GALSI COURSE 2025

Join us for the Gender and the Large and Shiny Instruments young persons’ brass and
percussion course on Tuesday 28th & Wednesday 29th October, 10.30 - 16.30, presented in partnership with the Royal College of Music, London.

WHO IS IT FOR?: This two day course is open to anyone who plays a brass instrument or percussion/drumkit, is from age 8 - 18 years old, and identifies as female or non-binary. Expect a fun and interactive course that celebrates playing large and shiny instruments!

TUTORS: The course is led by brass and percussion tutors who are leaders within the
profession including trumpeter Imogen Whitehead, French horn players Fran Moore-Bridger and Helen Kuby, and percussionists Catherine Ring and Rosie Bergonzi (scroll down for more info!)

ACTIVITIES: The participants will be split into junior, intermediate and senior ensembles, and will work on ensemble playing, technique, and learn more about being a professional performer from their tutors. The junior and intermediate group additionally take part in an interactive improvisation/composition workshop whilst ehe senior group take part in a round table discussion and masterclass, and all musicians will finish by playing side-by-side in big piece all together!

REQUIRED STANDARD: This course is designed for a range of standards: for the junior group participants should have been playing their instrument for at least a year, and have their own instrument for the brass players, or sticks for the percussionists. The senior group is appropriate for students Grade 6+.

SIGN UP: Please book your place via the RCM website. The deadline for sign up is 14th October but may close earlier if capacity is reached.
For queries about registration or payment please contact the RCM Sparks team directly: sparks@rcm.ac.uk

Note: participants must be available for both days of the course.

COST: Suggested £80 total for the two days. There are also some subsidised places available - details are on the booking page of the RCM website.

TRAVEL BURSARIES: We have travel and accommodation bursaries available of up to £400 for participants traveling from outside of London & home counties. If you would like to apply for this please send us an email telling us a bit about yourself, where you live, and your estimated costs.
(NB Our funding dictates that you must travel via public transport if you are able to.)
largeandshiny@gmail.com

We look forward to meeting you soon!

The GALSI course has been supported in-kind by the Royal College of Music and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Download a PDF flyer for the course

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Thank you for creating such a wonderful space to play music at all levels and to have important, supportive conversations. I really enjoyed the course and felt like I was a part of something really important and special. Also, a huge thanks for making the course such an inclusive space. Coming into unknown situations as a disabled person can be really challenging and scary but all the staff and tutors were so kind and patient - I felt so comfortable and like I was no different to anyone else.

Meet the Tutors

Senior Brass

Imogen Whitehead

Imogen Whitehead is a trumpeter in demand across the UK and abroad. Alongside her position as Principal Trumpet with Britten Sinfonia, Imogen regularly performs as guest Principal Trumpet with the London Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and English National Opera.

As a soloist, Imogen has premiered numerous works (by composers such as Sally Beamish and Stephen Dodgson), many of which are featured on her debut solo album, Connection (2025). Imogen is a particular champion of the flugelhorn - an instrument often overlooked in the classical
sphere - and is committed to raising its solo profile through new commissions and arrangements. Imogen has worked as a deputy in London’s West-End and played on major film soundtracks including Maestro and Saltburn. She is also an Associate Performer for GALSI (Gender and the Large and Shiny Instruments - an initiative promoting gender equality in brass and percussion) and a member of the International Trumpet Guild’s ‘New Works’ committee. In 2025 Imogen was
conferred with Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).

www.imogenwhiteheadtrumpet.com

Senior Percussion

Catherine Ring

Catherine has a First Class (Hons) music degree from Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She is a member of the critically acclaimed Colin Currie Group, a virtuosic percussion ensemble specialising in the music of Steve Reich. The group have performed in prestigious venues around the world including Carnegie Hall (New York), the Southbank Centre (London), Opera City (Tokyo), Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), and the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam).

Catherine is also a member of the band Perhaps Contraption, and was formerly part of the percussion quartet EnsembleBash.

Her orchestral work includes performances with the Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and Rambert dance company. Catherine regularly covers the marimba chair on The Lion King in London’s West End, and performed on the soundtrack to ‘The Marvels’ movie.

Catherine is an enthusiastic teacher and collaborator. Her education work includes masterclasses and seminars at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, National Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Percussion Orchestra, as well as regularly returning to teach at her alma mata Guildhall School Of Music & Drama.

As a composer Catherine has written for the new ABRSM drumkit syllabus.

Junior Brass

Francesca Moore-Bridger

Francesca is a successful freelance French horn player and the Principal Horn of Orchestra of the Swan. After graduating from Newnham College, Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music she became Principal Horn of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, Chile. Upon returning to the UK
she has become an established soloist and orchestral and chamber musician.

