked with the orchestra before, but they put me on their extra list, their debt list, and it meant that basically, yeah, I, I started getting work with them firstly, as, you know, down the line.
Third trumpet or just kind of in the section, and then eventually as, as doing some principal trumpet work. So yeah, in the last couple of years I’ve done quite a bit of stuff there, which has been amazing.
JOHN SNELL: Wow. Have, have they ever had a another female principal trumpet
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Well, I think um, they’ve never had a female principal in, the job there. I think perhaps there may have been one, maybe two people who’ve played maybe [00:59:00] in like one recording session or one, one off concert type thing as principal. But in terms of, you know, for a, a tour or for a, a longer patch of work, I don’t, I think I might be one of the Yeah.
The first or certainly one of the first. Yeah.
Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: con, congratulations.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: thank you. They’ve actually just appointed, a female third trumpet in the last few months, which is super exciting. And she’s actually, I think she’s third generation LSO, player because her, both of her parents were members of the orchestra and her grandfather as well was I think a french horn player in the orchestra.
So the lineage of that is just amazing. And, you know, she, that’s just a kind of coincidence that she’s got the family ’cause she’s such an amazing player. She should be there, you know, of course she should be there. That’s the, that’s the first thing. But it’s just this amazing, kind of luck that she’s, you know, her family have been there too.
JOHN SNELL: Wonderful. Well, so you gotta tell me what is it like sitting in the principal chair of an iconic orchestra like that? I mean,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I mean, it’s pretty cool. It, I think it it [01:00:00] can feel a bit scary sometimes. I think for me, I’m sometimes conscious that because I actually never grew up thinking I want to be principal of the, of, of any orchestra. Actually, I never, that was never my dream to be principal trumpet of a symphony orchestra.
of course I recognize the importance of it and the excitement of it, but I don’t think I sit there with the kind of fear of like, oh my gosh, I’m in this, I’m in this chair. I don’t think I necessarily feel that weight of responsibility so much. So I think that helps me.
I’ll say, you know, I, I enjoy. Anything that says solo on the part, that’s my favorite bit, you know? Whereas other people might kind of think, oh my gosh, that I, you know, don’t want to stick out. But I, I really love those moments. So I think that helps as well that even though it’s a kind of slightly scary thing.
But we, we did a tour just recently of, we were playing Britain’s violin concerto Benjamin Britain. And it’s got a, a huge trumpet moment in the, in the last movement, the third movement, Pascal. And it’s yeah, this, this [01:01:00] big, pretty terrifying moment actually. But I, it was sort of my favorite bit in every concert.
’cause it just, like the trumpet just kind of emerges out of this texture and you just kind of. Plow through and, and have to keep, you know, it gets louder and louder and more intense. And yeah, I just loved that. But there was also quite a fun thing in that same tour we were playing, cause people chop and change during the concert.
You know, some people would be playing principle in the first half. I was playing principle in the first half and the third trumpet in the second half. So fourth trumpet I was mixing around. But for one of the pieces in the first half, I think there were five women on principles in the wind and brass.
And that was the first, that was the most ever they’ve had female principles. So that felt quite momentous to be, you know, one part of that. And it’s only gonna, I believe it really is only gonna keep improving in that sense.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah. Oh, that’s so encouraging. How cool? Oh man, I got the
shivers.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh. But I mean, the, the, I meant to actually, the orchestra themselves that, I mean, obviously like every player there is incredible, and actually all the, all the principles, especially, they are [01:02:00] kind of all amazing soloists in their own right. So, you know, they could probably all have solo careers as well.
Some of them do, in fact. Their teamwork is incredible. And, it’s a, it’s an amazing machine, you know, when it’s, and it, and there’s, there’s, you know, there’s the step up often from, you know, the rehearsals are incredible, but then suddenly the concerts are just kind of out of this world sometimes when, when everyone’s like really on, on form.
And yeah, certainly, like most of my musical highlights of my career have been concerts with them.
JOHN SNELL: how, how cool Pinnacle of classical music.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh yeah. It’s very special.
