Imogen Whitehead (née Hancock) is a rising star on the British trumpet scene. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music with First Class Honours, she has been in demand as both a soloist and freelance orchestral musician.

Imogen has premiered a number of solo works including Stephen Dodgson’s Trumpet Concerto and Trinculo by Sally Beamish, commissioned for her by the Park Lane Group. Having been awarded a Julius Isserlis Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society, Imogen travelled to Oslo in 2017 to study with renowned soloist Tine Thing Helseth and trumpeters from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Opera/Ballet. As a BrittenPears Young Artist, Imogen also spent a week in November 2017 at Snape Maltings, receiving masterclasses from world-famous trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger.

As a soloist, Imogen aims to champion the flugelhorn and expand its repertoire with new commissions and arrangements. In 2018, she gave World Premiere performances of two flugelhorn concerti, written for her by Aleksandr Brusentsev (Threads, January 2018) and Leo Geyer (Somewhere In-Between, June 2018). Imogen’s current commissions include a piece for flugelhorn and organ by Danish composer Michael Bønsdorf and a suite for trumpet and flugelhorn by Elgar Howarth.

Recent orchestral highlights for Imogen include performing as Guest Principal Trumpet with English National Opera, Opera North, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and the City of London Sinfonia. In August 2021 she joined Aurora Orchestra for their memorised performances at the BBC Proms of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. Imogen has also performed with the Philharmonia, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, English National Ballet and Ulster Orchestra amongst others, and she is an alumna of Southbank Sinfonia (2016).

In 2022 Imogen will give numerous solo recitals and concerto performances, as well as recording a new concerto for trumpet and flugelhorn in the Czech Republic, written for her by composer Barry Mills. Aside from trumpet playing, Imogen enjoys running and reading. She is also a trustee of the Thames Youth Orchestra and a Befriender through the Wimbledon Guild.

www.imogenwhiteheadtrumpet.com