Paramount Brass

About Us

Paramount Brass are an up-and-coming brass quintet made up of some of the highest standard musicians of their age. They have enjoyed performing recitals in prestigious venues all across the UK and continue to explore a diverse range of repertoire from original brass quintet music and contemporary works, to jazz standards and new commissions.

Formed in 2023 at the Royal Northern College of Music, Paramount Brass are made up of Lewis Barton and Phoebe Mallison on trumpet, Sam Froggatt on french horn, Nathan Joseph on trombone, and Ben Russon on tuba.

Based in Manchester and the North, the group have had a successful first few years together, performing recitals at various venues including Manchester Cathedral, Leeds Cathedral, and Leeds Royal Armouries, as well as playing at Old Trafford football stadium on ITV’s 'This Morning' as part of Soccer Aid in 2025.

Paramount Brass have also had the pleasure of performing Derek Bourgeois’ Concerto for Brass Quintet and Brass Band at the RNCM with the KNDS Fairey Band in 2026 which was a real privilege. Shortly after, the group went on to win the RNCM Phillip Jones Brass Chamber Prize and are also looking forward to representing the RNCM at the International Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble Competition in Birmingham later this year! The group also enjoy leading educational workshops and assemblies in Manchester and Cumbria as well as performing at weddings, graduations, and all other types of events. They are excited to continue to perform together throughout the rest of their studies and beyond.

Lewis Barton - Trumpet

Lewis is a trumpet and flugelhorn player from Wigan and is currently studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Growing up in Wigan, Lewis started off playing piano and drums before picking up the cornet at the age of 7 and starting brass lessons through his local music service. In 2019, Lewis accepted a place at the Junior RNCM and was awarded an ABRSM scholarship for outstanding potential, where he studied under Tim Barber for 4 years and made his concerto debut performing the Aritunian Trumpet Concerto with the JRNCM Chamber Orchestra in 2022. The same year he was also appointed principal trumpet of the Halle Youth Orchestra and was later appointed the same role in the Opera North Youth Orchestra in 2024. Lewis grew up through grass roots brass playing surrounded by the brass band scene and went on to become the principal cornet of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in 2023 and 2024 whilst winning the organisation’s prestigious Harry Mortimer Solo Competition Award in 2020 and 2024. This lead to Lewis being guest soloist with the National Children’s Brass Band in 2025, working along side Dr. David Thornton. Choosing to study at RNCM, Lewis was awarded an entrance scholarship kindly supported by the Miller Award and whilst continuing his studies, Lewis enjoys performing solo recitals across the country in venues such as Nottingham Royal Theatre, Bury Parish Church and the Royal Over-Seas League in London and has also recorded his first solo recital documentary produced by NXTOD Studios. Looking to the future, Lewis has a passion for orchestral music and has recently enjoyed having the opportunity to work with the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic on their Performance Experience Schemes through the RNCM.

Phoebe Mallinson - Trumpet

Phoebe Mallinson is a flugelhorn and trumpet player from Bradford, West Yorkshire, recognised for her versatility across brass band, solo, and orchestral performance. She is currently an undergraduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying trumpet with Tracey Redfern and Roger Webster. Her studies are supported by an entrance award made possible through the generous support of the Scouloudi Foundation and the Millar Award. Phoebe’s musical training began at an early age, and in 2017 she was awarded a place at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, where she received specialist tuition and developed the technical and musical foundations of her playing. She began playing the cornet at the age of eight through the City of Bradford Brass Band organisation, later discovering the flugelhorn at ten, which has since become central to her musical identity. Since 2024, Phoebe has held the position of Flugelhorn Soloist with the world-renowned Black Dyke Band. In this role, she performs regularly at major concert venues and events, and toured Japan with the band in October 2024, including a performance at NHK Hall in Tokyo. Her wider performance experience includes appearances at leading venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Symphony Hall Birmingham, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Sage Gateshead, and the KKL in Lucerne, Switzerland. Phoebe gained national recognition in 2022 when she reached the televised Brass Category Final of the BBC Young Musician competition, performing on both trumpet and flugelhorn. This achievement highlighted her versatility and established her as one of the UK’s leading young brass musicians. Alongside her ensemble work, Phoebe is an accomplished soloist. She has performed the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto with the Todmorden Orchestra. She has also appeared as a concerto soloist with the Opera North Youth Orchestra. Phoebe previously served as Principal Flugelhorn of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain from 2020 to 2024, holding the position from the ages of 14 to 18. During this time, she performed extensively across the UK and contributed to the ensemble’s continued reputation for excellence. In addition to her performing career, Phoebe is passionate about music education and outreach. She regularly participates in projects in primary schools, sharing live music and encouraging young people to engage with brass playing and ensemble performance.