JOHN SNELL: I wanna talk about your album,
Cause that, along with doing all of the chamber and orchestral stuff you came out with connection. That was earlier this year, or was that, that was, it was relatively recently,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Released at the end of April and I kind of launched it with a concert in the start of May. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: Mm-hmm. So what, what brought you to record an album?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Well, I’d always been interested in kind of putting something out there that was, you know, my musical [01:03:00] voice and, putting out, out a recording. But mainly it stemmed from the fact that I’ve been quite lucky. I’ve had quite a lot of pieces written for me over the last maybe 10 or 15 years. some things sort of just landed on my lap.
Like, there’s a commissioned by a, well firstly, my youth orchestra that I was part of, they commissioned a, a quite eminent local composer to write me a trumpet concerto. This is Steven Dodson. Um, Write me a concerto as kinda my kind of leaving gift from the orchestra, which I think is pretty unusual and, and pretty amazing.
And I think I didn’t quite realize when I got to, you know, got to the academy and thought, well. I’ve already had a concerto written for me. You know, not many people by someone like him who, you know, in the UK was, you know, a well-known composer. And that was pretty, pretty incredible. It was actually his last ever piece that he wrote as well.
’cause he, he passed away not so long after. And, and there was another, I was part of a thing called the Park Lane Group Scheme, which is a, a soloist scheme that I, I auditioned for with my pianist. And that was a, like recital scheme. They give you concerts around London and, we just happened to [01:04:00] be, selected for it on their 60th anniversary celebratory year.
And they had some funding for commissioning. So they commissioned a compose called Sally Beamish, another kind of big British composer to write a piece for trumpet and piano. And, because, you know, because they had a trumpet and piano duo that year and that was us. So things like that, that just sort of, I didn’t have to pay for them.
I didn’t have to ask for them even, they just were kind of gifted to me, which is amazing. Then other ones where I’ve maybe become good friends with a composer and I thought, you know, I’d like to commission you to write something for me. or kind of other avenues. So I had all these different pieces.
Yeah. Either written for me, perhaps arranged for me on the album. There’s an arrangement by my dad, there’s an arrangement by my husband. And there’s another piece, a couple of pieces that haven’t been written or arranged for me, but ones that I sort of have slightly taken as my own. And, and there’s one of the, the best example I think of that is this piece called the Soine of a Solo Trumpet by Peter Maxwell Davis.
And that piece, it was [01:05:00] written I think 1981, and I played it in a masterclass when I was at the academy. And. Actually the, the German trumpet professor who was there, who was taking the class was really excited about the piece and, and asked something about it and said, oh, I wonder what Maxwell Davis thought of that, or why he wrote that.
And someone said, oh, he is teaching upstairs today. You can go and get him. And this is a really, you know, very well known British composer. He was master of the Queen’s music and all that kind of thing. And so this teacher said, oh, you must go and get him. And they brought him down from his class, and I had to, I got to perform the piece to him to the composer himself.
And this is like my first term at the academy. It was bonkers right in the, in the, at the deep end. But I then, you know, when I, I decided to record this, I played this piece then for years, kind of, you know, feeling like I had the composer’s blessing on how I played it. And then when I recorded it early this year or last year for the album.
as far as we know, is the first ever recording of that piece. So I do kind of, yeah, I feel like I’ve made the kind of definitive version, which is really cool. And so I [01:06:00] just had literally you know, I couldn’t think of an album title for a long time, and then I just kept saying, I just got this, you know, I’ve got a connection to every single piece and every single composer, there’s, you know, there’s a reason why they’re on there.
And, and so yeah. Connection then seemed very obvious actually. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought about it.
JOHN SNELL: That’s well that makes sense now with the title I and I, I mean, how many Well, yeah. Pieces with a direct connection to the composer
that you can now go and say, this is the definitive
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: with a direct connection to the composer. Oh,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: And I did a, I did a album launch concert early this year. In fact, I was about 10 weeks pregnant, nine or 10 weeks pregnant, and feeling dreadful. I don’t quite know how I got through it, but somehow
JOHN SNELL: that’s a first trimester, right?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah, in, in the height of the height of the sickness. Oh, it was, it was a weird time. ’cause actually, weirdly playing the trumpet was the only thing that didn’t make me feel sick in that time, was literally the only thing that stopped me, my sickness.
