Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack Kicks Off HACS Harrogate Music Festival With A Bang
Mike Lovatt is an acclaimed trumpet player, recording artist and music teacher. He has played Principal Trumpet with the Grammy-nominated John Wilson Orchestra and worked with many famous names including Michael Bublé, Seth MacFarlane, Quincy Jones and US soprano Jessye Norman.
Mike Lovatt (credit Mikaela Morgan)
He has also performed as a soloist on numerous film scores. He brings Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack, his 25-piece brass orchestra, to the Royal Hall in Harrogate on Thursday, June 26. Here, he discusses his remarkable musical story…
Who inspired you to first start performing? My dad, Ken, was an incredibly inspiring music teacher at our local secondary school. When he began teaching there were no ensembles of any kind but by the time he retired, he had created multiple wind and brass groups, choirs and a full size 70-piece symphony orchestra was well established. He used to buy up all sorts of instruments, teach himself the basics and then pass on that knowledge to the pupils in the school. He was a gifted arranger and pianist and inspired countless youngsters. At a young age I was out shopping with my mum and persuaded her to spend 99 pence on an album that caught my eye – It was Eddies Calvert’s The Man with the Golden Trumpet. This was the first of many albums I played along to continually at home, even if I hadn’t the first idea at first how to emulate these great musicians. Little did I know I was training my ear for the future.
What have been your music career highlights so far? There have been so many highlights. I have been very lucky with my career. Playing Lead Trumpet on a Bond Movie was one of the highs but as far as musicianship is concerned I can’t beat the spine-tingling moments where I shared the stage with the great opera diva Jessye Norman. She was one of the greatest singers ever to take to the stage and I was lucky enough to travel the world with her in a small ensemble of really amazing musicians. Working closely with Seth MacFarlane (creator of hit TV show Family Guy) was also a treasured time. You can hear me on countless movie soundtracks including Walt Disney’s Snow White, Netflix’s The Crown, and Marvel's Avengers Endgame. I can’t leave out my many years of doing the Proms as Principal Trumpet of the John Wilson Orchestra, or more recent work as director of The BBC Big Band and Concert Orchestra, which was such a thrill for the VE Day 80 celebrations. I was surrounded by great players and soloists, the incredible vocal group Accent, and of course the show-stopping exuberance of star vocalist Anna-Jane Casey who you will be hearing at the Festival.
What advice would you give upcoming artists wanting to follow in your footsteps? Follow your dream but remember it takes huge dedication and perseverance. Practice hard but don’t let technique get in the way of your primary job which is to put the music across faithfully and passionately. Listen to as much music as possible every day, play or sing along with everything you hear, learn the nuances of every style and above all, remember you are doing this to uplift your audience. Live music is such a powerful force for good in this world, so enjoy it!
What do you hope the audience in Harrogate takes away from your performance? I hope the audience will be uplifted and inspired by our passion for this great music, our attention to detail, the incredibly talented musicians we share the stage with, and our arrangements crafted by the amazing Colin Skinner. Above all, I hope they will feel our tremendous love for performing soaring out across the hall.
Describe your programme in three words. High-voltage, joyous, swinging.
Do you have any pre-concert rituals? No, I just can’t wait to get onto the stage and get playing. There’s a lot to think about when you are organizing your own group and this is a big one, so I’m usually quite relieved when the concert actually starts and all I have to think about is performing the music which means so much to me.
What do you most enjoy about performing live and why is it still important in our digital age? The immediacy of communication between performer and audience at a live gig is really something very special. The musicians in the Brass Pack add so much spontaneity to each performance, making every concert come alive in a way that a recording never can. I love to hear the audience’s response, it is such a joy. I’ve seen many people moved to tears then shouting with joy a moment later – it’s an unforgettable life experience. Performing live brings people together and in this digital age we need much more of that!
If you could collaborate with any other artist, past or present, who would it be and why? I would love to have shared a studio with the late, great Uan Rasey, the first lead trumpet for the MGM Orchestra from 1949 until the early 70s. You will have heard him as he played on over 4,000 films including An American in Paris, Ben-Hur, My Fair Lady, West Side Story and the beautiful and haunting Chinatown, which I will be performing at the festival. He had the most wonderful and versatile sound and worked with some of the greatest names in music like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland and Doris Day – I bet he had some stories to tell…
What music are you listening to at the moment? I’ve just started working at The London Coliseum on the show The Great Gatsby so I’m listening to that eight times a week right now! For pleasure you might be surprised to hear that I love the piano music of Debussy and Chopin but a real favourite I always return to is Natalie Cole’s album Ask a Woman Who Knows. It’s such great writing and she has a stunning voice.
Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack | The Royal Hall, Harrogate | Thursday June 26, 7.30pm. Book online at harrogateinternationalfestivals.com or call the box office on 01423 562 303.
