Player Biographies
Our players are among the most experienced in the business.
It would be our pleasure to put our talents to work for you.
Noel Barr
Trumpet/Cornet
Darren Barr
Trumpet/Cornet
Darren began playing cornet at the age of 6 and within a few years began to play with the local town band, St. Joseph's Brass Band. He quickly realised his passion for the band and began to excel until he reached the position of principal cornet within the band. Over the past decade he has played with Orchestras and bands alike at a prestigious level. Darren has had the great oppurtunity to play trumpet with the Ulster Youth Orchestra and more recently last year, when he played with the European Youth Brass Band in Oostende, Belgium, for the opening of the European Brass Band Championships. Darren is currently studying for a maths degree but still plays reguarly and is hoping to obtain his Diploma in performance in the coming months.
Kieran Duddy
Tenor Horn
Markus Michel
Trombone
Markus was born in Arnsberg-Müschede, Germany. At the age of 6 he started playing trombone and by the age of 13, he was a member of a local band in Germany. Markus started playing organ at the age of 14. Between the years of 1984-1997 he held the position of part-time organist in various villages close to his home. In 1989 Markus sat his Bandmaster exam with great success. Leading on from this he became Bandmaster of a wind band in Sudern-Hagen between 1995 - 1997. Markus studied Physics at the University of Dortmund, Germany and got his degree in 1992. In 1999 Markus moved to N-Ireland to take a position as engineer in Seagate in Derry. From 2001-2008 he was a trombonist with the Britannia Band and during this time he also played trombone with the University of Ulster Big Band. In 2008 Markus joined St. Josephs Brass Band, winning various competitions. He took music courses at the Magee campus of the University of Ulster and with Open University and obtained a diploma in music in 2010.
Gavin Duffy
Tuba
