When looking to hire musicians, tuba players tend to be pretty hard to find! One of a rare breed then, Ed Hallinan Rhodes does the honours for Riverside Brass Quintet.

Since arriving from Cardiff with a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, the tuba has taken Ed all over Europe. In 2008, he won an Erasmus place to study in Vienna’s Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, which he enjoyed for 1 semester in 2008-09. He graduated in 2011 with 1st class honours, having studied with Owen Slade & Lee Tsarmaklis.

Aside from quintet playing, Edward works as a freelance musician with a variety of orchestras, bands and shows. Orchestrally, he has played with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as touring with them to Moscow following on from a year on their Foyle’s Future Firsts Programme. Other highlights have included the Southbank Sinfonia, London Firebird Orchestra, Orpheus Sinfonia and the UK touring show of Chicago, where he doubled tuba with double bass.

Ed also enjoys playing in brass bands and as well as representing Championship-section Zone One Brass at regional contests, regularly guests on Eb and Bb bass for bands throughout the country. Perhaps this is what led him towards his strangest gig – representing the UK with Bury Port Brass Band in a tour to Libya in 2009.

Aside from classical music, Ed has a love for alternative music and has performed and recorded with various rock/pop bands. In 2009 he collaborated with singer-songwriter Charlie Winston on his album Hobo, which reached no.1 in the French album chart. This followed an appearance at the Eden Project in support of Peter Gabriel and headline slots at London’s Koko and Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

When not playing the tuba, Ed keeps hold of his Welsh roots with singing, being a founder member of Eschoir and The Buzztones. Thanks to the choir, he has been able to achieve a life ambition of singing for his country both at the Millennium Stadium for the Six Nations and at Twickenham for the Rugby World Cup’s England vs Wales match of 2015.

Meanwhile, Ed has performed with The Buzztones at their debut 5* rated Edinburgh Fringe Festival show as well as regular flashmob proposals and the odd appearance on BBC’s the One Show!

Outside of music, Ed is heavily involved in SEO content writing and web-design. In fact, he designed the whole of this website and Riverside Brass’ album artwork! Ed also offers private tutition for all brass instruments.

Looking to hire musicians or hire a tuba player? You can contact Ed directly at: edward@riversidebrass.co.uk