And so that’s kind of how I was able to get through it. But [01:07:00] at this concert, I had had the far, there were five living composers on my album, and they were all there and it was so special to get, you know, they, they introduced their pieces and for the audience to kind of see literally the connection between, you know, the, the music and the person and my connection to them.
It was just a really, really special thing. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: What an experience, man. I wished I was there. you have a picture with, with
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I’ve got pic. Yeah, I have, yeah, I’ve got pictures. I decided not to, I, I decided not to film it in the end. I originally, I thought, oh, I’ll video the whole thing. And, and it actually in the end, I thought you know, I’d already put a lot of effort and, and money, I think into filming all of the pieces because I thought, well, the whole.
Point of the album for me was actually just to get these pieces out there to get more people playing them. So I wanted them to be not just on audio, but also on YouTube. So I put a lot of effort and time into, making sure that we had really good quality videos of all the pieces. And then I kind of thought, well, you know, I’ve got all of that.
I could film the concert, but actually sometimes it’s just nice to live in the moment and, [01:08:00] and perform and not think, oh, I’m gonna be watching this back, or is it good enough for YouTube or whatever. So, yeah, I don’t have video footage of that concert, but as far as I can remember, it was one of the best times I think my, the best concerts I’ve ever done.
And that, that was, that will stay in my memory. I don’t need to watch it back to know that it was really, you know, I, I knew, I knew that music so well and I loved it so much that it was just a kind of perfect culmination of this project.
JOHN SNELL: Incredible. Incredible. And yeah, for folks listening and we’ll, we’ll have the links to the website and Spotify and all of that stuff, but you have videos of Yeah. You performing all of the, all of the pieces and hopefully we can see that photo with you and all the
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh, for sure. I’ll send it. But something nice as well is my, my dad particularly one of his, his piece on the album is an arrangement of a folk song, and he has kind kindly gifted that arrangement, for Trumpeters everywhere or musician. So it’s free, it’s a free download from my website. And I just really, I, I get, actually get emails all the time from people in America, a lot and South Korea [01:09:00] and the Netherlands, and people all over the world downloading that, that music and, and performing it.
So yeah, I just want these pieces to be played all over the world and that’s, that’s my dream.
JOHN SNELL: I, I’m gonna do, I’m gonna download as soon as we’re done here. I have something to play this weekend. How cool. Well, and I, I mean, I, I hate to ask the question ’cause I know, you know, putting out an album is a labor of love no pun intended.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yes.
JOHN SNELL: so, uh, is there gonna be a volume two? Are you, do you have ideas for the next album now that
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Well, I think there definitely could be. ’cause I, since I recorded it, I recorded the music in the summer of 2024 and then released it in Spring 25. And since then I’ve had three new pieces written for me. I’ve given premieres of, each of which I would love, you know, love to record for another album or there’s other arrangements that I kind of think, oh, I’d love to do that.
And I said, my dad is, I think is a wonderful arranger. And, yeah, there, there’s certainly ideas brewing. I think it, it was a huge, huge undertaking. ’cause I actually didn’t, I didn’t [01:10:00] actually do it through a record label either. I, I did it myself. Um, In terms of, I, I worked with a amazing recording team, they were sort of my distributor, so all kind of confusing, but I, it was, it just wasn’t really done under a, a label as such.
So the, the benefits to that were that I just. I was able to make every decision for myself, and I could change my mind about things at the very last minute if I wanted to. I didn’t need to consult anyone else. But then the flip side is all of that, I had to make every decision. I had no one else that I could really consult who was as invested as me.
And yeah, if, if I didn’t do a job or send an email, no one else did it on my behalf. So it was a huge amount of work, and I think I’m so glad I did it. I, I feel like I learned so much about, you know, copy music, copyright and licensing and, and at the actual recording and, you know, the, the financial aspects of, of, of doing a project like this.
