Born in England and educated in Victoria after emigrating in 1971, Brian began music at age seven and received his first clarinet on his eighth birthday. He won a music scholarship in 1979 to attend the Ballarat Grammar School after which he studied clarinet at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide with David Shephard and Gregory Blackman. Following a year in the World Expo 88 Marching Band in Brisbane he furthered his studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Floyd Williams. He toured Queensland for the Queensland Arts Council with the trio “Los Trios Toucan” and played with the “Queensland Wind Soloists” before another year of intensive study was undertaken with Reinier Hogerheijde in Holland, where he performed in contemporary music festivals, with chamber ensembles and as a recitalist.
On his return to Brisbane in 1993 he took up the position of 2nd clarinet with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and has been an active participant in chamber music throughout the state. Brian teaches at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and regularly works as a tutor with the Queensland Youth Orchestra and the Queensland Department of Education. In 1997 he performed at the Australasian Clarinet Conference held in Brisbane and has performed as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 1998 and 2000 and The Queensland Orchestra in 2005 and 2009. Currently Brian is Acting Associate Principal Clarinet with The Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Brian has performed with The Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Australian and Queensland Pops Orchestras and the Southern Cross Soloists. Musical theatre performances include ‘Les Miserables’, ‘The King and I’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’. He has also performed and recorded with Elision Ensemble, the Queensland Wind Soloists and Topology and performed at the Townsville Chamber Music Festival. His performances have been broadcast nationally on ABC classic FM and locally on 4MBS FM. Brian is also an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board and is Industry Liaison Officer for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s Industry Internship program.