Harry Cunningham – Visiting Bass Tutor

Harry grew up near Lancaster and began playing the tuba at the age of seven with Morecambe Band. Over the next ten years, Harry took lessons with members of the band and played in Morecambe Band with his brother and dad.

When he was 14, Harry joined the National Children’s Brass Band and the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. Over the next few years, he would come to hold the Solo Eb bass seat with the National Children’s band and Solo Bb bass seat with the National Youth Band. It was around this time that Harry started attending the Junior RNCM Saturday school where he studied with Les Neish. Harry joined the National Youth Orchestra when he was 17 and, over the following two years, performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, and Snape Maltings. He also began playing with the Fairey band on Solo Eb bass.

Upon leaving school, Harry began studying at the RNCM, where he was under the tuition of the tuba players from many of the North’s top orchestras. In his first year at the RNCM, Harry accepted the position of Solo Eb bass with the Black Dyke band. Over the course of the next three years, Harry participated in two tours of Japan, performed in concerts in Switzerland, Austria, and throughout the UK, and won a hat trick of Yorkshire Areas with the band.

From his time at the RNCM, Harry has performed with many of England’s top professional orchestras, including the Halle Orchestra, the Orchestra of Opera North, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others.