But I’m not sure I would choose to do it in the same way again, because I think yeah, I’ve done it, [01:11:00] been there, done it, and I’ve, I’ve learned a huge amount. And I, at some point I would love actually to kind of put what I learned into some sort of maybe a YouTube video or some sort of presentation that helps other people if they want to do it because, the feeling of ownership and feeling of like, the satisfaction from it is amazing. And I think it’s, you shouldn’t have to go through a, a big record label to, to put something out there. But yeah, another time I would be delighted to work with a record label who, who take on a lot of that, that stuff.
And I think, you know, I, I, this is pre, that was, you know, pre-children in a different type of, different stage of life. And I think I can imagine that in the future I would certainly be looking for someone else to do that with me.
JOHN SNELL: There are some luxuries to having a record label behind you, but Yeah. But yeah, the, what you’re talking about the control and the Yeah, the accountability, things like that, that come with that and Well, I, I can’t wait to see that video when you, when you put it together and how, how to record your album.
There’s a [01:12:00] couple topics I do want to hit before we wrap up here. ’cause also I know it’s late over there. one so, you know, we’ve had a few, trouble playing guest who had to play through pregnancy and childbirth, things like that. one recently was Sles Whitaker.
She was the lead, great lead player with the Army Blues and Jazz ambassadors here at the us and I think she, her second child, she played up till like a few days before her second child was born. I mean, you were just, I mean, I think you, I looked at your calendar. You still have concerts coming up right in November, and you’re due literally in a few weeks in December.
How’s.
How are you coping with that? Talk us through it. ’cause I have zero experience with this.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. Well, I mean, I, it’s, it’s been really interesting ’cause I, I just didn’t know how I was gonna feel and I, I’d spoken to different, some other friends and colleagues, you know, one of whom said she’d never felt so good as when she was, you know, full term pregnancy and her, her piccolo trumpet playing was like through the roof.
And she had, you know, the support she felt was incredible. And and another player who just said they just could not get enough breath in. They just could not take big enough breath to support. [01:13:00] Any kind of phrase, any long phrase. so it was kind of interesting. I wasn’t sure which way it was gonna go.
And actually, so now I’m 36 weeks pregnant, so I’m yeah, due in a month. And I’d been sort of warned by midwives that this would be the time when my lungs, you know, the bump was big and my, my lungs would be the most compressed when all the other organs are squished around them. And then actually in that last month, your bump is heavier so it drops down a bit and your lungs get a bit of relief.
So I kind of thought, well, actually, maybe the later I go the better I might feel in terms of with the lungs. but I’ve, I’m actually really pleased to say that for me, I, I actually haven’t felt any impact on my playing any negative impact on my playing at all, I don’t think. In fact, I feel like some recent concerts I’ve done, I did a couple of solo recitals last week, and I think there’s some of the, again, some of the best playing I’ve, I’ve done, I, I think I, I felt I had lots of support physically.
You know, I don’t think pregnancy necessarily affects your, your chops, but in terms of, you know, making them stronger, but, but I just felt like in a really great place, chops wise as well. [01:14:00] Weirdly, earlier on in the pregnancy, I had, a couple of times, a few weeks where I felt like my production and my, something that I’m normally can just rely on in terms of quiet production, particularly I felt like I’d, something wasn’t working as, as I was used to it working.
And I, you know, notes were just cut out. If, if I went too quiet, notes would just stop without me expecting them to. And of course, there’s lots of reasons why that might happen. I, I don’t really know, but I was actually pretty convinced it was linked to some kind of hormonal change or something because it, it was just so unexpected and something I’d never experienced before.
and I had also kind of like, the, the corners of my lips, had cuts. Or kind of, they were, they kind of split. They were really dry. And so it didn’t affect my playing because the, obviously the middle of my lips was absolutely fine, but it was the corners, and again, that’s a, it’s a pregnancy thing and that’s kind of come and gone my whole pregnancy.
Like sometimes the corners have been absolutely fine. Sometimes they’ve been really cracked, and if I, you know, eat the big mouthful [01:15:00] of breakfast and they, they crack in the morning, I’m like, oh, no. Like that. It’s quite painful. But it didn’t, yeah, just things that didn’t affect the, actually affect the playing, but just certainly affected me physically around that.
but yeah, I’ve got two concerts left, both with the LSO and it’s two weeks in a row and I’m playing. Fourth trumpet in one piece, in each program. So they’ve kind of been very generous with their, their work offers and just said, you know, we’ll give, give you the work so I can keep earning money, I think until I, you know, until I’m ready to stop.
