Website: www.euphonium.net
How Long with BBBC: 27 years
Home City: Fenny Drayton, UK
Countries Performed In: 40 different countries
Principal Instrument: Euphonium
Other Instruments: Trombone, Piano
Where you might have heard me perform: Anywhere and everywhere!
What is special to me about the BBBC: It’s the greatest brass family in the world. Always incredibly special days together. I wish we could meet, more often!
What is special to me about Battle Creek: I’ve got to know the city over nearly thirty years, and has seen it evolve and change. It is home to so many great people, with strong personalities, beliefs and a love of music and community. I care passionately about Battle Creek and always love to return to play and meet the wonderful people.
Full Biography
Englishman Steven Mead (B.1962) needs no introduction to brass enthusiasts around the world as his playing and teaching have become known to virtually all who have a love for the instrument known as the euphonium.
As a soloist, his career as a professional solo performer continues to break new ground. With more than 75 solo performances a yea,r his relentless schedule sees him touring almost constantly.
This remarkable solo career followed on from the successes he achieved as a member of several of the UK’s leading brass bands. Nowadays he travels constantly and performs regularly with some of the finest brass, wind and symphonic ensembles in the world.
He has played solo concerts with symphony orchestras in Norway (Trondheim Symphony Orchestra), Finland (Lahti Symphony Orchestra cond.Osmo Vänskä, and Helsinki Philharmonic cond. Elgar Howarth), Poland (Capella Cracoviensis), USA (Minneapolis Pops Orchestra), Canada, Italy, Germany (Stuttgart Philharmonic) Japan (Japan Chamber Orchestra), and Lithuania.
As a soloist he has played with most of the leading brass and military bands in the world including Band of the Garde Republicaine (Paris, France), The Central Band of the RAF (London, UK), The Italian Police, Carabinieri, and Army Bands (Rome, Italy), The Dutch Marine Band (Rotterdam,Netherlands), and The US Army Band (Washington DC, USA).
He has been described as one of the world’s most recorded solo brass artists with more than 65 CDs produced since 1990!
He is the owner of a music label, Bocchino Music which now produces and distributes his albums.
As an innovator for the whole ‘low brass’ world in general, he has been the Artistic Director of all 6 of the National Tuba / Euphonium Conferences, held in the UK, and was the Artistic Director of the ITEC 2012, to be held in Linz, Austria, June 23–30, 2012.
He has also given concert tours with several leading professional chamber ensembles in Europe, including ‘Spanish Brass Quintet, ‘Sound-Inn-Brass’ (Austria), ‘Classic Quintet’ (Bolzano, Italy) ‘Trombonisti Italiani’ (Italy) and London Brass.
His innovation is also evident with his premiere performances of new concerti and major works by Martin Ellerby, Philip Sparke, Torstein Aagaard Nilsen, Tadeusz Kassatti, John Reeman, Derek Bourgeois, Vladimir Cosma, Thomas Dos, Rolf Rudin, Howard Snell, Hermann Pallhuber to name but a few.
As a teacher he is Professor of Euphonium at the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester UK and also at teaches at several specialist schools across Europe, and in Japan. He has been responsible for the first ever euphonium masterclasses in Italy, Portugal, Lithuania, Slovenia, Russia and Austria. Students from all around the world come to study with him the UK and many of them have gone on to enjoy top professional careers. He has recently been awarded the Fellowship of the RNCM for his services to this prestigious institution.
As a designer Steven has been an artist and clinician, and now Ambassador for Besson (part of The Buffet Group) for many years, being involved with testing and the development of new instruments. Also he has been responsible for the design and development of the Steven Mead series of brass mouthpieces and mutes with ‘Denis Wick Products’, with whom he is an International Ambassador.
As a communicator many commentators suggest it is Steven’s vocal background (from the age of 6) that is responsible for the truly unique beauty of his euphonium tone. The rich expressive approach to musical performance has been admired by professional musicians around the world and as a result Steven is performing increasingly with orchestras and chamber ensembles in addition to brass and wind bands.
His concerts and recitals are hallmarked by a unique communication between artist and audience.