Francesca has performed as Principal Horn with numerous orchestras, including the London Contemporary Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland. She works regularly in theatres including the Royal Shakespeare Company and also tours the country performing live soundtracks for feature films. Francesca regularly works as a session musician recording music across multiple genres.

Francesca firmly believes in the importance of music education for all and is a passionate educator. She is a regular tutor with the National Childrens Orchestra of Great Britain and she teaches at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and at Guildford High School. She takes part in numerous education and outreach projects and has a huge breadth of experience working with young people.

Francesca believes in the power of music and has performed in dementia care homes and hospitals to bring a little light to those in need.

Junior Percussion

Rosie Bergonzi

Rosie Bergonzi is a classically trained percussionist, graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2016 as a Master of Music, before receiving a fellowship the following year. She is now an active musician, with theater performances including The Crucible; Macbeth; Romeo & Juliet; As You Like It and Richard II at Shakespeare's Globe; Pericles at the RSC; Billy and The Beast, an interactive opera with Britten Sinfonia. MD of Typical Girls at the Sheffield Crucible, Two Gentlemen of Verona at RSC, and Deptford Creek at the Cutty Sark. She loves playing pop music, with world tours with singers Neneh Cherry and Celeste. Rosie is an accomplished solo performer with a series of solo recitals at The Barbican; Hangout UK; PanMarco; and Canaries Handpan Festival. She loves playing orchestrally, recently with BBC Proms with Chineke! Orchestra and Aurora Orchestra; and is a founding member of ensembles Beaten Track and Boubakiki and PortaBanda.

She came to the handpan in 2014, when she heard a busker play in London, where she lives. It was an instant love affair, as Rosie combined the techniques learned in various forms of hand percussion into something specifically handpan. During the lockdown she started creating tutorials, covers and solo works. She received a Royal Philharmonic Society 'Trailblazer' award for her work with the handpan in 2021 and continues to challenge the handpan into unusual areas of music. She has a number of solo records out, available on all streaming platforms. Rosie performed world's first handpan concerto in 2024 with the Chineke! Orchestra written by Cassie Kinoshi.

In her work as a workshop leader she encourages people to find their voice, especially focused on minority groups who've historically been overlooked, Rosie is passionate about creating music in a community setting. She's worked with ENO, Southbank, Wigmore Hall, London Rhymes and many other institutions to lead and facilitates workshops including collaborative song-writing and instrumental pieces.

https://www.rosiebergonzi.com/

Intermediate Brass

Helen Kuby

Helen Kuby is a versatile freelance French horn player and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. She has performed across genres, from Glastonbury Festival with DJs Fabio &
Grooverider, pop band The Kooks and folk singer Aoife O’Donovan, to Shakespeare’s Globe (The Crucible, Anthony & Cleopatra), musical theatre shows (Rebecca, Charlie & the
Chocolate Factory), jazz with Tony Kofi at the Jazz Café, and classical appearances with Brighton Philharmonic, Fantasia Orchestra, and Waterperry Opera. She has also appeared as
guest soloist with the Stroud Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Philharmonic, and Weymouth Lunchtime Concert Series.

A passionate educator, Helen teaches horn at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department, North London Collegiate School, and Highgate School, coaches for the National Children’s Orchestra and Future Talent, and leads widening participation brass projects at RAM. She lectures on the LRAM teaching qualification, specialising in horn and performance psychology.

Holding a Distinction MSc in Performance Science from the Royal College of Music, Helen leads wellbeing education at RAM Junior Department, running weekly workshops and 1:1
performance coaching. She founded Sounds Confident, providing accessible and engaging research-based performance health resources for music education and educators, and was awarded the RCM Accelerate Award as recognition of the impact of her work in this field.

Dedicated to outreach, she was an Open Academy Fellow in 2020 and has led workshops for City of London Sinfonia, English National Opera, and Wigmore Hall.

Senior Brass Masterclass

Katie Smith

Katie Smith is currently the Sub Principal Trumpet of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. After an enjoyable and fulfilling couple of years with the RSNO she will be joining the London Symphony Orchestra as their third trumpet from October 2025.

Katie has enjoyed a busy and diverse freelance career as an orchestral musician on both modern and period instruments. She was originally inspired to pick up the trumpet aged seven in memory of her late father Malcolm Smith (Co-Principal Trumpet of the LSO 1982-88). She is the fourth generation of LSO musicians in her family since her great grandfather joined the orchestra in 1929.

Following undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music respectively, Katie has played with many of the UK’s leading orchestras including the Sinfonia of London, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and English National Opera and has toured the UK and abroad in Asia, the US and Europe.

Katie has taught classes at the GSMD, RAM and Royal College of Music. She can be heard on many major film and TV soundtracks including the Matrix Resurrections, Stranger Things and Life on Our Planet.