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Bryant, Jeff (FRAM, FGSM, SFTCM)
Jeff Bryant was born in Bristol in 1946 and his musical education started at an early age in a Salvation Army brass band playing tenor horn. At the age of sixteen he went to a concert of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony given by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The next day, having been thrilled and inspired by the music, he sought out his music teacher in school and asked if it would be possible for him to take lessons on the French horn. A suitable instrument and teacher were found and a year later he became a member of the National Youth Orchestra. The same year, in his school’s annual music festival, he performed Mozart’s 4th Horn Concerto at the Colston Hall.
Jeff continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Ifor James. His first professional position at the age of twenty was as principal horn with the BBC Midland Light Orchestra followed by the position of principal horn in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. A year later he joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1972 was invited to join the London Symphony Orchestra as their principal horn. In 1975 Jeff became principal horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held for 22 years.
Jeff regularly appeared as a soloist with these orchestras. Firstly, broadcasts of Hunter’s Moon conducted by its composer Gilbert Vinter, with the BBC Midland Light Orchestra. Other performances include Mozart’s 4th Horn Concerto with André Previn and the LSO for BBC television, Mozart Concerti with the RPO at the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Ashkenazy at the Royal Festival Hall, with Previn at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and in the Vienna Konzerthaus with Menuhin. Also, Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No.2 with the RPO and Sir Charles Mackerras at the Royal Festival Hall.
Jeff’s discography includes the four Mozart Concerti with Dausgaard and the RPO, the Britten Serenade with Ashkenazy and the RPO, the Tippett Sonata for Four Horns with the Michael Thompson Quartet, and the Adagio and Allegro by Schumann and Romance in E by Saint-Saëns for the Guildhall showcase CD.
Jeff was professor of Horn at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for 40 years from 1973, Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion at Trinity College of Music in 1997-98, and from 2013 until 2021 he was horn professor at the Royal College of Music. In addition to these posts, Jeff held the position of horn tutor for the European Union Youth Orchestra from 1991 for 26 years. From 2012 until 2018 he was invited to join the team of tutors for the I-Culture Orchestra in Poland. In 2019, with other members of the LSO, he tutored the horn section of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra in Aix-en-Provence. In 2018 and 2019, Jeff coached chamber repertoire at the British Isles Music Festival.
As a teacher, Jeff has made a considerable impact on the British and international horn world. His former students hold posts in many British, European and American orchestras, many in high profile principal positions.
In 1998 serious illness imposed a halt to his horn playing. After two years of treatment he recommenced his playing career in 2000, and since that time Jeff has appeared regularly as a guest principal for the London Symphony Orchestra, The Philharmonia, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House Orchestra, the Orchestra of the English National Opera, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Jeff has been honoured with fellowships for his contribution to horn playing and teaching by the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Trinity Laban School of Music and Drama. He holds honorary life membership of the British Horn Society and is a member of the Royal Society of Musicians.
Jeff has toured the world extensively as a player, teacher and coach, regularly visiting Europe, the Far East, the USA and South America. Jeff was a regular on the session scene in London, playing on many film scores, including Star Wars, James Bond, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter. He features also on television theme tunes and backing tracks of stars including Pavarotti, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and The Pretenders.
Throughout his long career, Jeff has enjoyed the privilege of being conducted by many legendary conductors, notably, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir John Barbirolli, Otto Klemperer, Karl Böhm, Leopold Stokowski, Carlo Maria Giulini, Antal Dorati, Leonard Bernstein, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Sir George Solti, Sir Colin Davis, André Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Temirkanov, Sir Charles Mackerras, Maris Jansons, Pierre Boulez, Claudio Abbado, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Bernard Haitink, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Chailly, Lorin Maazel, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Neville Marriner, and more recently, Sir Antonio Pappano, Neeme Järvi, Sir Simon Rattle, Vladimir Jurowski, Daniel Harding, Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Valery Gergiev.
Jeff now enjoys retirement in Dorset sailing his yacht and competing in motor sport events, hobbies he started during his active musical career.
Other publications: The Business, a guide to professional horn playing.