But, nothing too crazy or too strenuous. So that’s really nice of them.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah. Fourth trumpet, although it’s not quite heightened
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: No.
JOHN SNELL: third trumpet. But but still good. You’re getting the work and playing right up. Yeah. And then, and your plan is to then take a few, few months off when the
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t really know have, I don’t really have any set plan about it, and I think that’s probably for the best for me in terms of, I might. Well, as I said, you know, in terms of practicing as, as you heard from, from the start of this, you [01:16:00] know, I might love this excuse not to have to practice.
’cause you know, it’d be like, well, you know, that’s, as I said, felt like a bit of a chore. But actually I, I wouldn’t be surprised. I really wouldn’t be surprised if, if I just think actually I, I do just wanna play because I like playing and I miss it. And it, you know, in some ways, maybe it’d be a bit strange that the baby has heard me play pretty much every day of his, his life so far.
And then once he’s born, I might not play for a few months and that would actually be maybe quite weird for him. I have no idea. So I think, I think I would like to. Yeah. And also that, you know, when the kicking that I feel, you know, when I’m actually playing, I don’t notice any, any movement. But as soon as I stop I get a lot of kicking and squirming and I always wonder, I don’t never know whether it’s ’cause he’s loving it or or hating it.
So I always say we’re gonna find out pretty soon whether it’s yeah, a love or hate thing. Hopefully he’s loving it, but we dunno.
JOHN SNELL: My wife’s a middle school band director. And when her beginning strings played particularly outta tune, both of my sons [01:17:00] would start punching. So she would, it was a good, a good line, you know,
please play in tune. ’cause I can’t take this anymore.
My kids are punching, you
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: On this on this tour recently with the LSOI was, I was bumping in Shastakovich 10 Symphony, and you know, there’s a lot of loud music in there, and it was, and I actually didn’t have tons to play. but it was such a weird feeling, just the baby was going bonkers and some bits, and I literally, I said to the principal trumpet, I said, I just wanted to grab your hand and put it there and just be like, look at what’s happening.
You know, because it feels weirdly kind of lonely. Like, not lonely, but you think, I can’t believe I’m the only person who feels this. ’cause it’s, it’s so amazing and weird. And he said, oh, I would’ve loved to have felt that, but maybe not mid concert, but yeah.
JOHN SNELL: And those are, those are the kinds of things that we don’t even think about or consider, you know, and that’s, yeah. When you’re sitting in there pregnant and their baby’s hearing it and
enjoying it or not,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I hope so. Yeah. But I, I feel I have got pretty lucky with the pregnancy and, and obviously I felt pretty grim in the first trimester, but since then [01:18:00] I’ve, it, it’s been good. And I, I really do just feel just like myself, but with a, with a big tummy. So, yeah, it’s it’s a good feeling and I, yeah, I’m, I’m really excited for what’s to come and I’m excited to take a break from playing.
I’ve never taken more than a couple of weeks off ever. So yeah, it’ll be interesting to navigate that and getting back into it.
JOHN SNELL: gonna be a fun holiday season for you
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Indeed.
JOHN SNELL: I’m excited. I’m excited. Last thing I wanna bring up, and it’s gonna be one of the best acronyms. I came across gal.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh, gals, wonderful gals. Well, gey is a very cool name because it, it’s short for gender and the large and shiny instruments, and it’s an initiative that I’m, I’m linked with, and they promote gender equality for. The large and shiny instruments that we’re talking brass, percussion, double bass, organ, any instruments that yeah, are traditionally probably more male dominated fields.
And so [01:19:00] gals really try and promote, opportunities for female brass player or female players or those who identify as female or non-binary. And we recently, did a, a course, they’ve done a course every year, I think maybe the last four years. And this was held at the Royal College of Music who were like super into this this scheme as well, and like really, really supportive of the initiative.
