Section Leader, Horn
Adopted by Robin Bloxsidge and Nick Riddle

 Tim was born in Preston and took up the horn at the age of 9. He loved playing with the local youth orchestra, but it was attending the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra concerts in Preston Guildhall that made him want to pursue a career as an orchestral musician. He studied in Manchester and after jobs at Covent Garden and the Philharmonia Orchestra he joined the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011. 

Tim has performed on many film soundtracks, including the Star Wars and Harry Potter series, and he enjoys playing ‘period’ horns, including a Gramophone Award-winning recording of Bach’s 1st Brandenburg Concerto with Trevor Pinnock. Tim’s main love, however, is working with young musicians and especially young horn players, as a teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music, coach at National Youth French Horn Ensemble, National Youth Orchestra, and helping out with the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Youth Academy Orchestra whenever he can. Tim also runs a scholarship scheme offering free instruments and free lessons to local secondary school children. 

Fun Fact:  
Outside the orchestra, Tim is happiest with his family, especially out in the hills whenever they can! 

Name: Timothy Jackson
Instrument: Horn
Home town: Preston
Current home: Formby
Studied: RNCM and Manchester University
Date joined the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra: 1 January 2011

We heard one of your compositions in the Schools’ Concerts – do you prefer composing for young people, and how does it feel to hear an auditorium full of children singing your song?   

I love composing and arranging for young people, whether it is for them to play or sing themselves, or for professional concerts aimed at a young audience. It can be quite overwhelming to hear 1,000+ young voices revelling in the opportunity to sing along with a full symphony orchestra! I also really enjoy working with young musicians, helping them to compose their own music. I recently had the enormous pleasure, for example, of working with a group of pupils from All Saints Catholic Primary School in Anfield who, supported by their headteacher, composed a wonderful song which was performed for the first time at the In Harmony 14th Birthday Concert in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall earlier this week.  

What time of day do you find you are at your most creative for writing music?

Most good ideas come by surprise, often when I’m driving or eating or (especially annoying for my family!) in the middle of a conversation about something completely unrelated! I also have a notebook next to my bed as I often wake up with something buzzing round my brain. The graft of turning those ideas into something useable happens whenever I have the opportunity - often on the train, or in breaks between rehearsals.

Do you have a melody in mind for each commission, or do the lyrics inform the melody?

Every commission is different, and I don’t have a pre-set routine. However, if I am writing something to be sung, the lyrics always come first. For the recent Schools’ Concerts, I had the great pleasure of working once again with the wonderful poet, Mandy Ross. Before I even start to think about the music, we spend a long time getting all the words to scan identically between verses because that helps the children sing with confidence.How do you use the words to shape the music?

Firstly, the rhythm of the words and the rise and fall of the melody needs to feel natural. Everything needs to fit within a comfortable singing range and be easily teachable, especially by a class teacher who may not be a music specialist. The really fun bit for me is finding ways to use the colours in the orchestra to illustrate a particular image in the lyrics - a Roman army marching or dinosaurs shrieking.

 Do you have a favourite style of music you like to compose in?

I’m very lucky that I get asked to arrange music in all sorts of styles from Swing Band standards to heavy rock to Schubert songs. To be honest, I enjoy all of it. When I am composing my own music, I don’t have to be faithful to anybody else’s music so it’s more free. I have always enjoyed writing for performers whose playing I already know and love. If I can write something which really fits them then they will enjoy playing it - and they become the advocates for the piece and the audience will enjoy it as a result!