Episode #145 Imogen Whitehead

Update: 2025-11-19

Description

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring classical trumpeter and soloist Imogen Whitehead, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.

This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:

"Imogen Whitehead trumpet interview"

Find the expanded show notes, transcript and more photos here:

https://bobreeves.com/blog/imogen-whitehead-trumpet-interview-the-other-side-of-the-bell-145/

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).

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