Joseph Cook

Joseph was born in County Durham into a musical family. His father was a former principal cornet player and his mother a flugel and tenor horn player with the Ever Ready Brass Band. He started playing tuba at the age of 12 at the local secondary school. With encouragement from his parents and close friends within the Ever Ready Band he soon joined the Boldon Colliery Brass Band. Within two years he had auditioned for and gained entry into the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, at the same time as being accepted to join the Ever Ready Brass Band.

Joseph was a member of the National Brass Band of Great Britain between 1996 and 1999, for the final two years being he bands principal tuba player.

During that time he achieved such accolades as being twice a National Semi-finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, National Semi-finalist in the Shell London Symphony Orchestra Scholarship Competition, Winner of the 1997 Harry Mortimer Solo Competition and British Open Tuba Champion 2000.

In 1999 Joseph commenced study at the University of Leeds, reading Music and Electrical Engineering, and in the May of that year he was asked to join the Black Dyke Band, where he still plays today as principal tuba. With the band he has toured extensively and being featured as a soloist throughout the United Kingdom and overseas, including the USA, Canada, France, Belgium, Holland, Bermuda and Ireland. With the band he has been fortunate enough to share in many contest successes, including twice National Champions, twice British Open Champions and once European Champions. In 2006 Joseph received the Stanley Wainwright Memorial Trophy for the best Soloist at the British Open Championship at Symphony Hall. Over the years Joseph has studied with tuba players such as Brian Kingsley, Patrick Harrild, James Gourlay and Roger Bobo.

In the summer of 2002 Joseph was given scholarships for postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music and also the Royal Northern College of Music. As well as playing with the Black Dyke Band he is also busy as an orchestral musician, chamber musician and soloist, performing with such ensembles as the Northern Sinfonia, Manchester Camerata, York Guildhall, White River Brass, Fine Arts Brass and Jazz Action, as well as performing solo recitals up and down the country. Joseph also works extensively as a teacher in the classroom, brass coach and performs in many master classes and workshops.