And I think we had 55, brass and percussion players between the ages of eight and 18. And yeah, it was just a, an awesome thing to watch to see all these women coming together. All of the tutors are female or female identifying and yeah. It’s, it’s just a really inspiring place, I think for them to, for these children to be, and it’s something that I can’t even imagine having had when I was growing up. I certainly didn’t, I had, you know, amazing female role models like Allison and Tina, but I never had a lesson or, you know, with a, with a female trumpeter.[01:20:00]
During my whole time at the academy, there were no, no female brass teachers. We never had a, a class or a, a, a less, you know, any kind of visiting professor who was female. And yeah, it just wasn’t something that I was exposed to much at all. I kind of didn’t question it at the time because you kind of just accept the status quo often, don’t you?
And you, you, you. We had lots of amazing people coming to, to work with us. But yeah, I think now there’s kind of no excuse not to be, Having a mix of, of genders because there are so many brilliant players, male and female now on offer.
JOHN SNELL: Yeah. And it’s, there’s a, when we started this conversation, I was on the website and there’s a great graphic that’s, what does it say? It’s the data collected in 2024 of full-time symphony orchestras and Conservatoires in the uk.
And it’s like, you know, horn, 89% male double bass, 78% male symphony, a hundred percent male.
You know, and you see these, the graphs, and it’s just, yeah,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: terms of the professors. [01:21:00] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: and it’s yeah, we’re, we’re catching up, but not fast enough,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: yeah, for sure. I mean, I, I, I really do feel like I do see a change. I mean, I, I feel like the, you know, the brass section in something like the London Symphony Orchestra, I think they’re, I. About to say they’re very conscious, I think, but I’m not sure it’s even a conscious thing. They just, you know, the players they like are a mix of male and female and it’s just that they’re the people that they book.
So whether they are actively trying to make sure it’s, it’s kind of mixed or it’s not necessarily balanced because that’s just maybe unrealistic at the moment. But, I would certainly wouldn’t expect to be the only woman in the brass section when in, in the trumpets and trombones when I’m there.
but I think, yeah, lots of orchestras and lots of sections have a lot of catching up to do For sure. And music colleges as well, I think. Yeah, I think for the, the faculty and the opportunities they give to different players I think need to make sure that they’re really encouraging everyone.
Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: So that’s was it large and shiny.com,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: That’s it. Yeah.
JOHN SNELL: And we’ll [01:22:00] have the link to that so folks can learn about it and donate if they want, or see about the goings on events and things, when it’s some wonderful resources as well that are on the website. So, yeah, that’s
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Yeah. Go gals.
JOHN SNELL: to learn about that.
Yeah. A couple quick questions before we go. Equipment, what do you use? Trumpets? And I’m sure you have a whole arsenal of instruments, but let’s go through the main ones
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: sure. So, my main trumpet is a bark Stradivarius and it’s 25 large bore, which I think is quite unusual. Yeah. And I chose it when I was, I think 14. Kind of had a choice between different trumpets and to be honest, kind of embarrassingly, there were two boys who played the trumpets in my youth orchestra.
One of them played a 25 L one, played a 37 medium large, you know, and, and, I liked the, the 25 large ball, him better. I liked him better, so as a person and a player. So I thought, well, I wanna have what he has. So I kind of went with it for that. I mean, I did like the trumpet itself too, but yeah, it served me well and I, I bought, I [01:23:00] actually bought a new, bark 25 L at the end of last year, end of 2024.
And I, I, to be honest, I, I’m not a massive kind of gear person. I, I, I don’t get a lot of, thrill out of trying lots of different instruments and I, I, it’s not something that really interests me so much. So when I decided I wanted a newbie fat trumpet, I went to the mere, the main trumpet shop in, in London and just said, do you have any bark 25?
Large for, and they said, no, we don’t really sell those anymore. And I was like, oh. I said, could you try and see if there’s any anywhere? And they said, well, call Bark. And they on while I was on the phone, he said, there’s one in the country. And I said, please send that one to me. And, and that’s the one I want.