Sam Froggatt - Horn

Sam is a 21 year old undergraduate French Horn player in his 4th year at the Royal Northern College of Music. He started playing the horn at the age of 7 through his school at the time, and he attended youth orchestras from both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Sam is also an alumnus of Chetham’s School of Music where he studied under the tutelage of Julian Plummer. Whilst at Chetham’s Sam had the privilege to attend and play in many masterclasses and workshops, including ones ran by Ben Goldschieder, Ben Hulme and Mike Lovatt In 2022 Sam accepted a scholarship to the Royal Northern College of Music, to continue studying under the tutelage of Julian Plummer. Since being at the RNCM, Sam has earned the ‘highly commended’ award in the RNCM concerto competition and has been a Phillip Jones finalist. Throughout his studies Sam has thrown himself into life at the RNCM with some highlights being, Playing Mahler’s second symphony at The Bridgwater hall and having had the chance to play in a masterclass for Froydis Ree Werke. Sam also enjoys the RNCM engage projects, which help local music centers to thrive and gives everyone a chance at musical education. Throughout his time playing the horn, Sam has had the opportunity to play in world class venues such as The Bridgwater Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, The Cadogan Hall and the Bristol Beacon. These opportunities were mostly through several national level youth ensembles and orchestras

Nathan Joseph – Trombone

Nathan Joseph is a tenor trombone player currently in his third year at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying under Katy Jones and Roger Cutts. He also plays the alto and bass trombones, and enjoys performing early music on the sackbut. Nathan comes from North London, and has been playing the trombone since he was 8 years old. He studied at Junior Guildhall for 2 years with Rob Burgess and, prior to this, learnt under David Whitehouse for 5 years. Nathan enjoyed playing with a variety of youth ensembles during this time, including the Odyssey Festival Orchestra, London Schools Symphony Orchestra, and London Youth Wind Band. Most recently, Nathan held the principal trombone seat at the Opera North Youth Orchestra in 2024. In February 2024, Nathan won the brass open solo and solo open competitions at the Mrs Sunderland Festival. Nathan enjoys playing across a variety of styles and genres, particularly musical theatre and opera. He played with National Youth Music Theatre in their productions of Ragtime (2022) and Kiss Me Kate (2023), and spent a summer in Germany performing the operas Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, and Hansel und Gretel with the Berlin Opera Academy in 2024. Throughout his time at the RNCM, Nathan has played in masterclasses for trombone players including Peter Moore and Louise Pollock, and has performed at venues including the Bridgewater Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and a solo recital at Bury Parish Church in 2024.

Ben Russon - Tuba

Our tuba player Ben has performed with winning bands at the European Youth Championships and Whit Friday Band section. He was principal tuba of the National Youth Brass Band for 3 years and currently plays for the KNDS Fairey Band. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, Symphony Hall, the Sage at Gateshead, Kneller Hall and the Auditorium Stravinsky Hall in Switzerland. His talents have earned him a range of prizes, including the Tom Atkinson memorial trophy for Tuba. Ben comes from Rochale, Manchester, and studied at the Junior RNCM under Les Neish before starting his undergrad.

15Jun

Chris Rowland Chamber Prize

£0.00
06/15/2026 07:00 PM
royal northern college of music, Booth Street West, Manchester, UK

Celebrating chamber music at the RNCM, this annual prize honours Christopher Rowland – the renowned quartet leader and architect of our chamber music department. Our leading student ensembles take the stage to compete for the prestigious title of RNCM Christopher Rowland Chamber Ensemble of the Year.

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02Jul

Cockermouth LIVE!

£15.00
07/02/2026 07:30 PM
South St, Cockermouth CA13 9RU, UK

Cockermouth Music Society is pleased to support our first classical concert in Cockermouth Live! We are working with Cockermouth Live! to make more classical music available over this weekend.

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