From the time he first heard the French horn played live at his primary school, Tim’s ambition was to become a professional musician. Now in his twenties, he is gaining a reputation as one of the most accomplished horn players of his generation. After leaving school in 2002 he won a scholarship to The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and in the same year he was the UK finalist in the Paxman International Young Horn Player Competition. In 2004 he won the Royal Overseas League Award for Wind and Percussion and the Philip Jones Prize for an outstanding brass player. At the age of 21 Tim joined The Philharmonia Orchestra as third horn and a year later he was appointed to his present position - Principal Horn of The BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Tim is currently the youngest Principal Horn in any of the UK’s major orchestras. As an orchestral player Tim has played with all the major London orchestras. He also enjoys chamber music and has performed with many ensembles including The London Sinfonietta, The Nash Ensemble, Fine Arts Brass and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. On this, his first solo CD, Tim has strayed away from the classic horn repertoire to bring the sound of the French horn to a wider range of music from Bach and Purcell to Bernstein and Morricone. All the music on this recording has been specially arranged by John Hutchinson to reflect Tim’s love of chamber music and to show the horn in a more pensive mood. REVIEWS: The Horn Magazine “Thorpe combines superb control and phrasing with a beautiful effortless quality of sound reminiscent of hollywood’s finest Vince De Rosa. The choice of music is certainly commercial in the Classic FM smooth classics mould however the arrangements by John Hutchinson combine a traditional classical chamber music setting with a touch of dark chocolate The playing from the chamber ensemble is excellent throughout and the arrangement of Agneus Dei gives Thorpe the chance to display his technical mastery of the horn which compliments the general melodic style of the album. This is not your standard horn recital or another horn ensemble disc. Thorpe has taken his own new direction in a crossover market which many people will enjoy for it’s honest simplicity and beauty.” Dominic Seldis, Solo Double Bass – The Royal Concergebouw Orchestra and Judge on BBC’s Maestro. "Midsummer is a beautifully crafted disc of popular tunes played by an outstanding musician. The French Horn is a notoriously difficult instrument to master, but in the hands of Tim Thorpe it is made to sound easy. He has a quality to his sound which is very rare. It is sweet, sensitive, controlled and most importantly hugely musical. The clever arrangements by John Hutchinson are such that they allow Tim’s playing to shine through and show off his obvious solo playing talent, but also his natural artistic generosity as a chamber musician. Each track from this wonderfully well balanced disc has a special stand alone quality all of its own, and the choice of repertoire ranges from Karl Jenkins to Bach, but for me the stand out track is ‘Somewhere’ by Bernstein. Exquisite French Horn playing, accompanied by fine live musicians, this one track alone is worth the price of this disc which has just raised the bar for all future French Horn recordings. Tim Thorpe is one of the UK’s finest young French Horn players. As well as a super star chamber, orchestral and solo player, he plays with a musicality that beguiles his tender years. Tim has a knack of making the French Horn sound easy with a sweet yet powerful sound which he controls with astonishing agility. He has raised the standard of British Horn playing to dizzying heights!"