And, and you know, if it hadn’t clicked for me, if it wasn’t right, I, there’s no way I would’ve bought it. But it really was, I just played it and was like, yeah, this is, this is what I know. This is what I love. I just kind of want a new, a new trumpet and, and I just, I stuck with what I, what I loved. So that’s what I play.
I, I, I use a Warton mouthpiece three [01:24:00] mc and the Backboards, I have a 10 and a 10 star. So I kind of, for more symphonic playing, I put the star, that one in anything slightly smaller, ensemble wise or solo, I tend to use the 10, C trumpet. I play a Yamaha, Chicago. C trumpet and yeah, I, I actually have different instruments, all different models really.
So I brands. So I have my E flat D trumpet is a sto v master, and my piccolo trumpet is a can. And my fluger horn, which is my, my, well, my original baby before the next one arrives. My original baby. So my fluger horn, which is know the instrument I love playing the most really. And that is a Yamaha, series six Bobby shoe model.
And I, I use a Warton mouthpiece for that as well. Five number five Flugel. Yeah. So I also have a GR mouthpiece or a GR for the piccolo, and I have a GR mouthpiece for. for my B flat, you know, if I want that extra, extra help, like I, or you know, just a yeah.
[01:25:00] Extra push up into the high register. I, I don’t quite love, like, you know, west End shows and things like that, and that’s the kind of thing, you just wanna have the option to put it in. So I do use a gr for that and I love it. But yeah, that’s, that’s my full, full amount I think.
JOHN SNELL: that’s the arsenal. Oh my gosh. Well, Imogen, thank you so much for your time. And we could go on, but we’ll have to do a volume two. ’cause we didn’t, I was gonna say, we didn’t even get into like, your studio stuff and the, you know, the commercial plane you do. cause that’s also a part of your career.
Um, So we’ll have to catch up. Maybe when the kiddo’s in grade school or something, you have a little bit
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: that sounds great. It’ll probably fly by, so, yeah,
JOHN SNELL: Next, next few years are gonna be fun. I’m looking forward to,
uh, To hearing and what’s going on. So before I let you go, I ask this of all of my guests, one last question.
If you could leave our listeners with your best piece of advice, and it could be about anything, it doesn’t necessarily have to be trumpet related. What would that be?
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: I think it might seem cheesy because it’s actually, the words I’m gonna say is actually the, it’s the, it’s the words of the, the title of the first piece [01:26:00] on my album. And it’s actually just to stay open and it’s a, this, this piece, you know, talk about that quickly. It was a, this beautiful new flugelhorn piece that was written for me last year, and the composer, Charlotte Hardin, kind of described it as like a feminine fanfare.
It is really amazing, and actually it’s quite a fun, a fun YouTube video if anyone wants to check it out of me playing it in a cave. In, in the uk, in the peak district up, up north. And anyway, it’s a, it’s a really beautiful piece and I think, yeah, for an artistic video, so check it out. But to stay open actually, just I, I feel like that just, covers so many different things.
For me, it about staying open, you know, in terms of, I was so set in, you know, the kind of career I thought I would have in terms of solo stuff, and then actually once I opened myself up to, to noticing all the other amazing things you could do and still do solo stuff as well. I think that just that, yeah, not closing myself off to opportunities, just because I [01:27:00] thought that one thing was, was exactly what I wanted.
and realizing that actually everything feeds into each other. So staying open to that. Staying open, yeah, I guess staying open to all opportunities. Of course as you go through your career, you won’t necessarily have the bandwidth or the time or the energy to say yes to everything. Of course. So you have to protect your, protect your energy a bit.
But yeah, I think staying open as a person, means that you’ll probably get on so well with your colleagues open musically to all different genres. you know, I, I don’t really listen to much classical music. I, I’m a, I’m musical theater, theater fanatic, and I love singer songwriters and pop music.
And when I sit down and put Spotify on and I’m warming up, that’s the kind of thing I’ll play along to, you know, I love just playing along to current music. so yeah, I just think openness, is a key quality in, in life, however you relate to it. But yeah, to stay open would be my advice.
