FRANK LLOYD, French Hornist
Frank Lloyd was born into a non-musical family in Cornwall, England in 1952. He took up the trombone in his school brass band at the age of thirteen. On leaving school at fifteen he joined the Royal Marines Band Service and subsequently changed to the French horn. In 1975 he left the services to embark on a course at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Ifor James. Within three months, however, Lloyd was offered the post of Principal Horn with the Scottish National Orchestra (now called the Royal Scottish Orchestra). After four and a half years in Scotland he returned to London to take up a post with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, remaining with them for three years.
Finding himself increasingly in demand as a soloist and as a chamber player, Lloyd left the RPO and joined the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. Shortly thereafter he became Principal Horn with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Nash Ensemble. In Great Britain he has appeared as soloist with the Northern Sinfonia, The London Mozart Players, the London Sinfonia, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, his appearances as soloist have taken him to Winnipeg and to Vancouver in Canada, to all parts of the United States and Europe, and to Japan, Taiwan and Australia. Often featured as a special guest artist at International Horn Society workshops in the United States, in 1995 he appeared in Japan at the first IHS workshop ever held in Asia where, in addition to his scheduled appearances, he substituted on very short notice for Barry Tuckwell, playing the Strauss Second concerto with the Yamagata Orchestra. He has twice toured Brazil, performing with local ensembles and giving master classes. The artist tours extensively in Europe on a regular basis and he has been featured numerous times as a soloist on television and radio at home and abroad. In September 1996, Mr. Lloyd was the soloist for the opening of the Winnipeg Symphony season.
A master teacher, Lloyd has been professor of Horn at both the Guildhall School of Music and the Trinity School of Music in London; he has the rare distinction of having been the teacher of two winners of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. He coaches horn groups and ensembles regularly, including those from the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra (UK), and the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester in Vienna.
His recordings include the Strauss First Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Mozart Horn Quintet together with other chamber works with the Nash Ensemble, and the Britten Serenade with the City of London Sinfonia. He has recorded all of the Mozart Horn concertos with Richard Hickox and the Northern Sinfonia for the Chandos label. His second recording, of the Britten Serenade with tenor Philip Langridge and the English Chamber Orchestra, was released on the Collins Classics label. His much-acclaimed recital album with pianist Roger Vignoles is available on the Merlin label.
In recognition of his achievements in the music profession, Mr. Lloyd was named an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 1995. In September 1997 he was appointed to a professorship at the Wolkwang-Hochschule in Essen, Germany.
