Steve Sykes is considered by many to be the doyen of band tuba players. He has enjoyed a stellar career as one of Europe’s leading and most entertaining brass soloists. Steve has performed worldwide as a solo artist and clinician holding masterclasses and workshops for the Band of the Royal Marines, Pershing’s Own Band, the Chicago Mid West and Orchestra Clinic, Kneller Hall, the Norwegian Navy Band and the North American Brass Band Association amongst others. 

He has also been tuba tutor for the International Brass Summer School, the Swedish Youth Band, The Brass Band Summer School, the Swiss Youth Band, The National Youth Band and the National Youth Band of Wales. He was also brass tutor at the Band of the Royal Marines, Bristol University, and Bath Spa University. 

Many composers have written and dedicated works to him and he has a number of radio broadcasts and commercial recordings to his name. 

Steve has been involved in the design and development of instruments by Boosey and Hawkes, Besson, Yamaha, London Musical Instruments and Sterling. He is a member of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators and has officiated at competitions worldwide.

Chris Avison is the Principal Trumpet of the London Concert Orchestra, having previously been Principal Trumpet of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2021. Chris has also performed as Principal Trumpet in many of the leading orchestras across the UK, including the Royal Opera House, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, amongst others. Alongside orchestral playing, Chris has played in several West End productions, recorded with both orchestras and as a session musician, as well as running and being a founding member of Inner City Brass.

Chris is an Associate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and Royal Academy of Music.

Alongside performing, Chris is passionate about supporting young musicians and has taught across the south, currently at Dauntsey’s, and has delivered masterclasses to young people through Inner City Brass and the BSO Brass Quintet.

Tracey Bridgeman studied at the Colchester Institute and plays all clarinets and saxophones. She works as a freelance musician in chamber music, orchestral music, dixiebands, big bands and in theatre pits. Tracey is an experienced instrumental teacher and has coached small ensembles. She has also adjudicated at

youth music festivals. Tracey has performed in Europe and in many venues in the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal National Theatre, the Barbican and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

Band Colour Sergeant Michael Smith  is now in his 20th year within the Royal Marines Band Service. As a percussionist he has performed countless massed band solo performances whilst serving with BRNC, Collingwood, Scotland, Portsmouth band and the RMSoM instructor for 5 years. He is currently the part of the Specialist Attract Team. His career highlights include 6 months in Afghanistan, Olympic and Paralympics Games Medal Parade, the Royal Wedding, the Queens Jubilee celebrations but most of all seeing his trainees achieve their goals. Michael is the proud father of his 3-year-old son Sebastian and 7-year-old daughter Evelyn. 

Dr. William Talley is the Director of Bands at Ohio University, where he directs the wind symphony and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting and wind literature.  Dr. Talley received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he served as the associate director of the Eastman Wind Orchestra and the assistant director of the Eastman Wind Ensemble.  In addition to his responsibilities with these ensembles at Eastman, Dr. Talley taught undergraduate conducting and served as the assistant director of the Eastman Harmonie.  He also regularly conducted for a variety of ensembles at Eastman, including OSSIA’s new music ensembles and the Graduate Composer’s Sinfonietta.  While a student at Eastman, Dr. Talley was a recipient of the Frederick Fennell Conducting Fellowship, the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize, and was the first recipient of the newly established Donald and Polly Hunsberger Endowed Conducting Scholarship. While in residence at Eastman, Dr. Talley concurrently served as the wind ensemble director at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY.

Dr. Todd Nichols currently serves as Director of University Bands at Rutgers University. His duties include administration of the university band program, directing the Marching Scarlet Knights and Symphonic Winds, and teaching graduate conducting. As Director of the MSK, Dr. Nichols led highly acclaimed performances in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, NFL’s Monday Night Football, Music for All Grand Nationals finals performance, and for United States President Joseph Biden.  Dr. Nichols served as a Guest Lecturer at New York University and Columbia University, is Past President of the Big Ten Band Director’s National Association and has commissioned forty-two new works for wind band. Dr. Nichols annually serves as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and recording producer and is especially honored to have guest conducted the United States Army Field Band. In addition, he serves as artistic director for the Garden State Symphonic Band and the Eastern Wind Symphony, a position he has held since 2010. Dr. Nichols conducted highly acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and records regularly with the EWS. Under his direction has been invited to perform at numerous major music conventions including the 2021 and 2015 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.

Dr. Julia Baumanis is Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Bands at Rutgers University and is the first female instrumental conductor at Rutgers University in its 257 year history. Her duties include serving as the Conductor of the Rutgers Symphony Band, the Associate Director of the Marching Scarlet Knights, Director of Pep Bands, and teaching courses in instrumental conducting and music education. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Baumanis served as the Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Central Missouri. Dr. Baumanis has also served within the music education community on the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) repertoire committee, on Music For All’s Educational Advisory Team in 2023, and is the co-Author of GO ON, Tell Your Story! Voices of Women Band Directors, a book that features the shared experiences of over 100 women band directors, published by GIA Publications in 2023. In January 2023, she was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, a professional orchestra serving the New Brunswick, NJ area for the past 62 years.

Brett Padelford is Director of Public Relations for the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band. Brett has served multiple roles within the Trojan Marching Band, including teaching assistant, assistant director, and its de facto historian. He graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Language and a master’s in Communication Management. As Director of Public Relations, he built the band’s social media presence from scratch. The band’s Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube accounts are all in the top 5 of the most-followed marching band accounts in the United States.

Brett is also a photographer and was honored to be the official photographer for the first London Band Week last year. His work has been published in Sports Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, and Halftime Magazine. He volunteers as a photographer for Make-A-Wish in Orange County, CA.

Sergeant Bugler Mike Kortbeek joined the RM Corps of Drums in September 2013. He has always had a passion for drumming beginning with learning Drum Kit when he was 7 years old. Through the Royal Marines he has developed a passion for rudimental drumming. This passion has taken him all over the world including two trips to Basel, Switzerland where he has loved spending time with some of the best rudimental drummers in the world, honing his skills. The highlight of his drumming career has to have been when he performed with the Top Secret Drum Corps for a joint drum display for the late Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations at the Windsor Horse show 2022. 

Logan Newhouse is a percussionist and educator from Central Ohio. Throughout his musical career, he has performed and taught at various ensembles, including The Lakewood High School Band, Ohio University Wind Symphony and Percussion Ensemble, Legends Drum and Bugle Corps, Cap City Percussion, The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, and Rhythm X.

Logan's main goal as a performer and educator is to share his experience and expertise to inspire passion, creativity, and expression in others.

Melvin Knapp started playing military side drum at the age of 10 in a local Scout band on the Isle of Wight and has experience in both marching band and pipe band drumming, having played in marching bands such as the Medina Marching Band and The Corps of Drums of HMS Nelson Royal Naval Volunteer Band. Melvin's passion for rudimental drumming led him to join a local pipe band in Portsmouth before joining the Scots Guards Association Pipes and Drums (South), in which he has performed at competitions on the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) circuit and at various prestigious engagements across the UK.