BRASS ON

Trumpeter Thomas Eves first pursed his lips with the Woolston Brass Band. Here, he developed a love for the trumpet and cornet.

He didn’t play in his first orchestra until he was at university. He met Sarah Butler, the previous Principal Trumpet at the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and she steered him towards orchestral playing.

“Sarah and her husband at the time, Iaan, got me into the joys of orchestral music. And they said, ‘if you want to make a living off playing the trumpet, this is an avenue you should explore’.”

“The CSO was the first orchestra I played in.”

His first performance of Last Night of the Proms spurred him on, and Thomas didn’t look back.

“That was my lightbulb moment. I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got a lot of work to do’. I came back from studying in London and won the [Associate Principal Trumpet] job here in 2013. Then the year later, I won Principal Trumpet.”

Now well into his role as Principal Trumpet, Thomas is asked what brass brings to the orchestra.

“I always like to refer to us as the heroic kind of section; it always gets used when the pieces are at their climactic moments.

“It’s amazing the sound a small row of players can produce.”

With the 2023 season underway, Thomas has just been on the Electric Avenue stage alongside Synthony. He is excited about the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra’s first Lamb & Hayward Curator’s Series concert Appalachian Dream on March 31 and April 1.

Performed at The Piano, CSO Chief Conductor Benjamin Northey conducts two gestural works by Ōtautahi Christchurch-born composer Salina Fisher – Dream 6 and Kingfisher, and Aaron Copland’s beautiful Appalachian Spring for a 13-piece chamber orchestra.

Alongside these pieces, the trumpet shines in Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto, written to showcase the freshly minted keyed trumpet. Thomas Eves will present this sparkling tour de force.

In addition to Appalachian Dream, the first half of the CSO’s season is jam-packed. The first Lamb & Hayward Masterwork (Variations) plays on March 25 at the Town Hall, and CSO Studio Sessions: Delaney Davidson – Out of My Head will play April 13, April 27, and May 11 in the Ron Ball Studio at Christchurch Town Hall.