JOHN SNELL: To stay open. Absolutely. Brilliant advice. Oh [01:28:00] man. I, I could talk to you all day and all night,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh, thanks John. You, you are very easy to talk to as well. Thank you.
JOHN SNELL: Well, thank you. And I mean, just like Father Christmas brought you the uh, real trumpet how many years ago. Hopefully you know, father Christmas brings you something else this holidays
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: a real baby. That would be
JOHN SNELL: a healthy, a real healthy baby.
I mean, blessings to you and your family this holiday. I’m excited to hear about your new family member and yeah, keep us in the loop,
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh, I will do for
JOHN SNELL: you, with going on. so we have large and shiny.com for the gals website. And Imogen, Whitehead Trumpet is your personal
website. And you have links to all your social media and YouTube and all that through there. clickable.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: and I have a, I have a newsletter on there as well, which is kind of like, I felt like quite a nice way just to keep people updated with what I’m up to. I, I only send things out maybe every eight weeks or something, so no one is gonna be bombarded or feeling like their, inbox is filling up with my stuff at all.
But it’s, it’s just a really nice way, I think, for people to keep in touch so they can sign up to that through my website if they’d
like to.
JOHN SNELL: that and, and hopefully we’ll see a baby picture. Right.[01:29:00]
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: Oh, for sure. Yep.
JOHN SNELL: that’ll be in the next newsletter. Okay. If that’s not an impetus to sign up to get someone’s email address. That’s, yeah. What, I’ll do that for baby pictures. I love it. Imogen, thank you so much. What an absolute honor to have you on.
IMOGEN WHITEHEAD: pleasure. Thanks, John.
JOHN SNELL: Well, a huge thank you to Imogen. what a pleasure it was to interview her and my goodness. So I’d done some research. I listened to her album and checked her website out her bio and was, you know. Familiar with some of the things she had done. And as we were getting ready to do the interview, I downloaded her most recent, her most recent uh, newsletter.
And there’s an ultrasound. I was like, oh my goodness. well, but that’s cool. Maybe we can bring up that she’s having a baby. And then I read further and it said she was due in December. so, huge congratulations to, imogen and her husband Rupert, who by the way, we’re gonna have on the Trombone Corner podcast.
He’s [01:30:00] trombonist with Royal Phil Harmonic. so I’ve already, I have a connection, so he’ll be on, on that other podcast sometime in the future, probably after the kid is born. Les, I digress. Huge thank you to Imogen. What a wonderful story She has, her journey through, you know, solo plane and chamber music and orchestral plane.
her teachers getting to go up to Norway and, study with Tina and great to see where her career is going. And I mean, to imagine releasing an album and then doing a recital tour in your first trimester of pregnancy. Absolutely inspiring. I, she said, thankfully the trumpet plane went well, but I’m sure the 23 or 22 and a half hours around the recital, was difficult.
If it’s anything like what my wife experienced in her pregnancies, so I’m really glad she could share those stories. And please check out her website, her social media, check out the videos from her album. Like she said, she didn’t record the recitals, but she has video performances of [01:31:00] every, every track off of her.
Album Connection and Please check out gal large and shiny.com, the gender and the large and shiny instruments. they’re doing some wonderful work for gender equality and as we discussed you know. We’re making headway, go back to the interviews with Susan Slaughter and Maurice, Betsy Alley. you know, some of their stories, we’ll, even in Liesel Whitaker, a little younger generation, but still, you know, a lot, there’s still a lot more we need to do still a lot more progress that needs to be made in terms of gender equality and musical instruments.
So check out their website, large and shiny.com. Again, happy Thanksgiving. to those in the US who are celebrating and those who are still thankful around the world, it’s not a US only thing. We’re thankful for all of you. Keep those emails coming. it really does. It brings smiles to my face. I have a email I received actually brought tears.
The other day, and I’ll share that in a future [01:32:00] episode. You know, the things we do here, it’s not just heavy valve caps and valve oils and things, you know, it really is about connection. Pun intended for Imogen’s album connecting with each other, and that’s why we go on the road. So, hope to see you in Tokyo.
If not, hope to see you at one of the many, many events I’m gonna be at in 2026. Until next time, let’s go out and make some music.
